Do Men Matter?
Posted 19th January 2001

Why do men not feature more in gender and development policy? The shift in emphasis from Women in Development (WID) to Gender and Development (GAD), from enumerating and redressing women¹s disadvantages to analysing the social relationships between men and women, has not led to a recognition within policy of the need to understand the position of women and men. Is there a need for an explicit focus on men in GAD?

With a few notable exceptions, men are rarely explicitly mentioned in gender policy documents. Where men do appear, they are generally seen as obstacles to women¹s development: men must surrender their positions of dominance for women to become empowered. The superiority of women as hard working, reliable, trustworthy, socially responsible, caring and co-operative is often asserted; whilst men on the other hand are frequently portrayed as lazy, violent, promiscuous and irresponsible drunkards. Why then, focus on men? Emerging critiques of policy argue for special attention to be paid to men and masculinities in development, as follows:

Gender is relational It concerns the relationships between men and women which are subject to negotiation in private and public spheres. To focus on women only is inadequate: a better understanding of men¹s perceptions and positions and the scope for changing these, is essential. Exploring Œmasculinities¹ includes focusing on socially constructed Œways of being a man¹ rather than simply on their physical and sexual attributes. Biological essentialism is rejected in favour of an analysis of the social context within which gendered roles and relations are formed.

Equality and social justice Gender concerns should not simply be viewed as instrumental in securing a more effective delivery of development. Instead, this critique recognises that men as well as women may be disadvantaged by social and economic structures and that they both have the right to live free from poverty and repression. Empowerment processes should also enable women and men to be liberated from the confines of gender stereotyped roles.

Gendered vulnerabilities Evidence from several studies suggests that while women in general may face greater social and economic disadvantages, men are not always the winners and that generalising about their situation risks overlooking gender-specific inequities and vulnerabilities, such as the damaging health effects of certain Œmasculine¹ labour roles or social practices.

Crisis of masculinity It is suggested that changes in the economy, social structures, and household composition are resulting in Œcrises of masculinity¹ in many parts of the world. The Œdemasculinising¹ effects of poverty and of economic and social change may be eroding men¹s traditional roles as providers and limiting the availability of alternative, meaningful roles for men in families and communities. Men may consequently seek affirmation of their masculinity in other ways; through irresponsible sexual behaviour or domestic violence for example.

Strategic gendered partnerships There is a strong argument that if gender-equitable change is to be achieved in households, communities and organisations, then surely men are needed as allies and partners? This links to concerns about the need to mainstream gender issues in development policy to ensure that they are not sidelined or under-funded as Œwomen¹s issues¹.

The industrial age has seen a unique development in Nature, the evolution of tools into machines. Where tools are given direction by humans, machines have a direction and momentum of their own, and which is now giving direction to human society. The division of labour between male and female has been superceeded by the division between organic and inorganic. As humans, not as male or female, we have to work together to take back the direction of evolution from mechanical and electronic machines and place it in the hands of organic life. The sudden appearance of bio-technology on global stockmarkets is another aspect of machine thinking. Lets move on from sex to the bigger picture.

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