Aging Men and Masculinity Ideologies: Variance Composition of the MRNS-BF and Measurement Invariance by Men's Age

The construct traditional masculinity ideology (TMI, Levant & Richmond, 2016), like the construct dominant masculinities (Coles, 2009; Messerschmidt, 2019), refers to culturally-based principles about proper gender practices for men. The present study aimed to create a briefer and psychometrically stronger form of the Male Role Norms Scale (MRNS), a long-standing and important measure of TMI. Using an archival data set (N = 626) with men age 25 and older, the MRNS was shortened using a set of recommended practices. Confirmatory factor analysis and assessment of measurement invariance showed the resulting MRNS-BF satisfies good fit principles with configural, metric, yet not reliable scalar invariance for age. It is a 6-item measure whose common factor measures TMI through two dimensions that mimic tenets Brannon (1976) and Connell (1995) theorized as underlying principles of masculinity ideologies in Western cultures: Earning and maintaining Respect/status, and No sissy stuff/avoidance of femininity in gender practices. Mean scores importantly show perhaps generational, certainly age cohort differences – aging men differed from established and middle-aged men by more moderately endorsing norms that specify men must strive to earn others’ respect and the cultural emphasis on no sissy stuff. Younger age cohorts strongly adopted principles of gender equality. These observed differences must be interpreted with great caution, since the men in the three age groups did not seem to have a common zero point. Still, the MRNS-BF has good psychometric properties, and its brevity can assist future research on how gender guidelines influence aging men’s health decisions and behavior.

Masculinity in Numafung, a Film Directed by Nabin Subba

The prevailing gender practices in the Limbu culture promote asymmetrical power relations not only between males and females but also between dominant males and subordinated males. This practice is portrayed in the feature film Numafung by Nabin Subba. Thus, the paper aims to investigate how the practice of hegemonic masculinity has affected the life of individuals, both males and females in Limbu community in the film. It scrutinizes what sort of problems do the conventional masculine roles bring in the characters’ lives. This paper also intends to assess the reasons that force the males to perform the conventional gender roles. To analyze the text, R.W. Connell’s and Michael Kimmel’s idea of masculinity theory has been used as an approach. These theorists propose that masculinity is a constructed entity that is achieved through constant performance: a series of cues observed, internalized and repeated over time. Illuminating the gender practices in the Limbu culture, Numafung unfolds the cultural dynamics of the Limbu society in the light of hegemonic masculinities. The paper concludes that cultural practices such as ‘sunauli- rupauli,’ ‘mangena’ and ‘jari’ keep their hegemonic masculinity intact. The paper further concludes that the male characters of Numafung embrace hegemonic masculinity because gender is a socio-cultural construction; being part of that society, one hardly can escape from the socially enforced gender roles.

Marriage Ties in England in First Half of 17th Century: Sermons to Newlyweds by Thomas Gateaker

The author of the article examines the evolution of ideas about marriage and matrimonial duties in the 17th century in England. The study is based on sermons to newlyweds published in the 1620s by the famous moderate Puritan Thomas Gataker: “A Summary of Marital Responsibilities” (1620), “A Good Wife is a Gift of God” (1620/23), and “A Perfect Wife” (1623). It is emphasized that these sermons are a rich source of early modern marriage. Addressing them allows us to understand the origins of changes in traditional gender practices introduced by the Puritans in the 17th century. The author demonstrates that, unlike Anglicans and Catholics, Puritans put the friendship between a man and a woman in the first place for the purpose of marriage, which serves as a salvation from loneliness, and not the birth of children. The author also concludes that the Puritans relied on traditional ideas about the patriarchal foundations of the marriage union, but the place and role of women in it was actively revised and fe-male virtue began to take its rightful place in a pious community.

Representation of Conventional Gender Roles in Prasad

The film Prasad reveals the prevailed gender practices in Nepali society that instigate to perform the stereotyped gender roles to the characters. So, the study aims to investigate how do characters construct the conventional gender identities. Likewise, this article intends to assess the reasons that force the characters to firmly stick to the prescribed gender roles. Similarly, to examine the consequences the characters go through while performing the traditional gender roles, is another objective of this article. To meet these objectives, Gender studies has been used as theoretical tools. Particularly, Judith Butler’s, and R.W. Connell’s idea of gender theory has been used. These theorists propose theory of gender as constructed phenomenon that is achieved through the constant performance. This article contributes to understanding the harmful consequences caused by conventional gender roles to the people. The study concludes that assigning the stereotyped gender roles to the characters, the film Prasad indorses the existing gender stereotype.

“Girls Are Like Flowers; Boys Are Like footballs”

To contribute to the discussion about how masculinity—understood as a configuration of gender practices (Connell 2000)—is reproduced, this paper analyzes fathers’ discourse about the gender of their sons and daughters. I carried out a qualitative longitudinal study in Chile during which 28 first-time fathers were interviewed before and after their child’s birth or arrival (adoption). I suggest that these fathers see gender in essentialist, dichotomous, and hierarchical terms. They expect to shape their sons’ gender practices according to hegemonic masculinity (discouraging gender practices associated with femininity or homosexuality). In the study, no attempt to reformulate masculine gender practices was observed but, rather, an interest on the fathers’ part in maintaining the patriarchal gender order.

“Girls Are Like Flowers; Boys Are Like footballs”

To contribute to the discussion about how masculinity—understood as a configuration of gender practices (Connell 2000)—is reproduced, this paper analyzes fathers’ discourse about the gender of their sons and daughters. I carried out a qualitative longitudinal study in Chile during which 28 first-time fathers were interviewed before and after their child’s birth or arrival (adoption). I suggest that these fathers see gender in essentialist, dichotomous, and hierarchical terms. They expect to shape their sons’ gender practices according to hegemonic masculinity (discouraging gender practices associated with femininity or homosexuality). In the study, no attempt to reformulate masculine gender practices was observed but, rather, an interest on the fathers’ part in maintaining the patriarchal gender order.

Caṇḍī

The ubiquitous goddesses dotting Bengal are referred to by the epithet mā/mother and commonly trailed by the suffix Caṇḍī and usually calcified as the Brahmanical wife of Śiva. The Caṇḍī maṅgalakābyas by Brahmanical male poets from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries helped propagate the śāstrik framing of the laukika goddesses. The narratives start appearing as the Afghan sultanate of Bengal is incorporated into the Mughal Empire, proliferate in the seventeenth century as the Mughal conquest is consolidated, and stagnate by the end of the eighteenth century as the empire begins to disintegrate and the British Empire start rising. The modern canonized criticism of the Caṇḍīmaṅgalas argues that the genre represents the agenda of shaping a Hindu community in the context of Muslim rule and Caitanya’s critique of Brahmanical norms. But an ideological silence shrouds the detrimental implications of this patronizing project on customary caste and gender practices and rights.