Gender Roles in Intimate Relationships: Who Initiates and Why?

The gender roles of men and women are continuously changing in heterosexual relationships alongside the ever-increasing flexibility and variation of preferences, choice, agency, and individual needs. This paper delves into the role tradition plays between men and women in intimate relationships regarding marriage proposals and surname changes, as well as which sex initiates more when it comes to physical intimacy, emotional intimacy, and long-term commitment.

“You Feel Like Normal Sex is not Enough Anymore”: Women's Experiences of Coercive and Unwanted Anal Sex with Men

In this article, we explore the gendered dynamics of coercion described by 18 women we interviewed about their experiences of unwanted and nonconsensual heterosexual anal sex. Several women referred to what they believed to be the normative status of heterosexual anal sex. In many cases, the socially coercive effects of perceived norms intertwined with threads of interpersonal coercion, leaving women feeling pressured to agree to, or little room to refuse, anal sex they did not want. We discuss the ways that new sexual norms can translate into new pressures for women within the gendered framework of heterosexual relationships.

The Contradictions of Masculinity: Desire, emotions and masculine identities of seven heterosexual Mexican men

<p>Studying men and masculinities in Mexico through feminist sociology is necessary to tackle gender inequalities. These inequalities can be as extreme as the institutional, sexual and physical violence that occur in disproportionate numbers, or as quotidian as the micro-machismos that go unnoticed as forms of everyday gender violence. It is paramount to understand masculinity as a system of domination and differentiation as well as a gender identity that is performed by bodies that feel, are affected and recognise themselves as masculine and as men. By doing so, the road towards equality will include a strong critique of how men have learned to pursue a certain form of masculinity. To question men’s relation with masculinity and their experience of recognising themselves as such, this thesis took a narrative approach to the analysis of video diaries, generated through an affective methodology with seven Mexican men about their sexual-affective heterosexual relationships. The methodological process involved a relationship of ethics, friendship and co-production. Each of the seven men recorded themselves talking about their relationships, their partners and themselves in a uniquely vulnerable, honest and reflexive manner. The video diaries were then turned into seven narratives that were organised discursively into topics of: Emotions, Desire and Identity. The analysis centred on affective practices, emotions, social mediations of desire and masculine identity as ongoing negotiations in a particular geopolitical context. The men in this study constantly situated themselves between the hegemonic discourse of masculinity in Mexico and alternatives closer to a feminist approach. This positioning showed how their practices and ideas, while still part of the hegemonic system, were also able to challenge it. Thus, this thesis demonstrates the value of an affective methodology for working with men to analyse masculinities. The men who participated in this research revealed their daily navigations between multiple forms of masculinities and the hegemonic system still embedded in them. Such everyday negotiations highlight the very real challenges to be overcome in the movement towards more equal, free and ethical relationships between women and men. Furthermore, by offering a situated study of how Mexican men negotiate their masculinity, this research contributes to broader Anglophone literature on masculinity, which tends to be rooted in the Anglo-American experience. While concerned with relatively privileged Mexican men, it shows how such men negotiate global stereotypes such as the macho, the provider, the lover or the rebel. Finally, this thesis reveals how masculinities are manifested, as gender identity, with specific practices, desires, emotions and ways of being in the world; and also as a symbolic-material system of hierarchical organisation of sexed bodies. Thus, analysis of sexual-affective heterosexual relationships, through a focus on masculinities, can bring to light the contradictions and conflicts of being a man situated in a privileged position within the sex-gender system, in a social context that is increasingly questioning the position and the system that maintains it.</p>

The Contradictions of Masculinity: Desire, emotions and masculine identities of seven heterosexual Mexican men

<p>Studying men and masculinities in Mexico through feminist sociology is necessary to tackle gender inequalities. These inequalities can be as extreme as the institutional, sexual and physical violence that occur in disproportionate numbers, or as quotidian as the micro-machismos that go unnoticed as forms of everyday gender violence. It is paramount to understand masculinity as a system of domination and differentiation as well as a gender identity that is performed by bodies that feel, are affected and recognise themselves as masculine and as men. By doing so, the road towards equality will include a strong critique of how men have learned to pursue a certain form of masculinity. To question men’s relation with masculinity and their experience of recognising themselves as such, this thesis took a narrative approach to the analysis of video diaries, generated through an affective methodology with seven Mexican men about their sexual-affective heterosexual relationships. The methodological process involved a relationship of ethics, friendship and co-production. Each of the seven men recorded themselves talking about their relationships, their partners and themselves in a uniquely vulnerable, honest and reflexive manner. The video diaries were then turned into seven narratives that were organised discursively into topics of: Emotions, Desire and Identity. The analysis centred on affective practices, emotions, social mediations of desire and masculine identity as ongoing negotiations in a particular geopolitical context. The men in this study constantly situated themselves between the hegemonic discourse of masculinity in Mexico and alternatives closer to a feminist approach. This positioning showed how their practices and ideas, while still part of the hegemonic system, were also able to challenge it. Thus, this thesis demonstrates the value of an affective methodology for working with men to analyse masculinities. The men who participated in this research revealed their daily navigations between multiple forms of masculinities and the hegemonic system still embedded in them. Such everyday negotiations highlight the very real challenges to be overcome in the movement towards more equal, free and ethical relationships between women and men. Furthermore, by offering a situated study of how Mexican men negotiate their masculinity, this research contributes to broader Anglophone literature on masculinity, which tends to be rooted in the Anglo-American experience. While concerned with relatively privileged Mexican men, it shows how such men negotiate global stereotypes such as the macho, the provider, the lover or the rebel. Finally, this thesis reveals how masculinities are manifested, as gender identity, with specific practices, desires, emotions and ways of being in the world; and also as a symbolic-material system of hierarchical organisation of sexed bodies. Thus, analysis of sexual-affective heterosexual relationships, through a focus on masculinities, can bring to light the contradictions and conflicts of being a man situated in a privileged position within the sex-gender system, in a social context that is increasingly questioning the position and the system that maintains it.</p>

Investigating the Relationship Between Approval and Experiences of Intimate Partner Aggression in Heterosexual Relationships

<p>This study explored the relationship between participants’ approval of intimate partner aggression (IPA) and their experiences of IPA in heterosexual relationships. Male (n = 216) and female (n = 299) university students completed an online questionnaire that consisted of the Conflict Tactic Scale-2, the Controlling Behaviours Survey-revised, and the Beliefs about Relationship Aggression Scale. Bivariate analyses showed the majority of aggressive and controlling behaviours were perpetrated and experienced at similar rates between men and women. ANOVA found an interaction effect where both male and female participants held greater approval of female-to-male aggression, compared to male-to-female aggression, when provoked by physical, sexual, or psychological aggression, or infidelity. An interaction between participants’ gender and the aggressors’ gender in the vignettes showed men were significantly more approving of female aggression than women. ANOVA also demonstrated a main effect of perpetration status (aggressive/non-aggressive), where aggressive students approved of IPA more than non-aggressive students, regardless of the participant’s or the aggressor’s gender. These findings show that participants, especially male participants, hold chivalrous beliefs about IPA in heterosexual relationships. Although this chivalrous pattern also held for aggressive participants, aggressive men and women both displayed significantly higher approval of aggression by both male and female perpetrators than non-aggressive controls. Therefore, this study found perpetrators of IPA not only approve of aggression by their own gender significantly more than non-aggressors, but also tolerate aggression by the opposite gender more readily. The need for treatment to address beliefs that approve of IPA by both partners in heterosexual relationships, rather than gender specific beliefs, is discussed alongside other implications for practice and policy.</p>

Investigating the Relationship Between Approval and Experiences of Intimate Partner Aggression in Heterosexual Relationships

<p>This study explored the relationship between participants’ approval of intimate partner aggression (IPA) and their experiences of IPA in heterosexual relationships. Male (n = 216) and female (n = 299) university students completed an online questionnaire that consisted of the Conflict Tactic Scale-2, the Controlling Behaviours Survey-revised, and the Beliefs about Relationship Aggression Scale. Bivariate analyses showed the majority of aggressive and controlling behaviours were perpetrated and experienced at similar rates between men and women. ANOVA found an interaction effect where both male and female participants held greater approval of female-to-male aggression, compared to male-to-female aggression, when provoked by physical, sexual, or psychological aggression, or infidelity. An interaction between participants’ gender and the aggressors’ gender in the vignettes showed men were significantly more approving of female aggression than women. ANOVA also demonstrated a main effect of perpetration status (aggressive/non-aggressive), where aggressive students approved of IPA more than non-aggressive students, regardless of the participant’s or the aggressor’s gender. These findings show that participants, especially male participants, hold chivalrous beliefs about IPA in heterosexual relationships. Although this chivalrous pattern also held for aggressive participants, aggressive men and women both displayed significantly higher approval of aggression by both male and female perpetrators than non-aggressive controls. Therefore, this study found perpetrators of IPA not only approve of aggression by their own gender significantly more than non-aggressors, but also tolerate aggression by the opposite gender more readily. The need for treatment to address beliefs that approve of IPA by both partners in heterosexual relationships, rather than gender specific beliefs, is discussed alongside other implications for practice and policy.</p>

Life loaded with threat and vulnerability: a qualitative inquiry into the experiences of HIV negative married women in serodiscordant heterosexual relationships

Background Violence against women is a major, complex, multidimensional and widespread public health concern worldwide. The current qualitative study was conducted to understand the experience of violence among HIV negative married women in heterosexual serodiscordant relationships. Methods A qualitative description (QD) was conducted from October 2018 to January 2020 in Mashhad, Iran. The participants were 15 HIV negative women, who married and lived with HIV positive men, through purposive sampling method. The data were collected using semi-structured interviews. Data analyzed using conventional content analysis adopted by Graneheim and Lundman. Results The main overarching theme emerged entitled: life loaded with threat and vulnerability. This theme consisted of four categories of self-directed violence, intimate partner violence, cultural violence and structural violence. The violence began soon after awareness of husband's infection with acts such as suicide attempts and a sense of abhorrence for living with an infected person, and continued with confrontation with various types of violence in the family and society, which put women in constant threat and vulnerability. Conclusions This study provided an insight into different aspects of violence in Iranian women in HIV serodiscordant relationships. Considering the role of men in the occurrence of violence, policymakers must create and execute family-centered interventions to address attitudes and behaviors that lead to marital conflicts and spousal abuse in order to prevent violence. Health care professionals should also be trained to screen women for violence and refer those who require care to specialists to reduce vulnerability.

Love and Gender

The chapter offers a relational-sociological account of gender, romantic love, and personal relationships. It conceptualizes gender as a social category that prescribes particular kinds of social relationships within and between genders. Traditionally, friends are supposed to be of the same gender, whereas romantic love has long been reserved for heterosexual relationships. Friendships connect transitively to form cliques, whereas romantic love is exclusively dyadic. Romantic love and gender, but also friendship and family, are cultural models (institutions) that bring order into personal relationships. They make for patterns of structural equivalence, with different patterns by type of relationship. The statistical analysis of confiding relations in the 2004 U.S. General Social Survey shows them to be remarkably gendered. Close personal ties to friends, neighbors, and even siblings run predominantly to members of the same gender. Women maintain more family relations, and men confide more in work colleagues.

Caribbean Faith-Based Organisations: Friend or Foe in the fight against the feminisation of HIV and AIDS in the Anglophone Caribbean

The feminisation of HIV and AIDS has become a worldwide phenomenon, and the Caribbean region has not been fortunate enough to be excluded. Caribbean females had 3-4 times higher infection rates than males up to a decade ago. Studies that focus on the contributing psychosocial factors to HIV risk in the Caribbean are limited. This narrative review showcases pivotal work which addresses the reciprocally connected responsibilities of patriarchy and religious practices and how they feed into the desolate reality of Anglophone Caribbean women. The relationship between these cultural issues in the Caribbean, using an anthropological lens, sets a platform for an investigation into HIV and AIDS. This paper seeks to encourage further research centred on the religious elements, which influence heterosexual relationships, and how these relationships are predisposed to potential HIV and AIDS risk. The ultimate goal of this study is to provide English- speaking Caribbean faith-based organisations, public health officials and policymakers a public stage to consider further policy implications for the staggering and disproportionate rates of HIV and AIDS between women and men.