Analysis | Masculinity in India

Masculinity in many countries and cultures can be a very varied subject and can have a number of different meanings. Within India’s culture the word Masculine is something young men across the country are taught, they are brought up to behave in specific ways towards women. This can translate into the toxic masculine culture that has taken over so much of India and the millions of men and women who live there.

For a lot of young men in India, growing up they are almost isolated from women and the majority of female attention. The elder men in there lives are in charge and are very strict with what the younger men can and cannot do. They are restricted heavily of female interaction throughout their growing and learning  life, moulding and forming their views of how women behave and how they should be spoken to. These men can also end up just not knowing how to speak women at all. This can come across as an innocent learning curve at this point but these teachings and restrictions for these young men can form some unnecessary and toxic behaviours that will undoubtedly effect the women within these cultures, in an especially negative way. For example, there is a strong and scary belief within Indian (and other countries) culture that when a women says no she actually still means yes. Which could inevitably cause an unbelievable amount of abusive behaviour and a number of women having to put up with so much toxic masculinity, but at the same time not being able to do anything about it.

A discovered a surprising fact from a research survey that the International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW) and UNFPA undertook. They found that the age range that showed signs of the most toxic masculinity traits are men from the youngest age group which was 18-24. This could be a surprising fact to some because when we generalise and think of the type of people who carry these toxic and misogynistic traits, society would point to the older generation. But for these younger men they hold the most of these morals and views, this could be down to a number of things. Teaching these things from a young age will have a huge effect on their later behaviour, also many stressful milestones happen within these ages. For example, not just women but men are expected to marry as early as possible, while also handle an immense amount of economic stress and pressure from carrier making jobs. These milestones can increase so many young Indian men to have these toxic masculine mindsets. Leaving the women to be at the forefront of these unequal views.

Gender has always been a controversial topic in India, and the role of women is very specific and very hard to deny or change. There a many charities and things put in place in order to try and help women through these troubling events. However this cannot be said the same for men of India. There are not many organisations that work with young men in order to teach them these important and more modern views. Ones that do focus on teaching them gender-equity and really drive them into knowing more about their role as a husband, teaching them the more appropriate and less harmful solutions to masculinity. However this comes with worry and protest from many traditional families with young men to look after. For example, cooking at home is very important for a home and is seen as a woman’s duty, specifically within Indian culture. If the husband would to take up this role he would be seen as being controlled by his wife and therefore losing what makes him ‘masculine’. The irony of the man being made to do something that he may not necessarily want to do or isn’t expected to do, could bring up a whole manner of arguments for many people who strive for equal rights for men and women especially within a civil partnership such as this. 

Toxic Masculinity is a major contributor to many issues we still see today including; gender-inequality, discrimination, patriarchy and forms of violence. When it is embedded in such rooted cultures in can become so difficult to overcome and help those who are caught up in these harmful events. We see so many women dealing with such discriminatory behaviour and are the main victims of this, however a lot of these same men have struggles with abiding by these rules also. I will be exploring this further in another blog. 

Bibliography:

Website - https://idronline.org/addressing-masculinity-in-india/