Changing Czech Masculinities? Beyond Environment And Children Friendly Men
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| Year of publication | 2009 |
| Type | Chapter of a book |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | The chapter questions sometimes easily built connections between acquiring gender equality and reproduction of certain desired types and changes of other undesired types of masculine identities in the Czech Republic these days. The argument is largely based on two in-depth qualitative analyses of men employed in environment protection or ecological education, and of fathers on parental leave in the Czech Republic (research studies conducted in 1999-2001, respectively 2004). Both of these tracks in the life-course of men can indicate changes towards more gender equal arrangements as various other studies in the euroamerican cultural context have shown (Connell, Holter to name at least one of each). Reflecting the totalitarian past and its impact on Czech masculinities, the text points to clashes between individual mens actions and the overwhelming presence of societal structures gendered in a particular way. The structures of masculine domination are critically reviewed on two examples: 1) the symbolic power of language and its means towards grasping alternative life-course trajectories in the narratives of the interviewed men, and 2) the ambiguity of any direct connection of environment protection and/or paternal leave with gender equality in individuals actions in the Czech Republic. The data available limit the presentation to university educated heterosexual men living in families (with children), nevertheless the main goal is not to offer generalizable data on the Czech population, rather to point to trends in representations of Czech masculinities these days in respect to gender issues, based on the local context. Environment friendly men and fathers on parental leave can present a challenge to exploitative, misogynist forms of masculinities but they can also reproduce and even obtain forms that strongly support conventional mainstream essentialist approaches to gender (protective forms of masculinity or curtailed equality in families where childcare is shared but housework not etc.) supporting hierarchical gender relations. The presented analysis does not necessarily aim to bring new concepts or present unique individual experiences, rather it illustrates existing theoretical concepts (Harding, Butler, West/Zimmermann, Bem, Bourdieu, Badinter) on the particular Czech context. This may perhaps bring a bit different angle to the view represented by the countries reflected upon by these theorists, or it may come as a support of their views and conceptualisations and thus suggest to broaden their impact to countries that have only recently become again European citizens. |
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