Violence as a way of reconstructing manhood : the role of threatened manhood and masculine ideology on violence against women

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2013
Türkoğlu, Beril
The current thesis investigates the relationship between constructions of manhood and violence against women around the notion of threat. In doing so, it employs the perspective of “precarious manhood”. Although threat to masculinity and its relationship to violence against women have been discussed in the literature, little research has been undertaken in uncovering the conceptualization of threats to manhood and the ways in which threats may be related to violence. This study fills this gap by examining the threat-prone structure of manhood. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 Turkish men from Ankara, Çankaya. Many sources of threat for manhood were common, which were mostly related to power relations between men and women, and the public reputation of manhood. Based on these interviews, a Perceived Threat to Manhood Scale (PTMS) was developed and data were collected from 307 men. The results show that men who perceive greater threat from subordination to women and to their household accountability depending on the patriarchal reputation, and men who endorse traditional male role norms regarding anti-femininity had more favorable attitudes towards wife abuse. These men viewed violence as a functional and justifiable way of controlling women while minimizing the importance of its negative consequences. They also perpetrated physical and psychological violence more frequently depending on their level of justification for violence against women. The findings indicate that threat to manhood may come from different sources that reflect the patriarchal power relations between genders and that violence against women becomes normal and functional for men.

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Citation Formats
B. Türkoğlu, “Violence as a way of reconstructing manhood : the role of threatened manhood and masculine ideology on violence against women,” M.S. - Master of Science, Middle East Technical University, 2013.