Abstract

This presentation explores young men’s narratives of their sexism and sexual violence which they submitted to the Swedish campaign Fatta Man. It demonstrates how young men that have used sexual violence in intimate relations and situations, produce what could be called ‘respectable masculinity’. Bev Skeggs (1997) has argued that respectability is pivotal for class-based distinctions and shown the role of affect in producing respectable heterosexual feminine subjectivity. Here, distinctions are made in terms of masculinity where violent and abusive men are positioned as the Other and unintelligible. By enacting feelings of shame, guilt and remorse young violent perpetrators are able to distance themselves from their abuse and present a respectable heteromasculinity. However, deliberately positioning oneself in troubling and ‘chafing’ positions could also be productive for heterosexual men to align with feminism.  

Lucas Gottzén is Associate Professor of Child and Youth Studies at Stockholm University. He has published widely on gender, affect, youth, violence, food and family life. He is the author of Andra män; Maskulinitet, normskapande och jämställdhet (2012, ed. w. R. Jonsson), Sociologins teoretiker (2014, ed. w. U. Lögdlund) and Routledge Handbook of Masculinity Studies (forthcoming, ed. w. U. Mellström & T. Shefer), as well as Editor-in-Chief of NORMA: International Journal for Masculinity Studies.

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The Gendering in Research Network provides a platform for gender researchers and students at Aarhus University to discuss, collaborate, and exchange ideas. For further information about the Gendering in Research Network, please contact: Lea Skewes, IMC Theresa Ammann, IMC

The Gendering in Research Network provides a platform for gender researchers and students at Aarhus University to discuss, collaborate, and exchange ideas. For further information about the Gendering in Research Network, please contact: