Deconstructing hegemonic masculinity: historization of gatherings and experiences in Santiago del Estero (Argentina).

Abstract

The Western patriarchal social construction naturalizes male superiority, enabling the exercise of violence against women and sexually dissident sexualities. According to the culture and the historical moment, there is a hegemonic model of masculinity that seeks to regulate and discipline intra- and inter-gender relations. In Argentina, an increasing number of men who, challenged by feminisms, are undertaking collective processes to review their privileges and abandon their violent practices. In this paper, we present a chronology of actions intended to question hegemonic masculinity in the province of Santiago del Estero and we analyze two workshops that were specifically directed to self-perceived men. We were able to reconstruct the topics that were addressed in both of these workshops and to highlight what we consider to be significant issues, structuring our analysis around four themes: feminist identity; violence against women; competitiveness and complicity in relationships with peers; and the importance of peer groups to promote new non-hegemonic subjectivation processes.