Negotiating Masculine Identities as Dependents of Highly Skilled Female Migrants in the UK

Rana, Kumud (2015) Negotiating Masculine Identities as Dependents of Highly Skilled Female Migrants in the UK. In: Invisible Boy : The making of contemporary masculinities. Umeå University, pp. 45-56. ISBN 9789176012321

Abstract

Studies on masculinities often tend to focus on the negative connotations of the term associating men with problem behaviors. It is especially true in case of immigrant men who are more often than not seen as perpetrators of violence and harbingers of conservative gender attitudes. This not only shows them in a constant negative light but also fails to scrutinize the complex invisibilities and vulnerabilities that these men face. This study moves away from the trap of viewing men as perpetrators and instead problematizes the social approval and internalization of masculine role identities. It does so by presenting cases of migrant married couples who are in an unconventional situation with regards to gender roles and expectations within marriage. The paper shows that an ambivalence over gender roles creates anxieties not only in men who are expected to adhere to certain standards set by their societies, but also their partners who struggle with their conscious or unconscious desires to see them fulfil these standards. The paper argues that it is important to recognize that masculinities and femininities do not exist in a vacuum but rather exist within socio-cultural realities. It is pertinent to address the correlation between the two if men and women are to complement each other’s lives while fulfilling their aspirations. Such conceptualizations are already under development whether through cognizant or incognizant processes as men and women negotiate lives in an alien land like in the case of couples discussed this study.