Alsawalqa Rula Odeh, Alrawashdeh Maissa Nasr, Hasan Shahedul
Department of Sociology, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan.
East Delta University, Chattogram, Bangladesh.
Heliyon. 2021 Oct 29;7(10):e08264. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e08264. eCollection 2021 Oct.
The "Man Box" refers to a rigid set of expectations, perceptions, and behaviors that are considered "manly" and/or a "real man's" behavior, imposed on men by the society, such as superiority, cruelty, emotional suppression, lack of physical intimacy with other men, and expectations of socially aggressive and/or dominant behavior. Gender-based types of aggression and violence are central in the production of dominant heterosexual masculinities and male superiority that impose the dominating and violating behavior on men, and make these behaviors acceptable and naturalized. Therefore, adherence to the Man Box is one of the causes of violence against women, and to the creation and reinforcement of social environments conducive to domestic violence. This study shows how Jordanian males internalize and agree with "Man Box" beliefs and how these meanings affect their lives and behavioral patterns. Perceptions of Jordanian women on these issues were also included in the data collected through a survey distributed to 1,029 participants (525 men and 504 women) who live in Amman, Jordan. The results show that Man Box beliefs still prevail in Jordanian culture, promoted by parents, partners, and acquaintances. A total of 49.9% of the respondents show agreement with Man Box ideas. Jordanian men believe that society imposes rigid masculine gender roles, views on heterosexuality and homophobia, and expectations of aggression and control. Their personal attitudes, however, rejected the dictates of solving their own personal problems without help and fighting back when they were threatened. Most Jordanian women reported personal agreement with Man Box ideals for men, particularly in the areas of self-sufficiency, acting tough, and control, all of which can prevent men from breaking out of the Man Box. Our results also show that life inside the Man Box can impede men's formation of emotionally connected friendships and encourage them to show transgressive emotional behaviors. Furthermore, some men were more probable to violate the Man Box rules, such as being likely to talk to friends about something deeply emotional and feeling comfortable crying in front of them, or continuing to rely primarily on their mothers and romantic partners for emotional support. Additionally, inside the Man Box, men are more likely to experience physical and online bullying and perpetrate verbal and physical bullying; however, they are also more likely to attempt to intervene to stop violence.
“男性框定”指的是社会强加给男性的一套刻板的期望、认知和行为模式，这些被视为“有男子气概的”和/或“真正男子汉的”行为，比如优越感、残忍、情感压抑、与其他男性缺乏身体上的亲密接触，以及对社会攻击性和/或主导性行为的期望。基于性别的攻击和暴力类型在主导的异性恋男性气质和男性优越感的形成中至关重要，这些观念将支配和侵犯行为强加于男性，并使这些行为变得可接受且常态化。因此，遵循“男性框定”是对女性暴力行为的成因之一，也是导致有利于家庭暴力的社会环境的形成与强化的原因之一。本研究展示了约旦男性如何内化并认同“男性框定”观念，以及这些观念如何影响他们的生活和行为模式。通过对居住在约旦安曼的1029名参与者（525名男性和504名女性）进行问卷调查收集的数据中，也包含了约旦女性对这些问题的看法。结果显示，“男性框定”观念在约旦文化中仍然盛行，受到父母、伴侣和熟人的推崇。共有49.9%的受访者表示认同“男性框定”观念。约旦男性认为社会强加了刻板的男性性别角色、对异性恋和恐同的看法，以及对攻击性和控制的期望。然而，他们的个人态度拒绝了在没有帮助的情况下解决自身个人问题以及在受到威胁时反击的要求。大多数约旦女性表示个人认同对男性的“男性框定”理想观念，特别是在自给自足、表现强硬和控制等方面，所有这些都可能阻碍男性突破“男性框定”。我们的研究结果还表明，处于“男性框定”中的生活可能会妨碍男性建立情感联结的友谊，并鼓励他们表现出越界的情感行为。此外，一些男性更有可能违反“男性框定”规则，比如可能会和朋友谈论深刻的情感问题，并在他们面前自在地哭泣，或者继续主要依赖母亲和恋爱伴侣给予情感支持。此外，在“男性框定”中，男性更容易遭受身体和网络欺凌，并实施言语和身体欺凌；然而，他们也更有可能试图干预以制止暴力行为。
