Mard (real man), Pati (husband) and Pita (father): a study of male workers, masculinities and family in an Indian slum

Suvakanta N. Swain, Population council
Saggurti Niranjan, Populaton Council

The Paper throws a light on the process of male gender construction and how it influences the Male involvement in family in a patriarchal socio-cultural setup where the male head has a great role in over all family welfare. The data has been collected through thirty-eight in-depth interviews followed by survey with five hundred married male workers of a slum in Orissa. Findings show that "male sexual role" and "status within family" are perceived as two most important components of masculinity. It is also believed that male dominancy in domains like "family, 'sex role', "community" and "physical appearance" is expected from a real man. Further it is revealed that the hegemonic masculinity is a barrier in social intimacy with other gender family members. Low involvement in child rearing, domestic activities, high reporting of domestic violence is closely associated with the high degree value of hegemonic masculinity.