Abstract
There is a great need for more knowledge on how a pro-feminist masculinity that challenges the normative hegemonic masculinity can be developed. To achieve this, it is important to gain more knowledge on how pro-feminist men relate to gender quality, violence in general and violence against women in particular, and when and why their reasoning points to ambivalence.The study was based on secondary analyzes of qualitative interviews done with five men active in a pro-feminist network in Sweden. The research questions applied spanned over several areas: socioeconomic status, masculinity construction and the men’s proximity to violence. Data analysis method used was content analysis, and as a means of increasing the reliability, member-check was used. The study was approved by the Regional Ethical Review Board.On a general level, the results show that the men’s masculine construction towards gender equality corresponded with their privileged position as regards to their socioeconomic status, as regards to educational level and job career. The men were positive to gender equality and opposed both men’s control of woman and violence against women. More in-depth analysis thus shows that the interviewed men acknowledged using some forms of less overt control over women and thus in some sense showed ambivalent attitude to gender equality. The men also, somewhat paradoxically, accepted some conventional forms of men’s violence.
A conclusion from the study is that the conditions that the results highlights may pose problems for the development of gender equality and the ending of violence against women. This is because to make violence against women end all men, and particularly pro-feminist men, need to renounce all forms of violence and be aware of how gender equality can be weakened or strengthened by all different forms of gender interaction.