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The New Alternative Masculinities and the Overcoming of

Gender Violence

Ramon Flecha1, Lidia Puigvert1 & Oriol Ríos2

1) Department of Sociological Theory, University of Barcelona, Spain

2) Department of Sociology and Organizational Analysis, University of

Barcelona, Spain

Date of publication: March 30th, 2013

To cite this article: Flecha, R., Puigvert, L., & Ríos, O. (2013). The New
Masculinities and the Overcoming of Gender Violence. International and
Multidisciplinary Journal of Social Sciences, 2(1), 88­113 doi:
10.4471/rimcis.2013.14

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RIMCIS – International and Multidisciplinary Journal ofSocial Sciences
Vol. 2 No. 1 March 2013 pp. 88-113

The New Alternative

Masculinities and the
Overcoming of Gender
Violence
Ramon Flecha Lidia Puigvert
University ofBarcelona University ofBarcelona
Oriol Ríos
University ofBarcelona
Abstract
Research about masculinities gathers different topics from diverse disciplinary
perspectives. One of the topics has been the analysis of the effect of the
perpetuation of the traditional heterosexual model of masculinity upon gender
violence. Recent scientific evidence about the reproduction of this social
problem has shown the existence of three different types of masculinities (in
the sense of the weberian ideal types): Dominant Traditional Masculinities
(DTM), Oppressed Traditional Masculinities (OTM), and New Alternative
Masculinities (NAM). The first two types contribute to perpetuate violence
against women, while the latter allows preventing it and, consequently, leads to
its overcoming. This article approaches the existence of these three types of
masculinities and analyses both their characteristics and the consequences they
have for the prevention of violence against women. It presents evidence about
the link between language of ethics and language of desire that is found in
NAM and which is the key element that explains its preventive effect regarding
violence against women.
Keywords: Dominant Traditional Masculinities, Oppressed Traditional
Masculinities, New Alternative Masculinities, violence against women,
language of desire

2013 Hipatia Press

ISSN 2014­3680
DOI: 10.4471/rimcis.2013.14
RIMCIS – International and Multidisciplinary Journal ofSocial Sciences
Vol. 2 No. 1 March 2013 pp. 88-113

Las Nuevas Masculinidades

Alternativas y la Superación de
la Violencia de Género
Ramon Flecha Lidia Puigvert
University ofBarcelona University ofBarcelona
Oriol Ríos
University ofBarcelona
Resumen
La investigación sobre masculinidades reúne diferentes temas desde diversidad
de disciplinas. Uno de los temas ha sido el análisis de la reproducción del modelo
tradicional de masculinidad heterosexual y sus efectos en la violencia de género.
Recientes evidencias científicas sobre la continuidad de este problema social han
mostrado la existencia de tres tipos diferentes de masculinidades (en el sentido de
los tipos ideales de Weber): las masculinidades tradicionales dominantes (DTM),
las masculinidades tradicionales oprimidas (OTM), y las nuevas masculinidades
alternativas (NAM). Los dos primeros tipos contribuyen a perpetuar la violencia
contra las mujeres, mientras que el tercero permite prevenirla y, en consecuencia,
conduce a su superación. Este artículo aborda la existencia de estos tres tipos de
masculinidades y analiza tanto sus características como las consecuencias que
tienen para la prevención de la violencia de género. En este sentido, se presentan
en el artículo evidencias sobre la relación entre el lenguaje de la ética y el
lenguaje del deseo que fundamentan las NAM y que es el elemento clave que
explica su efecto preventivo en la violencia contra las mujeres.
Palabras clave: masculinidades tradicionales dominantes, masculinidades
tradicionales oprimidas, nuevas masculinidades alternativas, violencia de
género, lenguaje del deseo

2013 Hipatia Press

ISSN 2014­3680
DOI: 10.4471/rimcis.2013.14
90 Flecha, Puigvert & Ríos - The New Alternative Masculinities

T he three authors of this article belong to different groups of the

multiple options involved in an extended network of diverse
people: feminist heterosexuality, masculine homosexuality and
masculine heterosexuality. Even though our reflections cover part of a
wide spectrum of multiple options, in this article we present a first
analysis of the effects on violence against women of Dominant
Traditional Masculinities (DTM), Oppressed Traditional Masculinities
(OTM) and New Alternative Masculinities (NAM). The main
conclusion of the article is that by analyzing reality with a focus on the
language of ethics and the language of desire (Flecha, 2008; Flecha &
Puigvert 2010) it is possible to reveal that what some investigations
–restricted to the language of ethics– have presented as “new
masculinities” are, indeed, OTM. Hence, OTM is complementary to
DTM, as are two sides of the same coin. Contrarily, NAM makes a key
contribution to the overcoming of violence against women. Research
evidence also indicates that actions undertaken in programmes based on
said findings are also contributing to overcome violence against women.
One of the three authors supported the first steps of gay movements
in Spain since 1969 and he has participated in groups of dialogue about
NAM since 1977. Many of the reflections included in the article would
not have been possible without the contributions of many participants in
those dialogues. Another of the authors of this article has co­authored a
book with Judith Butler. In her feminist works, she has always taken
both violence against women and the language of desire into account.
Many feminists with whom she has collaborated have contributed with
their dialogues to the content of the research results we are presenting
here. The third author has worked since he was a teenager in the
development of free homosexual identities in a homophobic society.
Many homosexuals have contributed to the dialogues that lead to the
meta­research we are communicating in this paper.
Nevertheless, one man and one specific group of men have played a
main role in the content of this article. Jesús Gomez died in the context
of a persecution due to his contribution for breaking the silence about
gender violence in Spanish universities. He created the concepts of
traditional and alternative masculinities and one of his books has
already contributed to the overcoming of violence against women
among many teenagers. “Homes en diàleg” (Men in Dialogue), a group
International and Multidisciplinary Journal ofSocial Sciences 2(1) 91

created to continue Jesús Gómez’s work on alternative masculinities has

conducted numerous internal and public debates about this issue. The
two male co­authors of this article belong to such group.
We do not know any other study about masculinities of the same
dimension and diversity of perspectives, besides the one we are
presenting here. A study of this kind must necessarily include the key
contributions made by the first authors that initiated the scientific
literature on this issue such as Kessler et al. (1985), Kimmel (1996) and
Kaufman (2007). Even though our conclusions are different to theirs
(and even contrary in some points), their work has been inspiring for us.
Future works in this field will probably refute partially or globally what
we argue today, as we refute with this analysis some previous statements
about this matter. We will be happy if that happens as that will mean that
a new relevant step has been made aimed at making possible more
egalitarian and free relationships. While this happens, we will continue
working from this perspective, both theoretically and empirically for the
overcoming of violence against women and the enhancement of NAM.
We would like to thank all those people who have brought about their
contributions to these results about NAM, which are already guiding
many people on their way out of violence against women. With the
publication of those results we expect to promote the emergence of
many other contributions to this debate.

Methodology
This article is a meta­research based on qualitative data that has been
collected through eleven scientific research studies conducted from
2001 to the present1. These investigations have been developed using
the Communicative Research Methodology (Gómez, Puigvert, &
Flecha, 2011), and are focused on gender issues from different
perspectives, including masculinities, violence against women,
employment, education and language. Reflections are also based on
other two researches belonging to the 5th and 6th EU Framework
Programme for Research and Innovation which had gender as one of
their prominent analytical dimensions2. Additionally, three interviews
were conducted, to add to the hundreds of interviews and discussion
groups carried out in the aforementioned research studies.
92 Flecha, Puigvert & Ríos - The New Alternative Masculinities

Throughout the years, while these investigations have been carried

out we have been analyzing the evidence provided by those research
projects under the perspective of the new masculinities. The meta­
research on which this article is drawn complies with all ethical issues
required by the Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC of the European
Commission.

Academic contributions on masculinities: Men’s studies

Much has been written nowadays about the evolution and diversification
of masculinities since the late century, the change in gender relations
regarding housework or care, or the ever increasing questioning of the
traditional masculinities. All these issues belong to what is currently
known as men’s studies, a scientific field which came up in the
scientific literature in the eighties with the first analyses carried out by
the Australian researcher Raewyn Connell (1985) about gender patterns
in school.
Very influenced by Gramsci’s analysis of hegemony and social class
conflicts, Connell and her colleagues (1985) were the first ones to refer
to the concept of hegemonic masculinity. Their research concluded that
there is a naturalization of male and female gender identities that are
defined as hegemonic masculinity and emphasized femininity. They
stated that both gender models are the most accepted among adolescents
and influential for them, and with regard to the hegemonic masculinity
two main features are included: aggressiveness and domination.
However, Connell also argued that this hegemonic model goes beyond
aggressiveness and domination, as it also means a legitimization of
masculine power through social organizations and culture. Throughout
the development of her theoretical work, she has been deepening on her
analysis of the masculinities, and has pointed out that the hegemonic
model is not always linked to violence (Connell, 2012). Regarding this,
she puts forward that there are different types of hegemonic models
which are characterized by unequal gender practices, and that not all of
them are connected to violence.
Besides Connell, other researchers have contributed to the analysis of
the hegemonic masculinity. The work carried out by Kimmel (1996)
about the American manhood was also very influential for later
International and Multidisciplinary Journal ofSocial Sciences 2(1) 93

investigations in the field of men’s studies. Kimmel defines four

elements that characterize the hegemonic masculinity model: a) men
should not evidence any attitude linked to femininity because these are
rejected by real men, b) men should have a higher status than women
and they should have the power, c) men should be rude and never show
their feelings, and d) risk and aggressiveness are commonly accepted as
natural masculine attitudes.
In a similar vein, Giddens (1993) is very critical with this model of
masculinity, to which he names the “traditional model of masculinity”.
In his analysis of people’s intimacy he introduces some relevant aspects
about the construction of traditional masculinities. In this regard,
Giddens defines this type of men as womanizer, that is, men who despite
can fall in love with women, are characterized by despising and
abandoning them. Contrarily, Jesús Gómez (2004) refuted Giddens'
positioning about the capacity of a womanizer of falling in love, and
provided relevant empirical evidence that shows how these men do not
fall in love with women. Gómez (2004) also proved that men belonging
to the traditional model continue acting violently as a result of a
socialization process in sexual­affective relationships based on the link
between violence, attractiveness and desire.
Connell and other relevant scholars on men’s studies have
demonstrated the existence of multiple types of masculinities. These
authors provide evidence about the existence of male identities around
the world based on diverse cultural patterns (Higate, 2003; Valdés &
Olvarría, 1998; Warren, 1997; Gómez, 2004). These models of
masculinity are changing over time and acquiring different forms
depending on their social context. Seidler (1994) insists on this aspect
defending that masculine identity can be transformed, it is not
unbreakable: "Masculinity was no longer expected to be one thing; it
could be many things, for it could now allow for diversity" (Seidler,
1994, p.116). Masculinity has been also studied from the
anthropological approach. From this perspective, David Gilmore (1990)
describes how non­western cultures construct masculinity in a different
way. For instance, he explained the existence of a successful Japanese
hero on TV representing values of solidarity and kindness.
There is also a relevant body of literature which is mostly focused on
describing the creation of men’s groups which position themselves
94 Flecha, Puigvert & Ríos. - The New Alternative Masculinities

against the traditional masculinity model or which try to recover the

essence of the lost masculinity. Within these groups, we found three
with great impact: profeminist, mythopoethics and egalitarian men.
These movements are sometimes organized in networks and act as
political lobbies (Flood, 2007).
As regards pro-feminist men’s groups, they acquired great
prominence at the beginning of the nineties through their support to
feminist movements. On the other hand, mythopoethics is a group based
on the idea of connecting masculinity with nature and thus recovering
the “real man”. Finally, analyzing pro­feminist men’s groups, Kaufman
(2007) has recently defined egalitarian men as those who are engaged in
the fight to end with violence against women and work for gender
equality. These men are the continuity of pro­feminist groups and their
slogans insist on the necessity to include men as an active agent within
the private sphere (Kaufman, 2007).
As it is shown here, masculinities have been analyzed from different
approaches. Different authors have identified traits of those men
belonging to the hegemonic or traditional model, or of pro­feminist men
who have reacted against the former. All these studies promote an open
debate on models of masculinity and its relation to violence.

Dominant Traditional Masculinities as cause for

Violence against Women
Research about violence against women refutes many existing
assumptions about gender violence and also the effectiveness of most of
the actions that are aimed to reduce this problem. All our analyses
reinforce two common findings of most of the literature in the field.
Firstly, the only direct culpability of violence against women concerns
to aggressors. All evidence that we found clearly refutes the sexist
assumption about women’s provoking the situation of violence against
them or women's lack of courage to denounce. Our research also refutes
the racist assumption about the proclivity of some cultures to generate
this violence. Secondly, the indirect culpability of social and gender
inequalities concerns to media messages, institutional sexism and other
related aspects. Some literature in the field situates the causes of this
International and Multidisciplinary Journal ofSocial Sciences 2(1) 95

violence in the language of ethics (Jewkes, 2002; Crowell & Burgess,

1997), but the evidence from the eleven research studies we are
presenting in this article situates the cause not only in the language of
ethics but also in the language of desire.
The media and many other social institutions and social interactions
are promoting a socialization process consisting on two opposed links:
on the one hand, a link between violence and sexual excitation and, on
the other hand, a link between equality and lack of sexual excitation.
Besides the evidence that we present in this article, we only need to
think about zapping on TV to realize that in most of the movies men
“who drive girls crazy in bed” are not men who do house chores but
those who kill others, starting with James Bond. The combination of the
perpetuation of gender inequalities with those massive messages that we
receive since we are born socializes in a dependency on violent
aggressions in some boys and dependency on violent boys in some girls.
The creation of female fan clubs for a guy who kills a girl is
increasingly frequent. The case of Marta, a 17 years old Spanish girl
who was murdered in 2009 by his boyfriend, Miguel, is a very
enlightening case in this regard. Since Miguel entered in jail he has
received lots of letters from some girls who admire and support him,
and –what is more astonishing­ these admirers have created a fan club
with the aim of supporting Miguel's innocence.
Miguel’s cellmates are fed up of him boasting at all hours about the
messages he gets from his fans: "You are very handsome and I'm in love
with you", "I'd like to meet you." (Noticias Terra, 2009, para. 1). With
these comments, these fans publicly express their desire for the
murderer and denigrate the girl victim considering a petty fact for him
to have killed her: “Really, I do not understand why people insult him if
they do not know how he is, maybe he is a good guy, but sure, because
he has killed Miss Marta... see…” (Merino López, 2009, para. 4).
Furthermore, other cases of violence against women show that the
fact of being friends with or even being a direct family relative of a
victim is no obstacle to feel and express desire for the aggressor. Johana
died in July 2010 of two shots in the chest. Two men have been judged
for the crime, one of them Victor. Edith (the victim’s twin sister) was
one of the testimonies called by the district attorney. She accused Victor
of having sexually and psychologically abused her sister. After the trial
96 Flecha, Puigvert & Ríos - The New Alternative Masculinities

she married him. Her replies to the critiques against her were: “I don’t
marry the murderer of my sister, I marry the man I love; with him I will
make a family and I will live the rest of my life” (Guajardo, 2012, para.
2).
Socialization on desire toward men who are aggressors and who
explicitly show a defiant attitude comes up in all empirical research that
we have conducted about attraction among adolescents (Gómez, 2004;
Valls, 2004­2005; Padrós, 2007; Duque, 2006, 2010­2011; Oliver, 2010­
2012; Soler, 2006­2008). Thus, among the common narratives that we
found in the fieldwork conducted with teenagers are the following:
Alba: I really like one! Actually, (…). He is not well built, but he is a
real bastard and has the gift of the gab. I: So what do you like about
this guy? A: Well, (…)? His personality…(Valls, 2004­2005)

Sonia: But later I saw Fernando who was so hot and I went crazy.
And it was not because he was tall, it was because of his cocky
attitude I liked, he knew that he was “the king of party” (Duque,
2004, p. 293)

But even without evidence from research studies, these attitudes are
easy to observe in daily life as well as in the media. Thus, in the most
prominent youth magazine read by middle and high social classes in
Spain, a 15­year­old girl made it very clear: “My parents tell me to
marry a good boy, and I really listen to them. Until I have to get
married, I’m having fun with bad boys” (Flecha & Puigvert, 2010, p.
170). Consequently, evidence resulting from all our meta­research on
this issue shows that this link between desire and violence leads to
gender violence to a great extent. The interviews provided evidence like
Vicky's words, an upper­middle­class girl told us:
When I was 15 years old, the first relationship I had he forced me.
(…), I wanted to be liked by him. (…) I made it very easy for him.
So he decided that he would do me on a beach, I remember that I
had never done it and I was very nervous, it was really painful. After
that I cried a lot because it was really painful… And I remember he
never talked to me again (…) So yes, there was no sexual pleasure, it
was a lot of pain... And after that I was so in love with this guy, but
he didn’t want to be with me never again.
International and Multidisciplinary Journal ofSocial Sciences 2(1) 97

Research, like the one conducted by the main author of NAM

(Gómez, 2004) and the feminist who has studied youth relationships in
most depth (Duque, 2006), highlights that socialization in violence
occurs not only in many boys but also in many girls. Part of the problem
is that they think that attraction to violence is something biological, that
comes from their inside. However, such attraction is something that has
actually been put inside them, it is social and, for this very reason, as
Seidler (1994) argues, it can be transformed. The following narrative
shows how many boys and girls think that love is “a chemical feeling”
we experience, and therefore, nothing can be done to control it, as Paula
said: “I think that when it’s this sudden love at first sight....it’s not
love… (…), attraction, but that’s it…Love is when it’s something more
continued…and you can’t get it out of your mind and...well, it’s
something more... longer” (Valls, 2004­2005).
In all research that we conducted on the relationships established
among very diverse adolescents, the empirical evidence proves the
dominating effects of this socialization in violence (Valls, Puigvert &
Duque, 2008), as the following quotation from an interview shows:
I: And would it not be easier to go out with someone who is not like
that?
G3.1. Someone passive.
G.3.3. You always like hard guys. The difficulty is what we like (…).
The more difficult it is, the more we like them.
G3.1. The less attention they pay to you, the more…
G.3.3. The more of a bastard they are to us, the more we like them.
G3.1. Later on, the nicest thing is when they pay attention to you...
(Gómez, 2004, p. 121)

As Connell argues (2012), not all DTM men are violent, but all men
that are violent against women are DTM men. However, regarding the
issue dealt with in this paper, some women that suffer gender violence
are among the ones that have sporadic or permanent relationships with
DTM men. Women having relationships with OTM men or NAM men
do not suffer violence. Transforming desire towards men considered
DTM, a desire in which they have been socialized by mainstream
society, is not only relevant to overcome other sorts of domination and
inequalities but also to overcome violence itself.
98 Flecha, Puigvert & Ríos - The New Alternative Masculinities

For instance, many primary schools allow in their playgrounds or

even in parties for children that they organize the reproduction of clearly
sexist songs which do associate attraction to violence. The song I'd
Rather Be Dead Than Plain sung by a 10 years­old girl, the winner of
the Junior Eurovision Song contest in 2004, was a hit among different
audiences including children. Some schools have included books like
The Perfume as mandatory reading3, when the main character of that
book is a murderer of women. At the same time, these schools attack the
literature on romantic love as causing violence against women without
providing any empirical evidence that supports such argument. On the
contrary, evidence shows that romantic love actually prevents violence
against women, instead of provoking it (Duque, 2010­2011). In all, the
lack of research about this socialization into attraction to violence and
its violent effects stimulates the unconscious promotion of violence by
socialization agents such as educators, therewith reinforcing trashy TV
programs instead of counteracting them.
A series of mistakes are gathered to uphold the above­mentioned
assumption about romantic love as the cause of violence against women.
The first mistake is to think that violence against women is generated by
the partner or ex­partner in permanent relationships (as article 1 of the
Spanish Law on Gender Violence of 2004 wrongly states). However,
many women have been aggressed or even killed by men with whom
they had a sporadic relationship. Due to this error in he Law, those cases
of women who have been murdered by men whom they have met
sporadicaly are not judged as gender violence in Spain; but the mistake
of the Law comes from the aforementioned assumptions in some of the
Spanish literature about gender relations. Contrarily to those
assumptions, empirical evidence demonstrates that most of the women
who suffer gender violence have been socialized in the relations with
DTM men in their sporadic relationships at very young ages (James et
al., 2000). Sometimes, these women also suffer this violence in their
permanent relationships.
In those assumptions, dates are perceived as relationships which are
free in all senses, including free of violence. Thus, girls educated in
programmes based in those assumptions perceive the danger to be in the
fact of falling in love, therefore assuming that she will not be victim of
gender violence if they only have sporadic relationships. For this reason,
International and Multidisciplinary Journal ofSocial Sciences 2(1) 99

the discourse is focused on preventing girls from falling in love in order

to prevent the danger of violence against them. Because literature on
romantic love socializes in falling in love, it needs to be destroyed
(Esteban & Távora, 2008). This reasoning does not take into account
that frequently in sporadic relationships girls do not know if the boys
with whom they engage in a date are violent or not.
Nevertheless, scientific research about this proves it wrong: violence
against women is not perpetrated by men with whom women have a
permanent relationship. It is exerted by violent men, no matter if it is
within a permanent or sporadic relationship. Hence, it does not depend
on the length of the relationship but on the type of men with whom
women choose to engage in any kind of relationship. Many violent
relationships are permanent and many are sporadic, as well as many
egalitarian relationships are permanent and many others are sporadic. It
is not romantic love but violent men, as a group among the DTM, who
are responsible for violence against women.
One of the most common arguments to attack the fairytales on
romantic love is that they promote women’s dependency and thus lead
to violence against them. But while dependency in fairytales is highly
criticized, it does not happen the same with, for example, the
dependency in the recent best seller “50 Shades of Grey” that results in
signing a contract of submission. On the other hand, the correlation of
dependency and violence has not been confirmed by any empirical data,
since there exist many relationships of dependency (and with an unequal
distribution of house chores) in which no violence against women is
perpetrated. In addition, there are “independent” women that are being
killed in a date by the man who they have just met.
There is no other feature common to all men that provokes the death
(or other aggressions) of women but the fact of being DTM men. Even
though not all those men are necessarily violent; DTM is a necessary
but insufficient condition for exerting violence. The overcoming of
violence against women and other types of submission and inequalities
requires the creation of social spaces and interactions that promote the
development of NAM since men are little children.
100 Flecha, Puigvert & Ríos - The New Alternative Masculinities

The Oppressed Traditional Masculinities

Giddens (1993), currently one of the most relevant sociologists, asked
himself the question “why can’t a good man be sexy, why can’t a sexy
man be good?” (p.156) In asking such question he was identifying a
serious problem, even though he did not know how to analyze its cause
neither how to find a solution. Nevertheless, by identifying the problem
he has reached further than what most of the literature in the social
sciences has stated on this issue.
NAM implies a model of sexual­affective relationships that are at the
same time attractive and free of violence. Sometimes those men that we
consider the oppressed ones within the traditional masculinity have been
identified as new masculinities. Starting from a perspective restricted to
the language of ethics, the model of an egalitarian man has been linked
to men that do house chores. However, the language of desire, the
capacity to raise attraction and be desired, has not been transformed in
that model. Therefore, such man does not prevent nor reduce violence
against women. Indeed, instead of weakening the model of DTM,
reinforces it.
Many times socialization agents (such as schools and families) using
the language of ethics promote the “good boys”, which currently stands
for non­aggressive, non­sexist and who do house chores. Meanwhile,
there are the “bad boys” who are aggressive and/or chauvinist.
However, which of these boys, some girls like the one cited above from
the youth magazine Ragazza , will choose to have fun with? This double
standard was created by DTM men as part of their domination in our
patriarchal societies and conceive women in an Aristotelian way. This
double standard has been assimilated in their own terms by women
regarded as “independent”, as the next quotation shows: “When the
mould is broken and the models are not there yet, everything previously
forbidden, irrespective of its value, becomes object of demand”
(Valcárcel, 2000, p. 138)4.
Under these circumstances, the “bad” boys reinforce their condition
of DTM. They are convinced that for what really matters –that is, they
as providers of good sex– they are much more popular than “good”
boys. When women cheat on their partners having a crazy night out with
International and Multidisciplinary Journal ofSocial Sciences 2(1) 101

some other guy, in most cases, this other guy falls into the DTM model
but not her permanent partner. This was well evidenced in all the data
we collected, among which are the reflections of a working­class girl
who talked about a conversation with a friend of hers who told her: “the
good guys are those who are satisfied with their girlfriends, the bad guys
are those who satisfy their girlfriends”.
In front of this, the “good” boys usually have two very different kind
of reactions. One implies developing complex about their own sexual
performance. They understand the lack of desire for them in their
girlfriend or wife as a result of them not being good at bed. Another
complex they develop is not being egalitarian enough. This all is
manifested in the following quotation, where a “good” man blames
himself in dialogue with one of his friends:

Joan (OTM) to his partner: I understand that my contradictions for

being a man affect you, and because of this sometimes you do not
really want to stay with me.
Joan (OTM) to his friend: She cheated on me with Jordi, but I am to
blame because I have been not doing my housework lately and she is
disappointed with me.
The friend: But Jordi has never cooked even a plate of spaghetti and
remember he forced that Portuguese girl in the car!
Joan (OTM) to his friend: Well, yes, but that was just one night and
Jordi is sexually more experienced than me.

Another possible reaction is to initiate the socialization for being

successful with girls; and in many cases these boys not only become
“bad” but the worst of all. This was shown in all the data that we
gathered, as illustrated in the explanation given by a boy about what a
friend told him “In the past I used to treat my girl as a queen, and as a
queen she made me serve her; now I treat girls as bitches and as bitches
they follow me”. But not only may the “good” boys react this way ­that
is, becoming “bad boys”­ but also those boys who are in an
“intermediate position”.
These “good” but subordinate boys not only are no alternative
masculinity to the dominant model but they act as its complement.
Hence, DTM men have never understood prostitution as an alternative
102 Flecha, Puigvert & Ríos - The New Alternative Masculinities

to marriage but as a complement. Similarly, they also consider “good”

boys as their ideal complement and not as an alternative to them, the
“bad boys”. “Bad boys” do not regard “good boys” as an obstacle to
getting in touch with any girl; they even think that they can get the
“good” boys’ girlfriends, since these men are good for marriage but not
to have fun with. This repeatedly came up in the analysis of all the data
collected.
It is these “good” boys the ones that we consider to be OTM. They
cannot be blamed for violence against women (the only ones to blame
for this are men who perpetrate violence) but still their behaviour does
not contribute to overcome it. DTM men and OTM men are so
"contrary" to each other that they constitute the two sides of the same
coin in the sense that they are the two sides of the same system of
domination of patriarchal men over women and also over “good” men.
Indeed, oppressed masculinities are not new, they have always existed.
We only have to refer to the extreme cases of this model, the traditional
figure of the “cuckold”. This type of man is regarded as weak and
unable to satisfy his wife.

New Alternative Masculinities

Radically opposed to OTM and DTM are other type of masculinities
that we call New Alternative Masculinities (NAM). These types of
masculinities are represented by men who combine attraction and
equality and generate sexual desire among women. The language of
desire is used to refer to these men. Additionally, NAM men are the
ones who are being more active working against gender violence
together with women. They move away from people with non­
egalitarian values or who are violent, and seek egalitarian relationships
based on desire and love. Gomez’s analysis in his book “Love in the
Risk Society” (2004) and other research on this type of masculinities
have allowed us to define the three main characteristics of men falling
into this model, namely: self­confidence, strength and courage as
strategies to confront negative attitudes from DTM, and explicit
rejection of the double standard.
First, men and women involved in the studies analysed stress that
self­confidence generates attractiveness in men, especially when it is
International and Multidisciplinary Journal ofSocial Sciences 2(1) 103

connected with egalitarian values. The next quote, which comes from a
young man belonging to the NAM and involved in a men’s association
exemplifies this aspect:

Yes, they are egalitarian, but they are also conscious of their worth.
They gain a lot of respect, because they are very conscious that they
have a lot of security. So, these people that transmit these things,
after the comments that I listened, yes many women consider them
attractive (Soler, 2010­2012).

When new alternative masculinities help and support each other, this
dynamic also creates an environment based on the link between
attractiveness and equality. Additionally, when men start to feel more
self­confident, they perceive themselves more attractive, as this young
man explained:

(…) We have been empowered to be egalitarian and people have also

spoken with desire for us (…) Because somehow it causes an effect
on you and you feel much more attractive, but it can also be
perceived, as you notice it, you feel more confident in front of the
rest, both in front of girls as well as boys (…) (Soler, 2010­2012).

Second, NAM men use their strength and courage as a key strategy
to combat and even ridicule the negative attitudes coming from DTM
men, like sexism and racism. In fact, NAM men express publicly their
rejection of these non­egalitarian practices. Moreover, the effects of
combining this strength with self­confidence evidence that desire and
attraction have emerged. NAM men are conscious of these:
A: Well, that, the language used, the way ... the respect he has
towards women. And to everything, right? This is a guy who is not
racist.
E: And his attitude? What is his attitude towards things? How does
he face daily things? I do not know (...) I mean does he has a secure
attitude.
A: No, it's a very secure guy. Yes, he is a secure kid and looks
strong.
E: And do you think that the others like this attitude?
104 Flecha, Puigvert & Ríos - The New Alternative Masculinities

A: Man, I think so. A person that looks secure, strong with his stuff,
right? He may not be too indecisive and not always collapsed (Soler,
2010­2012).

Third, by rejecting the double standard NAM men go beyond the

analysis of some egalitarian or pro­feminist groups that introduce only
the ethical discourse on what a man should be: a “good” man forgetting
desire and attractiveness. In order to overcome violence against women
through NAM and to achieve real equality, the combination of the
language of ethics and the language of desire is required, making those
men who are “good” and “attractive” desirable and attractive. In the
heterosexual relationships, they do not like and do not desire those girls
who have relationships with DTM men (that even imply lying other
girls); but NAM men desire and choose girls who intensively desire to
have a relationship with men like them, as this woman described: “They
make you feel that they want to stay with you, that they are with you
because they want to, not because they are below you and because you
are like doing a favour to them (...)”.
By linking equality with attractiveness, NAM men become more
desirable to start an affective and sexual relationship. In this regard, we
have identified how the language of desire is commonly used to
describe NAM in different daily­life moments and spaces.

I think one way is to speak of desire as it really is. So, to talk about
what moves the world is this, love, desire and talk about how good
sex is with these guys that want you and not with the ones that
ignore you. That the ones that make you freak out are these, not
those who ignore you, right? (Soler, 2010­2012)

Evidence about the existence of the aforementioned three types of

masculinities is being transferred to programmes and actions addressed
to overcome DTM and to promote NAM. Girls expressed the reflections
that they were able to develop thanks to entering dialogue about
different types of masculinities: “(...) this desire comes up from the
dialogue... (...) and there we kissed­ (...) But you don’t want to believe
it, and there, the pleasure I felt was infinity, and from there it has even
increased (...)”.
International and Multidisciplinary Journal ofSocial Sciences 2(1) 105

Unfortunately, although it is plenty of evidences that confirm the

position upheld by NAM men about the effectiveness of linking equality
with attraction to construct egalitarian and passionate relationships
among people and overcoming violence against women, NAM men
have had –and still have– to confront some resistances. Firstly, the idea
that what is really needed to liberate men from the pressure and
hegemony of the traditional masculinity model is that men learn to
express their feelings and to manage emotions, instead of being strong
and secure. This perspective implies the misunderstanding that both
things are incompatible (feelings and security). Secondly, another false
assumption that we still hear in some public spaces and even in
scientific events is that “any man who is involved in gender issues, and
who defends gender equality, does it because of the influence of a
feminist woman”.
Scientific evidence and our own personal experience demonstrate that
both afore­mentioned ideas are false. Regarding the first one, NAM men
do not oppose the fact of expressing their sentiments and emotions to
the fact of being strong, where strong is radically different to being “the
toughest man”. For NAM men, fighting to end with violence against
women involves fighting against DTM and being strong in order to
construct egalitarian relationships with egalitarian women. The
conception of NAM of being strong is not associated with physical
power, but with emotional resistance to all that revolves against
dominant masculinities, and which actually hinders the overcoming of
violence against women.
Concerning the second idea, feminist and new masculinities
movements are friends and not mother and son. It is true that many men
fighting for equality have joined new masculinities movements after
their relations with feminism. But most initiators of new masculinities’
movements with the perspective of NAM have the complementary
experience: many women have joined feminism after relations with
these men. But both have come after many struggles undertaken by
many women and men. Movements for gender liberation and equality
have never been all women against all men, but they have always been
many women and some egalitarian men against the patriarchal society
defended by some women and some men. There are many cases studied
106 Flecha, Puigvert & Ríos - The New Alternative Masculinities

by the social sciences and included also in the literary narratives like the
following example: The theatre play Fuenteovejuna , by Lope de Vega
(1618), is based on a historical fact that constitutes an excellent
illustration of this process. In many places were rebellions against the
“right of the lord”; for instance, this was mentioned as one of the
offences in the rebellions of the Catalan remences more than five
centuries ago.

Conclusions
Scientific literature on masculinities has explored in detail the
reproduction of traditional dominant masculinity and its impact on
gender inequality and violence against women. Scientific studies on
traditional dominant masculinity have both denied biological
determinism associated to that model and have shown the existence of
diverse types of masculinities based on cultural explanations.
Simultaneously, there is another line of research which has deepened
into the transformations achieved by new masculinities movements, like
pro­feminist and egalitarian men, in their fight against the
aforementioned social problems. All these steps are central for a whole
comprehension of the construction of masculinities as well as for their
effects on both the perpetuation and the eradication of violence against
women.
This article illustrates a gap in research in this field which is directly
connected to the attraction for new masculinities. In this regard, we
provide new knowledge on this line giving a definition of three different
types of masculinity: traditional dominant masculinities (TDM),
oppressed traditional masculinities (OTM) and new alternatives
masculinities (NAM). We conclude that this last type is the most
successful in the struggle to end violence against women because it
combines desire, attractiveness and equality.
The analysis that we provide at the beginning of the article shows the
persistence of linking the dominant traditional masculinities, which
perpetrate violence against women, with attraction. Ultimately, we also
corroborate the incapacity of the oppressed traditional masculinities to
end with this dynamic because they contribute to reproduce the double
International and Multidisciplinary Journal ofSocial Sciences 2(1) 107

standard. Contrarily, we demonstrate that it is the new alternative

masculinities that link attractiveness with equality the ones that are
effectively breaking this double standard and contributing to prevent
and eradicate violence against women. The language of desire is the
element that explains this transformation process.

Notes
1 Espejismo del ascenso y socialización de la violencia de género. [The mirage of
upward mobility and socialisation of gender violence]. RTD Project. Science
Department, Spanish Government. (2010­2012); Miratge de l’Ascens Social i Amor
ideal. [Mirage of upward mobility and ideal love]. Study funded by the Catalan Institute
of Women, Catalan Government. (2010­2011); Impacto de los actos comunicativos y
nuevas masculinidades. [Impact of the communicative acts and the new masculinities]
RTD Project. Science Department, Spanish Government. 2010­2012; Incidencia de la
Ley Integral contra la Violencia de Género en la formación inicial del profesorado.
[Impact of the Integrative Law Against Gender Violence in Teacher’s initial training].
Study funded by the Spanish Institute of Women, Spanish Government. (2007­2010);
Youth4Youth: Empowering Young People in Preventing Gender-based Violence through
Peer Education. DAPHNE III” European Commission. (2011­2013); La formació per a
la prevenció de la violència de gènere a la formació inicial de les persones professionals
de l’educació. [Training for the prevention of gender violence in the initial training of
education professionals] AGAUR, Agència de Gestió d’Ajuts Universitaris a la Recerca.
(2008­2009); ACT-COM. Actos comunicativos y superación de las desigualdades
sociales en las relaciones de género. [Communicative acts and overcoming social
inequalities in gender relationships] RTD Project. Science Department, Spanish
Government. (2006­2008); Centres of Secondary Education and Values Education:
proposals for the prevention of Gender violence. DAPHNE Programme. European
Commission. (2006­2008); Violencia de género en las universidades españolas. [Gender
violence in Spanish universities] RTD Project. Science Department, Spanish
Government. (2005­2008); Models d’atracció dels i les adolescents. Contribucions des
de la socialització preventiva de la violència de gènere. [Attractiveness models of
teenagers. Contributions from the preventive socialisation of gender violence]. Study
funded by the Catalan Institute of Women, Catalan Government. (2007); Educació en
valors per la prevenció de la violència de gènere als Instituts d’Educació
Secundària. [Education in values for the prevention of gender violence in the Secondary
Education] Ajuts a la Recerca. Agència de Gestió d’Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca.
Departament d’Universitats, Investigació i Societat de la Informació (AGAUR). (2004­
2005).
2 INCLUD-ED. Strategies for inclusion and social cohesion from education in Europe.

INTEGRATED PROJECT. Sixth Framework Programme. (2006­ 2011); WORKALÓ.

The creation of New occupational patterns for cultural minorities. The Gypsy case.
RTD. FP5. DG XII. Improving the Socio­economic Knowledge Base. (2001­2004).
3 In some Spanish secondary schools ”The Perfume” has been established as a

compulsory reading among the students of 4th grade (16 and 17 years old). For more
108 Flecha, Puigvert & Ríos - The New Alternative Masculinities

information see:
http://edu.jccm.es/ies/alejovera/web%20lengua/lecturas%20obligatorias.htm; Required
Summer reading: Albany Public schools. Perfume. For more information see:
http://www.albanyschools.org/Academics/ELA/2008­
09/2009%20HS%20summer%20reading%205­09.pdf
4 Own translation from Spanish: “Pues bien, el cambio de modelos consistió en

renunciar a parte de esos males, abrazar otros con alborozo y reclamar algunos de “los
males del amo”.(...) Cuando la horma se rompe y los modelos todavía no están, todo lo
antes prohibido, con indiferencia de su valor, se convierte en objeto de demanda”
(Valcárcel 2000, p.138).

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International and Multidisciplinary Journal ofSocial Sciences 2(1) 113

Ramon Flecha is Professor in the Department of Sociological

Theory at the University of Barcelona, Spain

Lidia Puigvert is Professor in the Department of Sociological

Theory at the University of Barcelona, Spain

Oriol Ríos is Adjunct lecturer in the Department of Sociology and

Organizational Analysis at the University of Barcelona, Spain

Contact address: University of Barcelona, Faculty of Economics

and Business, Avda. Diagonal, 690, 08034, Barcelona, Spain. Email:
[email protected]