Masculinities are constructed in relation to other entities including bodies, norms, institutions, and geographical contexts, and this relationality is an ongoing and ever-changing process. Rural areas are often associated with persistent gender inequalities with specifically rural masculinities and femininities, regarding identities, expectations, and practices. In this framework, this paper focuses on the identities and practices of highly qualified young adult men that move to the countryside to start a professional project. These urban-rural migrations are part of the new back-to-the-land movements in some areas of Spain and Europe, led by highly qualified young women and men, with new ideas about work, resource management and the value of territories. We analyze men’ self-perception and how they articulate work and family life. Feminist theory and methodologies are used to capture the gendered nature of men’s experiences, through in-depth interviews to men of rural areas of Spain. The results show different repertories of masculinity that go beyond the common positions of gender, age, and social class; and show progress and resistance in the construction of equal gender relations in rural areas. These data allow us to account for the current processes of construction of rural masculinities to better understand the lives of men and the relative position of women.

Mireia Baylina, Maria Dolors Garcia Ramon, Montserrat Villarino, María Josefa Mosteiro, Ana María Porto, Isabel Salamaña
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Universidad de Girona

 
ID Abstract: manual – juny 6