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I Could Be the Last Man: Changing Masculinities in Enga Society

I Could Be the Last Man: Changing Masculinities in Enga Society Enga tradition provides the ideal of a man who learned discipline mainly through initiation, and who lived independently from women while realising that he depended on women to make him who he was. In recent decades there have been radical transformations in Enga society, which have meant considerable change in men’s construction of identity. When their sons appear no longer to listen to them, older men wonder if they are the last of the real men. Younger men today face the prospect of having to invent new ways to achieve recognition as men. In today’s world relying on money for masculine status, there is greater social stratification in which some will succeed and many not. This affects men’s identity and the quality of their relationship with women. Despite sexual emancipation and changes in the understanding of marriage, gendered role expectations continue to find a place in most marriages; not meeting those expectations may generate tensions that can easily lead to verbal and physical violence. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology Taylor & Francis

I Could Be the Last Man: Changing Masculinities in Enga Society

Gibbs, Philip
The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology , Volume 17 (3-4): 18 – Aug 7, 2016
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I Could Be the Last Man: Changing Masculinities in Enga Society

Abstract

Enga tradition provides the ideal of a man who learned discipline mainly through initiation, and who lived independently from women while realising that he depended on women to make him who he was. In recent decades there have been radical transformations in Enga society, which have meant considerable change in men’s construction of identity. When their sons appear no longer to listen to them, older men wonder if they are the last of the real men. Younger men today face the prospect of...
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Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Copyright
© 2016 The Australian National University
ISSN
1740-9314
eISSN
1444-2213
DOI
10.1080/14442213.2016.1179783
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Enga tradition provides the ideal of a man who learned discipline mainly through initiation, and who lived independently from women while realising that he depended on women to make him who he was. In recent decades there have been radical transformations in Enga society, which have meant considerable change in men’s construction of identity. When their sons appear no longer to listen to them, older men wonder if they are the last of the real men. Younger men today face the prospect of having to invent new ways to achieve recognition as men. In today’s world relying on money for masculine status, there is greater social stratification in which some will succeed and many not. This affects men’s identity and the quality of their relationship with women. Despite sexual emancipation and changes in the understanding of marriage, gendered role expectations continue to find a place in most marriages; not meeting those expectations may generate tensions that can easily lead to verbal and physical violence.

Journal

The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology – Taylor & Francis

Published: Aug 7, 2016

Keywords: Masculinity; Men; Enga; Papua New Guinea; Gender Roles; Change

References

  • Communication
  • The Te Festival or Gift Exchange in Enga (Central Highlands of New Guinea)
  • Lepe: An Exercise in Horticultural Theology
  • ‘You have a Baby and I’ll climb a Tree’: Gender Relations Perceived through Enga Proverbs and Sayings about Women
  • Haves and Have-nots: The 2002 Elections in the Enga Province, PNG
  • The Context of HIV Transmission during the 2007 Elections in the Enga Province, Papua New Guinea
  • Ethnographic Notes on the Mae People of New Guinea’s Western Highlands
  • A Phonemic Statement of Mai Enga
  • Holders of the Way: A Study of Precolonial Socio-economic History in Papua New Guinea
  • The Enga of the New Guinea Highlands: Some Preliminary Observations
  • Male-Female Relationships in the Highlands of Australian New Guinea
  • Women in Contemporary Central Enga Society
  • Sangai and the Bachelor
  • The Traffic in Women: Notes on the Political Economy of Sex
  • The Sandalu Bachelor Ritual among the Laiapu Enga (Papua New Guinea)
  • The Enga Yesterday and Today: A Personal Account
  • Headless Ghosts and Roving Women: Specters of Modernity in Papua New Guinea
  • From Spears to M-16s: Testing the Imbalance of Power Hypothesis among the Enga
  • Alienating the Inalienable: Marriage and Money in a Big Man Society