PhD Candidate: Krizia Nardini Thesis Director: Dr Begonya Enguix Thesis Committee: Dr Begonya Enguix, Dr Iris Van der Tuin, Dr Jeff Hearn DOCTORAL THESIS Uneven Routes of Mobilizing ‘as Men’: Reconfiguring Masculinities among Anti-sexist Groups of Men in Italy and Spain Doctoral Programme Information and Knowledge Society (IKS) Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, UOC Barcelona, 09 January 2019 1 To my family Artwork on the cover: “Astratto numero 6” Artist: Giorgia Spanò @l_assy.giorgia 2 3 Acknowledgments: This thesis is the main written result of my doctoral research praxis. It has been a long, effort- taking, surprising and frustrating work, in which I learnt to dedicate myself to intellectually and socially-relevant opportunities within and beyond academic contexts. During the course of this research process, many people have contributed to making it possible, in different ways and at different times. This thesis started when I was living in Netherlands. Huge thanks from the bottom of my heart go to Cor and Lucas without whom this whole research could not even be imagined and started. Their love and support, and their example as men who care, motivated me to trust my ideals. I thank my former supervisor Dr. Iris van der Tuin at Utrecht University for encouraging me in following my feminist intellectual ambitions. And I thank Rosa Garrido for teaching me to carefully listen to my embodied enthusiasm and to rebuild with this the trust in my work. I thank the people who participated in the research, the members of Maschile Plurale and of Homes Igualitaris and AHIGE, who gave me access to their activities and established collaborations and alliances with me, in particular I thank Juanjo and Stefano. The colleagues of MenEngageEurope, who invited me to join MEE spaces and collaborate with them, should also be thanked: Jens, Jan, Lena and Joni in particular. For reading the chapters of this thesis I thank: Annina, Eduardo, Marco, Martina, Ronak and Tom. I thank my thesis’ director Dr. Begonya Enguix for believing in this project since the beginning. Her stimulating conversations, thought-provoking comments and support were very important through the process, in enthusiastic periods of research as well as during difficult moments. I thank her also for allowing me the freedom to move through fieldwork and literature sites and for trusting my intellectual work. From my friends I received all the emotional support I needed, they made me feel at home, joined me in tasty adventures and in fruitful intellectual conversations. In crucial moments they helped me, took care of me, and they reminded me about life priorities. Warmhearted thanks to Eunice, Negar and Carlotta, who have always been there for me. With them I immensely thank Giorgia, Francesca, Marco and Margherita who stayed close to me as much as they could, in person and virtually. They are part of the kinship that stayed at my side together with: Alex, Amir, Anna, Annalou, Dani, Idil, Jordi, Lara, Leila, Katharina, Martina, Pedro, Ronak and Victor. I thank my friends from Belgium who accompanied me while I was living in Bologna for fieldwork: Anne-France, Antoine, Delphine, Silke and Sofie. I thank also Guillem and his family for hosting me various times during the writing process. The persons who I do thank the most are my parents and my family, who fed me with love, positive thinking and determination since I started studying, and because they wisely reminded me of the crucial importance of staying humble and grounded on my own feet. With hope, Krizia 4 5 Index INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................... 8 1. GENDER JUSTICE ....................................................................................................................................... 8 2. THEORETICAL ROUTES I ............................................................................................................................. 11 3. ANTI-SEXIST MASCULINITY POLITICS ............................................................................................................. 15 4. RESEARCH FIELDS AND MAIN QUESTIONS ...................................................................................................... 18 5. THESIS STRUCTURE .................................................................................................................................. 25 CHAPTER 1. THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL ROUTES IN MY STUDY OF MEN’S ANTI-SEXIST MOBILIZATIONS ................................................................................................................................... 30 1. DRAWING A MAP AND ENTRY POINTS........................................................................................................... 30 2. GENEALOGY OF AN ABSENCE OR QUESTIONING ABSTRACT MASCULINITY ............................................................ 34 3. NAMING MEN ‘AS MEN’: SITUATING MEN ..................................................................................................... 36 4. HEGEMONIC MASCULINITY, ITS DISCONTENTS AND ANTECEDENTS ...................................................................... 41 5. POST-STRUCTURALIST APPROACHES TO ANTI-SEXIST MEN’S ENGAGEMENT .......................................................... 44 6. THEORETICAL ROUTES II ............................................................................................................................ 47 7. METHODOLOGIES AND RESEARCH TECHNIQUES ............................................................................................. 48 8. ETHICS IN RESEARCH AND MY POSITIONING IN THE FIELD .................................................................................. 53 CHAPTER 2. CARTOGRAPHIES OF MEN FOR GENDER JUSTICE .............................................................. 58 1. INTRODUCTION: TRANSNATIONAL NETWORKING FOR GENDER JUSTICE ................................................................ 58 2. ZOOMING INTO EUROPE ........................................................................................................................... 63 3. MEN’S ANTI-VIOLENCE ACTIVISM IN ITALY AND SPAIN ..................................................................................... 70 4. MP: VIOLENCE CONCERNS US, LET’S SPEAK UP AS MEN ................................................................................ 74 5. AHIGE: SILENCE MAKES US COMPLICIT, LET’S SPEAK UP AGAINST VIOLENCE .................................................... 78 6. CONCLUSION: ANTI-VIOLENCE ENGAGEMENT AND MOBILIZING ‘AS MEN’ ............................................................ 84 CHAPTER 3. SPEAKING ‘AS MEN’ A PARTIRE DA SÉ: PRACTICING MASCULINITY POLITICS OF DIFFERENCE WITH MASCHILE PLURALE ................................................................................................ 90 1. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 90 2. ITALIAN FEMINIST POLITICS OF AUTOCOSCIENZA AND ENGAGING WITH SEXUAL DIFFERENCE .................................... 91 3. MEN PRACTICING SPEAKING BY PARTIRE DA SÉ BEYOND ‘MALE SILENCE’ ............................................................ 100 4. MOVING GENDER-AWARENESS: AFFECTS AND WORDS THAT MATTER IN THE GROUP ........................................... 108 5. ‘MALE PARTIALITY’ AND THE POLITICS OF ‘MALE SEXUAL DIFFERENCE’ .............................................................. 115 6. CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................................ 119 CHAPTER 4. ANTI-VIOLENCE INTERVENTION AND LOVE POLITICS IN THE WORK OF ANTI-SEXIST GROUPS OF MEN IN BARCELONA ....................................................................................................... 124 1. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................... 124 2. ANTI-VIOLENCE AND LOVE IN SPAIN: ‘EL AMOR ROMÁNTICO MATA’ ............................................................... 128 3. MEN’S VAW PREVENTION: ‘LO ROMÁNTICO ES POLÍTICO’ ............................................................................. 135 4. HOMES EN DIÀLEG CLAIM: ‘EL AMOR ROMÁNTICO NO MATA‘ ..................................................................... 143 5. CONCLUSION: GENDER DIVISION OF ROMANTIC LABOUR ................................................................................ 150 CHAPTER 5. MEN RETHINKING HETEROSEXUAL IMAGINARIES AND PRACTICES IN ITALY: ANTI-SEXIST MASCULINITY POLITICS AS SEXUAL POLITICS ..................................................................................... 156 1. MY PERSONAL-POLITICAL INTRODUCTION TO FEMINIST SEXUAL POLITICS ........................................................... 156 2. SEXUAL POLITICS IN MEN’S ANTI-VIOLENCE ENGAGEMENT .............................................................................. 161 6 4. ‘THAT (OBSCURE) SUBJECT OF DESIRE,’ MEN’S (HETERO)SEXUAL IMAGINARIES AND PROSTITUTION ........................ 174 5. OUTCOMES AND CHALLENGES IN DESIRING AS MEN IN TRANSITION .................................................................. 182 6. CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................................ 192 CHAPTER 6. ADVOCATING FOR ‘EGALITARIAN FATHERHOOD’: