Masculinities, Empathy, Care, and Non-Violence

Nowadays, the link between young men's and young women's exposure to violence and its intergenerational transmission is well established. Both witnessing and being victims of violence have similar associations with aggression and violence perpetration in its multiple forms. Likewise, studies also demonstrated that violence is often influenced by the institutional contexts of these boys and men. For example, although violence may occur in (almost) every sphere of society during adolescence (12-18 years old), even in more subtle ways (e.g., bullying behaviours, violent and discriminatory language, misogyny, among youngsters), it might be exacerbated in specific institutions where the risk of being exposed to violence and rigid gender norms is considerably higher than elsewhere, such as the military, prisons or youth detention centres. More recently, the goal of breaking the cycles of violence has been associated with the effort towards the promotion of positive and non-violent relationships, therefore targeting rigid gender norms, including masculinities.

This Research Topic chooses to focus on masculinities because men and boys should have an essential role to play in violence prevention and in intergenerational transmissions of violent/non-violent behaviours, without leaving aside the important role of young women in these efforts. In particular, it focuses on young men and masculinities, assuming the importance of intervening from an early age, in the strategies to promote gender equality and non-violence. An active engagement of adolescent boys is crucial considering that it is at those ages that gender norms, attitudes, and beliefs tend to become rigid. In this sense, X-MEN considers that focusing on youth in different settings who have experienced complex forms of violence and from diverse backgrounds is essential to address the complexity of experiences and manifestations of gender-inequalities and violence, targeting the link between the exposure to violence and its perpetuation, and the inverse relation between violence and gender equal attitudes.

This Research Topic calls for original articles that focus on research, action-oriented interventions and innovative methodologies with a specific focus on:

• Masculinities and violence;
• Youth, culture and territories;
• Masculinities and care;
• Masculinities and arts;
• Impacts of COVID-19 on youth and masculinities.

Please note, submission to this Research Topic is by invitation only.

The Topic Editors (TM, HC, JG, MM) declare that they are affiliated with the "X-men Project'.