TENSIONS OF MASCULINITY: HOW MARRIED MUSLIM MEN PERCEIVE THE ROLE OF THE HOUSEHUSBAND IN MALAYSIA

Feminism has been key in critiquing male privilege and advocating for alternative practices of masculinity. Househusbands constitute a novel alternative form of masculinity, and suggest that more egalitarian forms of gender and masculinity are being cultivated. However, men embody alternative masculinities in various ways, based on sociocultural context. This thesis focuses on the discourses of the househusband role among 22 married Muslim men as case studies in Malaysia. Utilizing qualitative interviews with both househusbands and non-househusbands, I argue that there is a tension between traditional expectations of masculinity and gender egalitarian ideals in their discourses on the househusband role, even among respondents who are most committed to egalitarian or to traditional ideals. This tension is expressed when they discuss headship, division of labor, and fatherhood. I suggest that this tension is indicative of the fact that patriarchal attitudes are hard to do away with. Despite this, gender equality is an ongoing global conversation that allows for alternative forms of masculinity to be articulated.