Traditional masculinities in Chilean universities. Manifestations and affirmations in academic contexts and spaces

Abstract

Universities as traditional institutions imply that they are highly masculinized in terms of formal and informal organizational dynamics. This work is part of a qualitative and national research on gender violence and masculinities in traditional and private universities in Chile. For this, 24 discussion groups were held: 8 mixed groups, 8 groups of men and 8 groups of women, taking as field of observation 8 institutions of higher education, located in the four cities with the highest university enrollment in the country (Santiago, Valparaíso, Concepcion and Temuco). Using the guidelines of the Grounded Theory for the analysis of the information, the results show the presence of the hegemonic model of masculinity as a transversal element in higher education institutions, in addition to models of masculinity that have been called masculinities in transition in the which elements of transformation are observed, but nevertheless persist with traditional elements of masculinity. This type of masculinity tries to distance itself from the hegemonic model of masculinity in terms of violence mainly, which would account for a process of change in young students. However, patterns of hegemonic and traditional models continue to be reproduced, particularly with regard to the gender relations of young Chilean students.