AN EXERCISE IN WORLDMAKING 2009 - ISS

178 MELANIE NEWELL
TRANSFORMATIVE PROGRAMMING PROMOTING MALE INVOLVEMENT
The Papai (“daddy” in Portuguese) organization in Recife, NE Brazil is a
research-oriented program started in 1997. It develops activities in gender
and masculinity through partnerships, teaching activities and social
interventions with the local young male population. One of Papai’s projects,
“Gema,” promotes a multi-disciplinary context of dialogue and research,
bringing together researchers in human, social and health sciences
from both universities and NGOs in order to broaden the debate
on SRH. This research group produces books and booklets and organizes
events allowing for a unique sharing environment shaping effective
social interventions and research work in SRH rights. Papai seeks to
open channels of thinking about masculinity that encourage men to reflect
on sexual behavior and the social practices into which they are socialized
yet don’t generally think about. The organization works together
with men to address gender inequalities, and develops strategies to engage
men, placing them at the center of their own discussions and transformations.
One such strategy is “forró” workshops, which use the local
language of music in an effort to attract and sensitize those who hear it
and promote greater participation. In forró workshops popular music is
loaded with lyrics about gender, sexuality and fatherhood, providing content
worth reflecting on. The workshops have so far engaged men in different
contexts including schools, low-income neighborhoods, and
amongst young fathers and RH professionals in the local hospital. Papai
has found that in all contexts, the music brings young men together and
through singing and playing instruments, has created a dynamic environment
for RH education and dialogue. Young men talked about feelings
of insecurity that they didn’t feel able to discuss regularly. The organization
always finds addressing these issues challenging because they
touch on alternative constructs of masculinity, which are not encouraged
by society (Adrião et al. 2002: 204).
Papai also worked with unemployed men who live in extreme poverty
and spend most of their time in bars. Researchers explored ways in
which they could be more self-reliant. The young men said that the
dominant model of masculinity made them feel guilty because their social
and economic status did not allow them to fit the model, causing
them to neglect their bodies and health and expose themselves to dangerous
situations. Forró workshops were used in order to create a comfortable
environment for dialogue about men’s needs.