State of World Population 2012 - Country Page List - UNFPA

Ricardo, 2005). Moreover, young and adult men
who adhere to these traditional views of manhood
are more likely to engage in riskier sexual
practices (Sonenstein, ed, 2000). Results from
the Gender Equitable Men Scale have found
that men who adhere to more rigid views about
masculinity are more likely to hold attitudes or
practice behaviours that compromise their sexual
health and their partners’ health (Pulerwitz and
Barker, 2008).
Not all boys and men identify with dominant
versions of masculinity within their
communities. For example, young men of
higher socioeconomic status often hold more
power and access to goods and opportunities
than young men of lower socioeconomic
classes (Barker, 2005). The evolution of who
they are within their peer groups, families, and
communities is a dynamic process that changes
over time (Connell, 1994). Men’s attitudes and
experiences, particularly the conclusions they
draw about what is socially acceptable behaviour,
have implications for men’s and boys’
willingness to access family planning services
and to be active participants in planning
families with their partners.
A global review conducted by the World
Health Organization found that culturally dominant
forms of masculinity, which often urge men
to practice strict emotional control and cultivate
a sense of invulnerability, serve as barriers to
health—and health-seeking behaviour: they discourage
some men and boys from visiting health
facilities or from supporting their partners’ health
(Barker, Ricardo and Nascimento, 2007).
Men often have no opportunity to question
these male norms or to reflect on how their
views of manhood affect their health and their
partner’s health. However, tailored programmes
have demonstrated that young and adult men
can adopt equitable attitudes and behaviours—
attitudes associated with better sexual and
reproductive health outcomes (International
Center for Research on Women and Promundo,
2010; UN Women, 2008).
Prevailing attitudes and norms about
sex impede access for young people,
unmarried people of all ages, men and
boys and marginalized groups
Social and cultural norms dictate who, when,
with whom, and for what purpose women and
men should have sex. Sexual activity is widely
viewed as acceptable only when the “right”
people engage in it under the “right” conditions.
The perspectives of excluded groups are not
closely reflected in the design, implementation,
and evaluation of family planning policies and
programmes. The impediments to their access
t
Young men in Cairo's
Tahrir Square.
©UNFPA/Matthew Cassel
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