Masculinities in the South Caucasus

Masculinities, as this rich volume shows, are varied, multiple, layered, dynamic, and often contradictory. Yet, in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, as elsewhere on the planet, we often intuitively tend to think of masculinity in the singular, as static, and unchanging, and as something we may refer to with: “We know it when we see it.” As with gender role expectations more broadly, we are often socialised into thinking of masculinities as innate, natural, and biologically pre-determined, at times as God-given for some, and easily knowable. We tend to assume that we already intuitively know what it means “to be a man” in our respective societies, what it means to be “manly” or not, and often use these as yardsticks to – consciously or subconsciously – judge others and ourselves, regardless of what gender we identify as. The authors of this volume do us a valuable favour by disturbing these ingrained assumptions; they do so in a way that is (self-)reflective, critical, nuanced, multi-faceted, and beautiful.

Concepts of South Caucasian masculinities have long played a central role in insider and outsider perceptions of societies in this region. They have been embedded in legends, folk tales, artworks, male-centric history books, but also in anecdotes, jokes, as well as pejorative and racist stereotypes. Common elements include stoic toughness, bravery, valour, heterosexual virility, social skills, a capacity for violence, adherence to “codes of honour” and – unless forbidden by religion – drinking and being able to hold one’s liquor. As is often the case with gender role expectations, South Caucasian masculinities are often conceived of as ahistorical and static, a Thing that has been and is a constant benchmark for men to be measured against.

As the contributions to this book show, the lived realities of men are much more complex and dynamic, yet also shaped by those often-unrealistic expectations of “real” manhood. The lived realities of men covered in this book include emotional vulnerability, the juggling of competing expectations, economic hardship, political impotence in the face of unequal power relations, exposure to violence, trauma, failure, but also love, care, friendship, and crafting one’s own way of being a man that may or may not align with societal expectations. As the chapters also show, masculinities are the products of historical processes. Masculinities in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia have been and are shaped by local cultures, Islam and Christianity, neighbouring powers, the experience of Russian and Soviet rule, the wars that affected all three countries, and the influences of modernisation, neo-liberalisation, urbanisation, and globalisation. As several chapters underscore, these historical shifts have also forced men to adapt multiple times to shifting circumstances and in part, radically changed frames of reference. Thus, South Caucasian masculinities of today are a complex mix, in which the traces of these historical influences and men’s responses to them are visible to differing degrees.