A qualitative study of violence against married and unmarried men in urban Bangladesh

Abstract This study explores how patriarchy as a social structure adversely affects men, hence challenging perceptions of male privilege under patriarchy. Complementing feminist arguments on women’s subordination, this study fosters robust debates on gendered power by examining men’s heterogeneous vulnerabilities under patriarchy. By expanding Sylvia Walby’s conceptualization of patriarchy, Kimberle Crenshaw’s intersectionality and addressing debates on hegemonic masculinity, this study shows that men’s lives are structured by complex layers of power and subordination. Following qualitative approach, data had been collected through conducting six focus group discussions and twenty in-depth interviews among lower-middle-class married and unmarried men from three Northern districts of Bangladesh- Bogura, Rajshahi and Gaibandha. The study highlights how men become privileged in some domains while at the same time experiencing gendered violence and socio-cultural costs that are part of masculinity. By locating the case of Bangladesh in global discourses, this study argues that understanding men’s complex location within patriarchy is fundamental to analyzing gendered dimensions of domination and inequality.