Men and Masculinities in the Global South: A Southern Perspective

'Men and Masculinities in the Global South: A Southern Perspective' is a pioneering collection that places Southern voices, practices, and contexts at the centre of global masculinities research. For too long, the field of Men and Masculinities Studies (MMS) has been shaped by theories generated in the Global North. This volume responds by foregrounding scholarship rooted in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and other Southern regions, showing that the Global South is not a periphery but a vibrant source of theoretical innovation and critical practice.
Organised in two parts, the book moves from thematic analyses to regionally grounded case studies. Part I examines key issues such as the history of MMS in the North and South, male healthcare, violence, activism, music, and literature. Part II highlights the lived realities of masculinities (geography of masculinities) across Chile, India, Madagascar, Mozambique, Zambia, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam, among other locations, illustrating how local histories and political economies shape gendered experiences in diverse ways. Contributors engage both with established frameworks – such as Raewyn Connell’s Southern Theory, among others – and with fresh conceptual tools that expand comparative and transnational research.
Equally distinctive is the book’s collaborative method. Emerging from an open call for chapters, it fosters an “invisible college” of scholars, activists, and practitioner-researchers working across disciplines, languages, and borders. This approach not only diversifies the field but also strengthens South–South and South–North exchanges in MMS.
Accessible and rigorous, this collection will serve undergraduate and postgraduate students in Gender Studies, Sociology, Anthropology, Cultural Studies, Development, and Public Health. It is equally relevant for NGOs, educators, policymakers, and professionals engaged in gender justice, health, and violence prevention. As a reference text, teaching aid, and catalyst for new scholarship, 'Men and Masculinities in the Global South' affirms the South as an indispensable site of knowledge production and a driver of global debates on gender and social change.

José Loureiro is an associate researcher at Cândido Mendes University working between Rio de Janeiro and London. Holds a PhD from Cândido Mendes University and is an independent researcher, lecturer, photographer, editor, writer, curator, psychologist, and peer reviewer. Studied Psychology at UNISINOS, Alma Mater Studiorum and the University of Padua. Also completed studies in Group and Intercultural Therapy at Goldsmiths, University of London, and in Photography at the University of the Arts London. Conducted pioneering research on AIDS for the State Health Authority of Porto Alegre/RS during the 1980s. Has published widely in books and academic journals, and has exhibited and curated in galleries and museums. Publications and exhibitions include, among others: 'A Mediterranean Perspective on the Art Therapist’s Sexual Orientation' (2002); 'What can a man do with a camera? Exploring masculinities with phototherapy' (2020); 'Bologna in Chiaroscuro: Between Photography and Iconography' (2024); '30 Years of Masculinities by Raewyn Connell: A Book That Changed How We See Gender and Men' (2025), currently editing 'Men and Masculinities Studies in the Portuguese-Speaking World: A Lusophone Perspective'.

hegemonic masculinities in the global South; masculinities studies in Chile; southern scholars; history of men and masculinities in the global South; phototherapy and masculinities; MMS in India; activisms and masculinities in Mozambique; masculinities in literary studies; construction of masculinities in Bollywood films; mariachismo masculinities in Mexico; men in maternal healthcare environment; transmasculinities in Madagascar; gender orders in the global South; gay masculinities in Cabo Verde; Hindu and Muslim masculinities in India; Islamic Clerics in Southern Nigeria; male migration in Uzbekistan; region/faith and masculinities; meeting global north and global South in Vietnamese culture; land and male power in Zambia; class and masculinities in Chile