Masculine Norm Failure in Indian men: A Qualitative Exploration of Shame, Anxiety and Aggression
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Abstract
Regardless of the growing literature body and theoretical interest in masculine norm failure and its psychological consequences, the lived experiences of Indian men remain significantly understudied. Along with this, the existing research depends on WEIRD populations and Western measurements tools which are not capable enough to capture India‟s cultural dimensions when it comes to masculinity. Grounded in Pleck‟s (1995) Gender Role Strain Paradigm (GRSP), this qualitative study explored what Indian men experience psychologically when they perceive themselves failing to comply with the masculine norms, and how they make sense of those experiences. The data in the study as collected from 23 Indian men aged 18-35 through an open-ended qualitative survey via Google Forms (online). The data was further analysed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2021). The dataset was able to produce three main themes and nine subthemes. The first theme, Psychological Experiences of Masculine Norm Failure, recorded shame, anxiety, aggression and emotional suppression as primary psychological responses by men to mask vulnerability instead of direct hostile behaviour. The second theme, Masculinity as an Internalised Identity, discovered that participants comprehended masculine norms as constitutive features of personal identity and self-worth. The participants rendered this norm-failure as threat to self-identity rather than situational inadequacy. The third main theme highlighted dimensions such as family honour (izzat), the provider role as a moral duty and intergenerational obligation, followed by relational suppression of personal struggle as culturally specific ones, which remains absent in the Western frameworks. The findings support and confirm the cross-sectional application of the GRSP while underscoring that Indian masculine norm failure upholds collective, familial and reputational stakes which the framework alone fails to theorise. This suggests how there is a need for tailored psychological assessments in India, as per the cultural population
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References
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