The Other Side of Gender: Including Masculinity Concerns in Conflict and Peacebuilding

Peacebuilding Gender Extremism Sexual Violence

Gender analysis is now widely recognized in international and national arenas as an integral component of effective and sustainable peacebuilding efforts. However, the term “gender” is often used synonymously as another term for “women.” As a result, gender analysis often fails to acknowledge that men also possess gender identities. In determining what it means to be male or female, the term gender encompasses social, cultural and economic considerations and power dynamics between and among men and women. Focusing on only one side of the gender equation overlooks this relational quality and provides an incomplete understanding of gender issues in the context of conflict and peacebuilding efforts.