Caught Between Machistas and Feministas: Men’s Efforts to Promote New Masculinities within Uruguay’s Polarized Gender Landscape

Master's thesis submitted at the Department of Social Anthropology, spring 2025.

By: Selma Tenold
Supervisor: Associate Professor Iselin Åsedotter Strønen

In recent years, Uruguay has experienced a complex and polarized gender landscape, shaped by tensions between feminist movements, men’s gender equality activism, and anti-gender narratives. This thesis, based on six months of fieldwork in Uruguay, will explore men's mobilization in support of gender equality through the reform of traditional ideals of masculinity. The local male activists promote new masculinities, categorized by “emotional vulnerability, non-toxicity, and egalitarianism”. However, the male activists face resistance from parts of the feminist community, who wish to maintain feminist spaces free from masculine traits. At the same time, the male activists encounter criticism from men skeptical of feminism, who see men’s pro-equality activism as a betrayal and use derogatory terms to diminish the activists’ masculinity.

The thesis examines how male pro-equality activists navigate the conflicting expectations they encounter as they seek funding, collaboration, and respect within a divided landscape of gender activism. As the activists aim to bridge the gap between feminists and men in the local gender landscape, this thesis will analyze how male activists frame gender equality to appear less “threatening” for men who believe progress toward women’s rights will come at the expense of men’s rights. By situating men’s activism within Uruguay’s sociopolitical and historical gender dynamics, this study illustrates how new gender identities emerge to challenge the traditional gender norms, often associated with machismo, in the hope that new gender relations will modernize and improve Uruguay as a country.

Key words: New masculinities, Men’s Gender Activism, Feminism, Uruguay, Polarization