Defining the other to masculinize oneself: Syrian men’s negotiations of masculinity during displacement in Egypt

This article discusses how Syrian men in Egypt renegotiate notions of masculinity during forced displacement. Based on fourteen months of ethnographic research in Egypt in 2014–15, the essay focuses on how Syrian men position themselves with regard to the label of “refugee” and how they handle changing work and marriage patterns. My research reveals how refugee status affects men’s lives and how they struggle to adjust their ideas of manhood. Traditional representations of ideal masculinity were in conflict with Syrian men’s lived reality in Egypt, and they had to make sense of this divergence. This article traces the process of creating boundaries and hierarchies between the figure of the “successful” Syrian man and its multiple others, such as the “real” refugee, the “lazy” Syrian, the “unproductive” Egyptian, and the “disrespectful” groom. Syrian men measure themselves in relation to how successfully they perform as men: whether they can provide for their wives, whether they are hardworking and manage to make a living during displacement, and whether they make an effort to pay for all of the wedding expenses. Furthermore, Syrian men defined their masculinity against a static, idealized femininity. This article argues that it is crucial to take into account the dynamic and sometimes contradictory character of masculinities in order to grasp men’s changing realities during displacement