Beyond masculinity: a men\u27s group as a partial evolution toward the redefinition and eventual elimination of the concept of masculinity or, is there a right way to be a man?

The purpose of this study was to develop an initial ethnographic account of a men\u27s group focusing on what led the men to be open to emotional connection with other men. It was an ethnography of a specific men\u27s group that included the researcher\u27s views and perceptions as a member of the group as well as those of ten other members who were willing to be interviewed;The literature reviewed as a basis for the study included materials from several fields of investigation including men\u27s studies, men\u27s groups, the social construction of gender, and various forms of qualitative research methodology;The procedure consisted of prolonged engagement and participant observation by the researcher. Field notes were written up following the weekly group gatherings and after any other group related experiences. A personal journal was also kept. In depth interviews of ten members of the group focusing on obtaining oral histories and their responses to the process and content of the group were the other main source of data for the study;All of this data was analyzed using Spradley\u27s (1979) Developmental Research Sequence. The findings were set forth in narrative form, with themes and domains of meaning delineated separately. A Social Constructionist perspective was openly employed in the interpretation and discussion of the findings;The findings included a recognition that these men felt different from the stereotype of masculinity and had gathered together at least in part to affirm their acceptability as men despite this noncompliance to a cultural norm that defined what a man should be;This finding led to a shift in perspective out of which a new, more encompassing vision of the relevance of this research emerged: there came to be a recognition of the limited and limiting aspects of the concept of masculinity and a concomitant call for a move beyond this restrictive linguistic creation whose reification has led to much damage and unnecessary pain in the lives of men