Ashley Brocious and Dr. Leslee Thorne-Murphy, English Department

Introduction

Studies in masculinity have grown significantly in the last decades as conversations concerning gender have become more conscious of the meanings and constructions of gender in men’s experiences. Masculinity studies at its core questions the assumption that men have already achieved gender equality. Rather than blanketing all men into categories of privilege, patriarchy, or even neutrality, it seeks to give more nuance to men’s experiences and the transactional nature of their masculinity in the world around them. Latter-day Saint feminists have considered differences between men’s and women’s experiences and voices an important topic. The importance of women’s narratives as a separate voice, one distinct from the standard male voice, has been an important narrative in LDS feminism. However, I feel that LDS men’s experiences have not been established—not in terms of LDS manhood or identity. The archives of LDS women’s experiences, such as Claudia Bushman’s work with the Claremont Mormon Women’s Oral History collection, are concerned with how LDS women have experienced gender. There is not a complement set of male gender narratives, which is needed in the current gender discussion.

Methodology

My project offers a small set of oral histories that I have conducted with LDS men in hopes that their experiences will illuminate the need to include and articulate LDS men’s experiences in future LDS gender discussions and projects. Because oral histories have become an important way to gather a large amount of material on LDS femininity, I felt that it would be appropriate to explore the way LDS men frame their masculinity through oral history work as well. I interviewed eight men who identified themselves as active LDS men. Their ages ranged from 18-75. In order to get a range of experiences from such a small number of interviews, I selected men who fit the following criteria: single, married (but not a father), employed father, stay-at home father, divorced father, grandfather, great-grandfather. These categories offered perspective on differing male roles and experiences, including non-traditional experiences such divorced or stay-at home fatherhood that often rests outside of the LDS discourse. It was important to me, however, that the men were able to tell their own story rather than be guided by the category they belonged to. Therefore, the interview was conducted mostly with open-ended statements (Tell me about….) rather than direct questions.

Results

A sturdy definition of masculinity was complicated by the participants’ struggle to determine what masculinity is exactly. Beginning with their memories of boyhood and what they considered maleness to be at a young age, participants remembered activities and traits they associated with the boys and men they interacted with. Hard work, sacrifice, duty, fun were some of the traits they valued and tried to imitate. They remembered the activities they participated in with other boys and the values they learned from those interactions—play, humor, strength. Although masculinity was difficult to discern in the abstract, by talking through what boys “do,” particularly in male-exclusive contexts, the participants found more concrete ways to discuss their experiences.

Through male role models, the participants articulated more clearly what values they wanted and did not want to embody. They were more aware of the differences between versions of masculinity based in LDS doctrine and those found in other contexts. They became more aware of “worldly” versions of masculinity and had to make choices in what they were willing to accept from cultural paradigms of gender and what had to be rejected to maintain their LDS identity. A “real” LDS man, consequently, was someone who did not succumb to “wordly” (often stereotypical) versions of manhood, but was perceptive and strong enough to live a more dignified, spiritual version of masculinity. The model of this higher form of masculinity was male deity—particularly Christ, whose life on earth as a man offered many examples of compassion and love that disrupted the self-centered versions of masculinity that many participants rejected. As they got older and developed a keener sense of spirituality, some participants felt they could understand and live this Christ-like form of masculinity better. The limitation of LDS culture was felt by some participants where the “macho” versions of masculinity they rejected, were re-inscribed into the LDS discourse surrounding masculinity. Ultimately, regardless of cultural trends in the LDS Church, living out masculinity resulted from the choices and religious understanding of the men themselves.

Discussion

These oral histories reveal ways LDS men develop their sense of manhood in conjunction with their spiritual duties and convictions. It reveals not only the gendered aspects of their lives that have previously been unacknowledged and unexplored, but also how gender identities interact with religious doctrines and culture. Oral histories are an important way to access men’s gendered experiences outside of the public narratives about men’s lives in LDS discourse. By bringing masculinity into the LDS gender conversation, a larger territory will be established in LDS studies that will be less fraught with problems of difference between men and women, but a better awareness, and perhaps even a more grounded celebration of that difference.

Conclusion

LDS masculinity work will open doors in exploring the relational nature of gender—how LDS masculinity and femininity interact, how they complement or contradict each other, how they remain separate from each other. The oral histories of LDS men’s experiences are invaluable tools for continuing a work already begun in understanding the gendered nature of LDS members’ lives—it is simply not enough to look only at women’s experiences. Men’s gender experiences needed to be articulated, recorded, and recognized.

References

Bushman, Claudia and Caroline Kline, eds. Mormon Women Have Their Say. Draper, Utah: Greg Kofford Books, 2013. Print.