Individual and Systemic Impacts of Hegemonic Masculinity on College Men Sexual Violence Peer Educators

Abstract:In this article, I explore the individual and systemic impact of hegemonic masculinity on college men serving as peer educators in sexual violence prevention programs. This ethnographic study was completed during the 2017–2018 academic year at a public university in the Southwest. Following an organization in the midst of a great deal of transition, I observed how hegemonic masculinity, particularly by way of male/men privilege and cisheteropatriarchy, was entrenched, actualized through curriculum, and occasionally resisted and critiqued. Through this article, I outline how the program allowed college men participants opportunities for further self-awareness around hegemonic masculinity, yet the program's systemic outcomes did not always play out in expected ways. Implications for future practice and research are discussed.