New masculinities that are forged behind bars

The Ministry of Equality launched a campaign a couple of years ago vindicating the ‘soft man’ – the one who cries, the one who hugs, the one who cares, the co-responsible – turning around that famous and sexist phrase from El Fary. And it is still difficult to leave behind traditional roles and privileges to build healthier and more egalitarian social relationships. With this goal, the Rioja Acoge association has been holding a workshop on new masculinities in the Logroño penitentiary center since last year, which has already had four editions with a positive background, according to its organizers, and growing interest among the prisoners, which has already given rise to waiting lists: “For them it is a safe, intimate and reflective space.”

“New masculinities involve dismantling the concept of traditional masculinity, deconstructing gender stereotypes and seeking a more egalitarian, healthy and respectful model of relationships and coexistence,” defines Raquel Sáenz, one of the volunteers who organizes and teaches a voluntary workshop. , without prison benefits for attendance, lasting three to six sessions, for a maximum of fifteen prisoners and in which no official is present. Although her assistants are mostly young and all “are open to change,” they have varied profiles, not only those convicted of gender violence and both national and foreign.

Emotion management, jealousy, self-esteem and self-love, the role of men in the home and family or responsibility are some of the contents of the workshop, treated through participatory dynamics and activities based on the needs of the group. And what ideas are most difficult for you to rethink? “The role of caregiver, the identification of privileges, the relationship between love and jealousy or the view that men are vulnerable for expressing feelings,” explains Eva, the other workshop volunteer.

They also talk about the rejection that arises with some participants on issues such as their conviction that “the system is made to protect women and they are victims of the laws”, so that “we deal with these issues in a more indirect way, through responsibility for our actions, and that is what creates change,” explains Raquel.

With the fourth course currently underway, the evaluation of the program is enormously positive, valuing “being able to form a group that cares for each other and in which they can express themselves,” says Raquel. Many repeat and contribute, in addition to “bringing those debates and issues that they have discussed to their modules, talking about them with colleagues who have not attended and spreading the message,” explains Juan Jesús Fernández, coordinator of the Rioja Acoge prison area, which leads carried out many other initiatives in the penitentiary center. Raquel summarizes that “we see an evolution, they are beginning to see that they may be wrong on some issues or that, at least, there are more options.”

Challenges and needs

Despite everything, they point out that they encounter certain challenges to these workshops, such as the resistance to change in many inmates, the sociocultural contexts that influence each one, the complexity of the prison environment or the limitation of time and resources.

The workshop was launched based on a need detected by Rioja Acoge in prison, seeking to promote equality, the prevention of gender violence or the development of emotional skills, but according to its organizers, the rest of Society should also address similar issues towards breaking with toxic masculinity: “These are limiting ideas that have been instilled in us, cultural backpacks that are very difficult to leave without someone helping us. Women are victims of this but so are men, who are born with a series of obligations to carry. They emphasize the importance of prevention over punishment and education in equality. For a society of fewer machirulos and more ‘soft men’.