Paper short abstract:

Based on three ethnographic pieces of research conducted over the last fifteen years among young men in Dhaka, Bangladesh, this paper explores how the construction of masculinities influenced the sexual practices of young men in Dhaka and resulted in violence against women and girls.

Paper long abstract:

The theorization of Connell (on masculinity) and Bourdieu (on practice) has been used in the paper to understand the link among constructions of masculinities, young heterosexual men’s sexual practices, and enactment of violence against women and girls in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It helps portray a comprehensive picture revealing the intersection of these without being lost to a structure–agency dichotomy. To understand the effects of structure on agency, Dhaka as a city is considered an active agent (not merely a landscape) based on the perceived and the conceived all-encompassing notion of freedom in the eyes of the young people – a Rongin Sohor (colorful city). In this sense, the city is not only dividing instead also uniting as young men from all classes envision Dhaka as a dreamland for their freedom, prosperity. In an agrarian society based on a kin system, the young who dream of their own lives can only get this chance in a gigantic city where the kin system is weaker and fails to ensure surveillance over the young blood. The paper argues that due to the embodiment of masculinities, young men are developing different ‘dispositions’ that result in ‘habitus’ regarding sexual practices (which is only possible in a gigantic city like Dhaka) and thereby ensures ‘symbolic violence’ against women and girls. The ‘habitus’ and ‘symbolic violence’ are used to understand young men’s sexual practices as a response to women’s increasing empowerment that threatens long-established male supremacy and therefore is read as a bid to reinforce patriarchy enacting VAW.