Rituals of Violent Masculinity: A Feminist Comparative Historical Analysis of Male-Male Fighting, Shame and Misogyny

Abstract

This article uses a combination of two feminist research methods to further understanding of the enduring nature of men’s use of ritualised forms of violence. In particular, this article examines men fighting other men to mitigate the effects of feminized shame and to stabilise masculine honour. Using a feminist comparative historical analysis alongside a feminist systematic review, two manifestations of ritualised honour-based fighting will be explored: men’s duelling of the eighteenth and nineteenth century and today’s (hetero)romantic and homosocial practice of territory marking: men claiming ownership over their (hetero)romantic partner by threatening to fight other men who appear to be romantically interested in her. By looking at the relationship between two types of ritualised fighting from different time-periods, the enduring nature of why men fight other men to mitigate feminized shame can be discussed in new ways. This type of analysis helps shed light on inherent fragilities within these violent practices, signalling how men’s ritualised fighting could be destabilised in the future.