Containing and Resisting Masculinity: Narratives of Renegotiation Among Resilient Male Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse.
Abstract
Male childhood sexual abuse survivors face the same social pressures as other men to live up to the tenets of masculinity. However, they contend with a disjuncture between cultural definitions of manhood and the discordant experience of sexual victimization. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 16 resilient men varying in age, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity. The authors analyzed the men’s narratives concerning male role socialization for toughness, stoicism, and aggressive sexuality, as well as the impact of childhood sexual abuse. Results indicate that in their paths toward recovery, the participants repeatedly described both containing and resisting traditional masculine roles and made conscious choices not to become per-petrators. The importance of raising awareness about masculinity myths in clinical interventions is discussed.
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A common societal belief holds that boys who were abused ought to have been able to resist the abuse physically.
“In addition, Kia-Keating, Grossman, Soroli, and Epstein (2005) found that when males are sexually abused there is an underlying assumption, in our society, that they should have been strong enough to fight off the abuse.”
From The Disclosure Experiences of Male Child Sexual Abuse Survivors (2016) · cites this paper as Kia-Keating, Grossman, Soroli, and Epstein (2005)
Cites
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Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (2017) · Aldine (Routledge reprint) · doi:10.4324/9780203793206 · Cited by 25,789 · see citing works
Finkelhor, D., Hotaling, G., Lewis, I. A., & Smith, C. (1990) · Child Abuse & Neglect · doi:10.1016/0145-2134(90)90077-7 · Cited by 1,754 · cited 1× · see citing works
“In a national survey, of the men who reported sexual abuse, 42% had never previously disclosed it (Finkelhor et al., 1990).”
BackgroundEgeland, B., Carlson, E., & Sroufe, L. A. (1993) · Development and Psychopathology · doi:10.1017/s0954579400006131 · Cited by 979 · see citing works
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"I keep that hush-hush": Male survivors of sexual abuse and the challenges of disclosure.
Sorsoli, L., Kia-Keating, M., & Grossman, F. K. (2008) · Journal of Counseling Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-0167.55.3.333 · Cited by 201 · see citing works
Self-citationMarriott, C., Hamilton‐Giachritsis, C., & Harrop, C. (2014) · Child Abuse Review · doi:10.1002/car.2258 · Cited by 149 · see citing works
The Disclosure Experiences of Male Child Sexual Abuse Survivors
Gagnier, C., & Collin-Vézina, D. (2016) · Journal of Child Sexual Abuse · doi:10.1080/10538712.2016.1124308 · Cited by 144 · see citing works
Male Child Sexual Abuse: A Phenomenology of Betrayal
Alaggia, R., & Millington, G. (2008) · Clinical Social Work Journal · doi:10.1007/s10615-007-0144-y · Cited by 135 · see citing works
A gale force wind: Meaning making by male survivors of childhood sexual abuse.
Grossman, F. K., Sorsoli, L., & Kia-Keating, M. (2006) · American Journal of Orthopsychiatry · doi:10.1037/0002-9432.76.4.434 · Cited by 111 · see citing works
Self-citationSivagurunathan, M., Orchard, T., MacDermid, J. C., & Evans, M. (2019) · Child Abuse & Neglect · doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2018.08.015 · Cited by 91 · see citing works
Resilience among adult survivors of childhood neglect: a missing piece in the resilience literature
Ben-David, V., & Jonson-Reid, M. (2017) · Children and Youth Services Review · doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.05.014 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Widanaralalage, B. K., Hine, B. A., Murphy, A. D., & Murji, K. (2023) · Violence and Victims · doi:10.1891/vv-2022-0084 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse: Becoming Gender-Sensitive and Trauma-Informed
Elkins, J., Crawford, K., & Briggs, H. E. (2017) · Advances in Social Work · doi:10.18060/21301 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Gill, A. K., & Begum, H. (2023) · The British Journal of Criminology · doi:10.1093/bjc/azac097 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
- Authors
- Kia-Keating, M., Grossman, F. K., Sorsoli, L., & Epstein, M.
- Affiliations
- Boston University (US)
- Wellesley College (US)
- University of Michigan (US)
- ORCID
- Epstein, Marina
- Venue
- Psychology of Men & Masculinity
- Published
- 2005-07
- Volume
- 6
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 169-185
- ISSN
- 1524-9220 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-151X
- OpenAlex
- W2168521134
- Cited by
- 141
- References
- 4
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 4
- FWCI
- 5.50
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychology of Men & Masculinity (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender Roles and Identity Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies
- Keywords
- masculinity, resilience, male survivors, Stoicism, recovery, clinical intervention, sexual victimization
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