Researching Masculinity and Men’s Sexual Health in Bangladesh: Methodological Reflections

Kamrul Hasan

doi:10.18778/1733-8077.17.4.03

Authors

Kamrul Hasan Centre for Social Research in Health, UNSW Sydney, Australia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5960-4971

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/1733-8077.17.4.03

Keywords:

Sexuality, Masculinities, Reflexivity, Sexual Health, Qualitative Research, Bangladesh

Abstract

Sex and sexuality are deemed “sensitive” issues in relatively conservative, predominantly Muslim countries. Men’s sex and sexualities research within such cultural contexts confronts certain challenges and raises important methodological issues. This paper reflects on some of the methodological issues and challenges encountered when carrying out a study in Bangladesh. It reports on a male researcher’s qualitative study of men’s sexual health and masculinity in Bangladesh, a predominantly Muslim country where sexuality is largely constituted as a taboo subject. The researcher faced challenges in gaining access and in discussing sex and sexuality issues in interview settings. Moreover, the interview context emerged as a site for expressing, negotiating, challenging men and masculinities. Drawing upon experiences in navigating the “field” in Bangladesh, some of the useful ways of researching “sensitive” issues such as sex, sexuality, and masculinity within these settings are suggested, highlighting what works when researching men’s sexual health and masculinity.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

Kamrul Hasan, Centre for Social Research in Health, UNSW Sydney, Australia

Md Kamrul Hasan is an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Bangladesh Institute of Social Research Trust (BISRT) and a staff member at Western Sydney University, Australia. He held positions at BRAC University in Bangladesh and at Chiang Mai University, Thailand. He holds a Ph.D. from UNSW Sydney. His research interests encompass masculinities and men’s health, disasters, disability, ICT and healthcare, international development, and gender.

References

Ahmed, Rushdia et al. 2020. “Challenges and Strategies in Conducting Sexual and Reproductive Health Research among Rohingya Refugees in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.” Conflict and Health 14(1):1-8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13031-020-00329-2

Ahmed-Ghosh, Huma. 2012. “Introduction: Lesbians, Sexuality, and Islam.” Journal of Lesbian Studies 16(4):377-380. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10894160.2012.681257

Allen, Louisa et al. 2014. “Who’s Afraid of Sex at School? The Politics of Researching Culture, Religion and Sexuality at School.” International Journal of Research & Method in Education 37(1):31-43. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1743727X.2012.754006

Anam, Md Mujibul. 2014. “When Sexuality Is in a Research Topic! The Methodological Challenges in Sexuality and Street Healing Research in Bangladesh.” The Oriental Anthropologist 14(1):27-40. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0976343020140103

Beck, Andrew et al. 2005. “‘We Don’t Really Have Cause to Discuss These Things, They Don’t Affect Us’: A Collaborative Model for Developing Culturally Appropriate Sexual Health Services with the Bangladeshi Community of Tower Hamlets.” Sexually Transmitted Infections 81(2):158-162. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/sti.2004.012195

Bennett, Linda Rae and Sharyn Graham Davies. 2014. Sex and Sexualities in Contemporary Indonesia: Sexual Politics, Health, Diversity and Representations. Abingdon: Routledge.

Butler, Judith. 1990. Gender Trouble and the Subversion of Identity. New York: Routledge.

Connell, Raewyn. 2005. Masculinities. Sydney: Allen & Unwin.

Cowburn, Malcolm. 2013. “Men Researching Violent Men: Epistemologies, Ethics and Emotions in Qualitative Research.” Pp. 183-196 in Men, Masculinities and Methodologies, edited by B. Pini and B. Pease. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137005731_14

Dean, Judith et al. 2012. “Hidden Yet Visible: Methodological Challenges Researching Sexual Health in Sudanese Refugee Communities.” Culture, Health & Sexuality 14(8):911-924. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13691058.2012.709639

Deleuze, Gilles and Félix Guattari. 1988. A Thousand Plateaus. London: Athlone.

Dialmy, Abdessamad. 2010. “Sexuality and Islam.” The European Journal of Contraception & Reproductive Health Care 15(3):160-168. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3109/13625181003793339

Dowsett, Gary W. 2015. “The Price of Pulchritude, the Cost of Concupiscence: How to Have Sex in Late Modernity.” Culture, Health & Sexuality 17(1):5-19. doi: 10.1080/13691058.2014.959563. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13691058.2014.959563

Elam, Gillian and Kevin A. Fenton. 2003. “Researching Sensitive Issues and Ethnicity: Lessons from Sexual Health.” Ethnicity and Health 8(1):15-27. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13557850303557

Farahani, Farideh Khalajabadi and John Cleland. 2015. “Perceived Norms of Premarital Heterosexual Relationships and Sexuality among Female College Students in Tehran.” Culture, Health & Sexuality 17(6):700-717. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13691058.2014.990515

Fisher, Terri D. 1989. “Confessions of a Closet Sex Researcher.” The Journal of Sex Research 26(1):144-147. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00224498909551500

Goffman, Erving. 1956. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Edinburg: University of Edinburg.

Hasan, Kamrul, Peter Aggleton, and Asha Persson. 2017. “The Makings of a Man: Social Generational Masculinities in Bangladesh.” Journal of Gender Studies 27(3):347-61. doi: 10.1080/09589236.2017.1388773. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09589236.2017.1388773

Hasan, Kamrul, Peter Aggleton, and Asha Persson. 2019. “Sexual Practices and Sexual Health among Three Generations of Men in Bangladesh: Exploring Gender- and Sexuality-Assemblages.” Sexuality & Culture 23:475-93. doi: 10.1007/s12119-018-9566-7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-018-9566-7

Haywood, Chris and Máirtín Mac an Ghaill. 2003. Men and Masculinities: Theory, Research and Social Practice. Buckingham, Philadelphia: Open University Press.

Hearn, Jeff. 2013. “Methods and Methodologies in Critical Studies on Men and Masculinities.” Pp. 26-38 in Men, Masculinities and Methodologies, edited by B. Pini and B. Pease. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137005731_2

Hunt, Mary E. and Patricia Beattie Jung. 2009. “‘Good Sex’ and Religion: A Feminist Overview.” Journal of Sex Research 46(2-3):156-167. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00224490902747685

Imtiaz, Sana. 2012. Young Men in a Colourful City: Masculinity, Young Men’s Sexual Practices, and HIV/AIDS in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Ph.D. thesis, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam.

Irvine, Janice M. 2002. Talk about Sex: The Battles over Sex Education in the United States. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520355002

Khan, Muhammad A. 2006. Sex and Sexuality in Islam. Lahore: Nashriyat.

Khan, Sharful. 1997. Sex, Secrecy and Shamefulness: Developing a Sexual Health Response to the Needs of Males Who Have Sex with Males in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Dhaka: Naz Foundation International.

Khan, Sharful et al. 2005. “Men Who Have Sex with Men’s Sexual Relations with Women in Bangladesh.” Culture, Health & Sexuality 7(2):159-169. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13691050412331321258

Kulick, Don. 1995. “Introduction. The Sexual Life of Anthropologists: Erotic Subjectivity and Ethnographic Work.” Pp. 13-21 in Taboo, edited by D. Kulick and M. Wilson. London: Routledge.

Kulick, Don and Margaret Willson, eds. 1995. Taboo. Sex, Identity and Erotic Subjectivity in Anthropological Fieldwork. London, New York: Routledge.

Liamputtong, Pranee. 2013. Qualitative Research Methods. South Melbourne: Oxford University Press.

Mannheim, Karl. 1952. “The Problem of Generations.” Pp. 276-320 in Essays on the Sociology of Knowledge, edited by P. Kecskemeti. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

McCormack, Mark. 2014. “Is Sexuality Research ‘Dirty Work?’” Sexualities 17(5-6):674-676. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1363460714531277

Muna, Lazeena. 2005. Romance and Pleasure: Understanding the Sexual Conduct of Young People in Dhaka in the Era of HIV and AIDS. Dhaka: University Press Limited.

Patton, Michael. 1990. Qualitative Evaluation and Research Methods. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Pini, Barbara and Bob Pease. 2013. “Gendering Methodologies in the Study of Men and Masculinities.” Pp. 1-25 in Men, Masculinities and Methodologies, edited by B. Pini and B. Pease. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137005731_1

Plummer, Ken. 2010. “Generational Sexualities, Subterranean Traditions, and the Hauntings of the Sexual World: Some Preliminary Remarks.” Symbolic Interaction 33(2):163-190. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/si.2010.33.2.163

Poole, Hayley, David C. Giles, and Karen Moore. 2004. “Researching Sexuality and Sexual Issues: Implications for the Researcher?” Sexual and Relationship Therapy 19(1):79-86. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14681990410001640853

Roudsari, Robab Latifnejad et al. 2013. “Socio-Cultural Challenges to Sexual Health Education for Female Adolescents in Iran.” Iranian Journal of Reproductive Medicine 11(2):101-110.

Roulston, Kathryn. 2016. “Issues Involved in Methodological Analyses of Research Interviews.” Qualitative Research Journal 16(1):68-79. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/QRJ-02-2015-0015

Schroder, Kerstin E. E., Michael P. Carey, and Peter A. Vanable. 2003. “Methodological Challenges in Research on Sexual Risk Behavior: II. Accuracy of Self-Reports.” Annals of Behavioral Medicine 26(2):104-123. doi: 10.1207/s15324796abm2602_03. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1207/S15324796ABM2602_03

Sharpe, Jenny and Samantha Pinto. 2006. “The Sweetest Taboo: Studies of Caribbean Sexualities. A Review Essay.” Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 32(1):247-274. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/505541

Siddiqi, Dina M. 2011. “Sexuality, Rights and Personhood: Tensions in a Transnational World.” BMC International Health and Human Rights 11(3):S5. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-698X-11-S3-S5

Sikes, Pat. 2008. “Forward.” Pp. vii-xii in From Teacher to Lover: Sex Scandals in the Classroom. New York: Peter Lang.

Tabatabaie, Alireza. 2015a. “Constructing the Ideal Muslim Sexual Subject: Problematics of School-Based Sex Education in Iran.” Sex Education 15(2):204-216. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14681811.2014.992066

Tabatabaie, Alireza. 2015b. “Childhood and Adolescent Sexuality, Islam, and Problematics of Sex Education: A Call for Re-Examination.” Sex Education 15(3):276-288. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14681811.2015.1005836

Yip, Andrew Kam-Tuck. 2009. “Islam and Sexuality: Orthodoxy and Contestations.” Contemporary Islam 3(1):1-5. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11562-008-0073-8