Forced Migration as a Crisis in Masculinity: A Sociological Approach to Refugee Men's Remasculinization Strategies in Turkey

This article focuses on the changes in masculinity identity caused by forced migration and remasculinization strategies developed by men against this situation. This qualitative study sets out the idea that forced migration causes the dramatic changes in gender roles, especially in the identity of masculinity. In this context, data were collected from 15 male refugees who flee from different countries to Turkey through semi-structured interviews. According to the data, forced migration refers to a crisis in masculinity that shook the power of some men. Men cannot perform the various roles that traditionally attributed to masculine identity, due to poverty and unemployment they face by displacement. In the face of this situation, some men try to reconstruct and regain their power and masculinity identity by developing different remasculinization strategies. These are realized by emphasizing the roles of hegemonic masculinity that men can perform in the process of forced migration.