Gender-Transformative Humanitarian Action, the Climate Crisis, and Men, Boys and Masculinities: Toward A Radical, Emancipatory Approach

Alongside increasing levels of gender inequality, the climate crisis represents one of the 1 greatest global challenges to peace and human security.2 The myriad impacts of climate change, disasters and climate exacerbated conflicts are intrinsically gendered,3 yet humanitarian responses have inadequately addressed structural gender inequalities,4 and their links to gendered human insecurity remain, ‘poorly understood by many humanitarian policymakers and practitioners.’5 International humanitarian frameworks and policy instruments have thus far failed to adequately respond to, let alone transform, pre-existing gendered power structures, with many critiqued for their reductive treatment of ‘gender’, or for the siloing of humanitarian and development issues.6 In response, humanitarian organizations are increasingly seeking to mainstream gender in policies and programs, including through ‘gender responsive’ and ‘gender-inclusive’ approaches. However, arguably more radical ‘gender-transformative’ approaches, which harbor emancipatory potential, remain understudied in the literature. In addition, in humanitarian gender mainstreaming policy and practice, widespread uses and interpretations of the term ‘gender’ as predominantly signifying ‘women’ (and girls), have resulted in the theoretical and operational silencing or simplification of men, boys and masculinities (and gender diverse individuals). Such gendered exclusions are highly problematic, as they may foreclose opportunities for a more comprehensive, structural and transformative addressing of human insecurities amidst humanitarian crises. Drawing on feminist, intersectional and post-structuralist perspectives in this paper, I conduct a qualitative critical discourse analysis of men, boys and masculinities as referred to in the frameworks, policies, guideline documents, programs and reports of humanitarian actors adopting gender transformative mainstreaming approaches. The paper thereby analyses and reflects on issues including the essentialization, invisibilization and universalization of men, boys and masculinities in humanitarian gender mainstreaming, arguing the perpetuation of non-intersectional, reductive approaches is detrimental to broader efforts aimed at achieving gender equality and collective human security amidst the climate crisis. Drawing on post-colonial critique, the paper moreover contextualizes and problematizes gender-transformative approaches themselves in relation to broader ethical, legal and practical dilemmas within the field of humanitarianism. It argues that these insights, when considered within dominant global frameworks of development, humanitarianism, peace and security, further draw our attention to particular politicizations and instrumentalisations of gender within humanitarian action. Ultimately, the paper contributes to the author’s overarching research project which comprehensively investigates the radical and emancipatory potential of global gender-transformative approaches to humanitarian action amidst the climate crisis.