Negotiating Masculinity: Unemployment, Identity Crisis, and Male Youth in India
Sameer Maqbool Wani
Ph.D Research Scholar, Department of Sociology and Social Work, Annamalai University, Annamalai NagarTamil Nadu
S. Allah Baksh
Associate Professor, Department of Sociology and Social Work, Annamalai University, Annamalai NagarTamil Nadu
The present study examines the changing meanings of masculinity among unemployed male youth in contemporary India. Drawing on sociological theories of masculinity, anomie, and role strain, the study explores how prolonged unemployment disrupts socially expected male roles related to economic provision, authority, and self-worth. Using qualitative interviews with educated yet unemployed young men from urban and semi-urban settings, the article analyses experiences of frustration, loss of status, emotional distress, and renegotiation of identity. The findings suggest that unemployment produces a crisis not only of livelihood but also of masculine selfhood, leading to coping strategies such as withdrawal, redefinition of success, reliance on family support, and selective resistance to traditional gender norms. At the same time, persistent social pressure to perform hegemonic masculinity deepens anxiety and social isolation. It argues that male unemployment must be understood as a gendered social issue rather than merely an economic problem.
Keywords: Masculinity, youth unemployment, gender identity, role strain, social anxiety, hegemonic masculinity, contemporary India
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