Forced Migration and Gender Relations: The Impact of Displacement on Masculinity among Syrian Refugees

This paper aims at exploring the impact of forced migration on masculinity among Syrian refugees in Lebanon. It contributes to the debate about gender and forced migration by focusing on the particular dimension of the Syrian displacement in Lebanon – its protracted temporality. I argue that when Syrian refugee men lose their role as providers in displacement, they also lose their “space” in the public sphere, while they do not gain a new one in the private sphere. In displacement, individuals are often forced to rethink themselves and their relationships in a new social field, where gender roles and identities can be transformed. Yet, if they are constantly reminded that they cannot be permanent residents of the host country, and at the same time they are offered no alternative, they end up living in a suspended state. Drawing on Bourdieu’s epistemology, I argue that Syrian males’ habitus in Lebanon is “suspended” because the specific dimension of displacement prevents them from facing the crisis through reflexivity. In fact, they cope by attempting to reaffirm their masculinity through forms of protest.