Conceptualising Male Vulnerability in a Ghanaian Context: Implications for Adult Education and Counselling
Date
2021
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of Black Studies
Abstract
Gender advocates have bemoaned the diatribe about women inequality at
the neglect of males’ vulnerability in abstract narratives. We propose that
achievement of female empowerment will be complimented by empirically
exploring men’s vulnerability themes wrapped in “masculinity” with cultural
differences. This study documented views on male vulnerability in the
Ghanaian environment using mixed-method design with 189 respondents
conveniently. Chi square goodness-of-fit test, and thick descriptions
were applied to the open-ended questionnaire items. Indeed, 74% of
the participants agreed that Ghanaian males were vulnerable with 26%
expressing contrary views. With nine overarching themes generated, gender
was not a significant factor in categorising male vulnerability (Σ2
(8)=10.836,
p>.05). We concluded that both sexes appear to have shared views on
Ghanaian males’ vulnerability issues and recommended for gender advocates to expand the equality discourse to cover males’ vulnerability. Implications
for adult education and guidance and counselling practices are indicated.
Description
Research Article
Keywords
male vulnerability, gender equality, community colleges, counselling