Abstract

This paper draws on the geographies of emotion and masculinities literature to explore rural men’s experiences of the 2016 Kaikōura/Waiau earthquake in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 men affected by the earthquake. Geographies of emotion enable reflection on the social context and individual circumstances of those impacted by natural hazard events, thereby contributing to understanding the way local constructions of gender influence people’s experiences of disasters. The paper highlights how emotions are present regardless of how antipodean notions of hegemonic masculinity, reflecting stoicism and reserve, shape disaster responses. The research identified that two years on from the earthquake, men were still emotional when talking about the earthquake, yet attempted to silence their emotional distress. Through an analysis of emotion, men’s hidden vulnerabilities and capacities, which are linked to sets of understandings about masculinities in place, are captured. This research illustrates the value of undertaking analysis of men’s emotions in disaster spaces.

摘要

本文利用情感地理和男性气质文学来探索农村男性在 2016 年新西兰奥特阿罗阿凯库拉/怀奥地震中的经历。对 19 名受地震影响的男性进行了定性半结构化访谈。情感地理学能够反思受自然灾害事件影响的人的社会背景和个人情况，从而有助于理解当地的性别结构如何影响人们的灾难经历。这篇论文强调了情绪是如何存在的，无论霸权男子气概的反派观念如何反映坚忍和矜持，如何塑造灾难反应。研究发现，地震发生两年后，男人在谈论地震时仍然情绪激动，却试图平息他们的情绪困扰。通过对情感的分析，可以捕捉到男性隐藏的弱点和能力，这些弱点和能力与对男性气质的一系列理解有关。这项研究说明了对灾难空间中的男性情绪进行分析的价值。