Couple therapy and related literature has problematized men's emotional inexpressiveness as constraining for men and as contributing to men's privileged and dominating position vis-à-vis women. Fostering men's emotionality in and outside of therapy has been proposed as a way to improve men's well-being and relationships and promote gender equality. Critical masculinity scholars have noted that many men now enact vulnerable (“softer”) and emotional forms of masculinity. Yet, there is lack of insight into how such enactment may intersect with gender inequality. This article presents a critical thematic analysis of 30 transcribed videotaped couple therapy sessions focusing on the performance of men's affective masculinities and the political dimensions of men's increasing emotionality within couple therapy. The study shows that vulnerable masculinities, although argued as bearing the potential to foster relational and social change, may also obscure continuing commitment to dominant masculinity norms. Implications for practice are discussed.

中文翻译：

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夫妻治疗中脆弱的男性气质的政治

夫妻治疗和相关文献已将男性的情感表达问题化为对男性的约束，并有助于男性相对于女性的特权和支配地位。已经提出在治疗内外培养男性的情感，作为改善男性幸福感和人际关系以及促进性别平等的一种方式。批判阳刚之气的学者指出，许多男性现在表现出脆弱（“更柔和”）和情绪化的阳刚之气。然而，对于此类立法如何与性别不平等相交，却缺乏洞察力。本文对 30 次转录的夫妻治疗视频进行了批判性主题分析，重点关注男性情感男性气质的表现以及男性在夫妻治疗中情绪增强的政治维度。研究表明，虽然脆弱的男性气质被认为具有促进关系和社会变革的潜力，但也可能掩盖对主导男性气质规范的持续承诺。讨论了对实践的影响。