Tajik Men Who Do Not Migrate: Masculinization of Staying Put

This chapter discusses the flexible and strategic construction of the gender identity of non-migrant Tajik men, which occurs against the background of scarce employment opportunities and masculinization of migration in Tajikistan. Analyzing the life story of a non-migrant man, the chapter explores the strategies and justifications of masculine practices that non-migrant men apply in order to masculinize their gender identity in the context where migration is often perceived as the only available option for men to ensure their breadwinning responsibility. Drawing on their ability to secure although modest but stable income, knowledge of local labor market, physical presence and fulfillment of familial duties, non-migrant men flexibly and strategically reinterpret their seemingly non-hegemonic practices and turn them into hegemonic ones. This chapter also highlights the roles of the wives and community in the process of masculinity construction.