When They Call You an “Exemplary Man”: A Qualitative Study on Masculinities That Challenge Machismo

Funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Puntos de Encuentro (Nicaragua) collaborated with Centro Bartolomé de las Casas (El Salvador) and Equimundo (United States) to conduct a series of studies to explore and describe the drivers of and barriers to nonviolent masculine identities in Nicaragua and El Salvador. As part of that effort, this qualitative study explores, through focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with Nicaraguan men and their female partners, what it means to be an “exemplary man” in a context where equitable relationships and nonviolence can be the exception rather than the norm.