“Where are the tlawmngai Zo/Mizo men?” Gendered living spaces and Masculinity codes

Abstract

In order to address the gender disparities that exist in developing societies, it is necessary to have an understanding of gendered spaces. Institutions, both formal and informal, frequently play a role in determining how a society’s resources, freedoms, and privileges are distributed among its members. This research investigates the matrices of men’s public visibility in relation to the tlawmngaihna code in order to get a better understanding of the pressures that men face in societies that have strong gender norms. The research does this by looking at the world through the lens of men and masculinities. Both the machismo of politics and the edicts of the Nexus of Patriarchy place constraints on the naturalness of men and their capacity to connect with the natural world. The conventional masculine members of the Zo and Mizo ethnic group are reimagined as exemplars of ecologically responsible perfection. Despite this, members of the community and outside observers continue to question their visibility, asking, “Where are the tlawmngai Zo/Mizo men?”