Literature Review 1

Gender-specific honour codes - Masculine and Feminine Honour

In the last half century, social psychological, anthropological and historical literature has documented that honour codes manifest themselves in gendered terms (Peristiany, Gilmour, etc.). That is, being honorable (having esteem, respect, prestige, and moral reputation) requires men and women to achieve their gender-specific goals. For instance, Gilmour (1990) describes the men from the Circum-Mediterranean region, typically equipped with a culture of honor, "men who are deeply committed to an image of manliness because it is part of their personal honour and reputation" (p., 30). As such, "honor" may be operating as a strong but subtle cultural force which leads men and women to display and retain their masculinity and femininity, and thus makes gender stereotypes, sexism and heterosexism more resistant to be challenged in these societies.

Vast amount of research addressed the relationship of honour with many of the pervasive gender problems of our society. For instance, the most atrocious among these is "honour killing", which is the homicide of a member of a family (usually a female) due to the perpetrator's belief that the victim has brought dishonour and shame upon the family by refusing to enter an arranged marriage, being in relationships that are disapproved by the family or engaging in extramarital sexual acts. Killing the victim is believed to clean the dishonour. CITE AMMAN - JORDAN, & OTHER HONOR KILLING RESEARCH HERE.

Cross-cultural research comparing individuals from honour vs. non-honour cultures has shown that Spanish participants showed more traditional sex-role attitudes with regards to marriage and sexuality than Dutch participants  (Rodriguez-Mosquera, 1999). Researchers also demonstrated that honour beliefs are linked to ambivalent sexism, domestic violence against women and legitimization of male violence.