What Does It Mean to Be a Man?

Abstract

Telling stories about one's life and experiencing those stories being witnessed by others can have life-giving effects. At the same time, since identity is shaped on the terms of available stories, having access only to thin descriptions of the possibilities for one's life and constrained spaces in which to perform one's identity is life-limiting. Narrative therapy employs practices involving the rich telling and witnessing of stories for therapeutic and life-enhancing effects. One such practice is known as outsider witnessing. This paper reports a study that explored the experiences of a small group of men in Aotearoa New Zealand, who participated in outsider witness practices, telling and witnessing stories about negotiating their lives as men. Narrating the men's perspectives on these practices, the paper demonstrates and argues for the potential of outsider witnessing to contribute to identity-shaping in the lives of men, and so to social action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of New Zealand Journal of Counselling is the property of New Zealand Association of Counsellors and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)