Unmasking masculinities in counseling: From conformity to connection

Authors

Kyle R. Rose, James Madison UniversityFollow

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

ORCID

https://orcid.org/0009-0009-7214-7945

Date of Graduation

5-15-2025

Semester of Graduation

Spring

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Department of Graduate Psychology

First Advisor

Stephanie Crockett

Second Advisor

Cara Meixner

Third Advisor

Kenson Hiatt

Abstract

This dissertation explored the entanglements of professional counseling and masculinities across three manuscripts, to contribute to (1) healthier forms of gender expression within and beyond the spectrum of masculinities for individuals, (2) the counseling profession’s role in transforming hegemonic masculinity within communities, and (3) larger movements to subvert the patriarchy throughout society. The first manuscript is a conceptual article that presented the Relational Cultural Privileged Identity Counseling (RCPIC) model, an integrative framework designed to help counselors address hegemonic masculinity within the therapeutic relationship. Drawing from Relational-Cultural Theory (RCT) and Privileged Identity Exploration (PIE), this model provided a roadmap for compassionate confrontations with hegemonic masculinity when it manifests in counseling sessions. The second manuscript is a qualitative study that employed Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to explore how masculine-presenting students perceive relational and emotional dynamics, often labeled as feminine, within their programs. Based on six participant interviews, four major themes and five subthemes emerged, illustrating intersections of masculine gender expressions and feminine social norms in counseling training. Despite challenges, participants valued the program characteristics typically coded as feminine, considered them overlapping or synonymous with traits of being human, and saw experiences with them as fundamental to personal growth and professional development. The third manuscript is a quantitative study that examined how conformity to masculine norms and feminist consciousness predict professional identity among counselors. Utilizing multiple hierarchical multiple regression, findings indicated that conforming to traditional masculine norms negatively predicts counselor identity, while feminist consciousness corresponds positively with professional identity. These results suggested that feminist consciousness and flexibility in masculinity may nurture congruence with counseling’s relational and social justice principles.