Masculinities,Precarity and Cultural Expectations: Navigating Work and Life in Surabaya,Indonesia

Abstract

This study explores how men in precarious employment in Surabaya navigate the intersection of masculinities, vulnerability and cultural expectations. Taking a feminist approach to social practice theory, this study situates men's lived experiences within the broader structural and cultural conditions that shape their everyday realities. Our analysis of three precarious male workers’ personal narratives reveals how masculinities are performed through endurance, responsibility and silence in the space of instability. Javanese moral values such as wibawa (authority), rukun (harmony), sabar (patience) and nrimo ing pandum (acceptance of fate) are central to these responses, legitimating endurance while discouraging open expressions of vulnerability. These cultural ideals, intertwined with structural precarity, shape how men maintain dignity and masculine identity despite unstable livelihoods. The study contributes to feminist psychology's concern with social justice, intersectionality and marginalised voices by demonstrating how masculinities and vulnerability are not fixed traits but dynamic practices embedded within local moral worlds and the broader structures of precarious labour.