Abstract
This article examines incidents of politically motivated sexual violence against men in protest spaces at a distinct juncture in Egypt’s history, after the downfall of President Hosni Mubarak (2011–13). The article examines the reified conceptions of masculinities in relation to gender-based violence that contribute to the omission of men’s experiences of sexual assault in protest spaces. An analysis of such reifications, their dynamics, and implications is critically important for two subfields: the study of masculinities in the Middle East and the study of men and gender-based violence on conflict. The article draws on empirical data comprising twelve in-depth life histories with men who belong to vigilante groups that sought to rescue women from sexual assault in protest spaces and interviews with women and men who were sexually assaulted during protests. This is corroborated with primary data made available through the work of psychologists and secondary literature.
