Abstract
Considering that Social Psychology assists so that social practices and actions can be problematized, this study aims to show how the senses of the self and the Other identified in narratives of men who commit violence sustain and justify their violent actions. To that end, four narratives of men who participated in a reflective group of men who committed violence in a city in southern Brazil were used and analyzed through the thematic analysis of the narratives. The results revealed that men justified their “aggressiveness” in the Other. And this Other, for many times, could be identified as a reference to the social bonds and the senses of the human being. It was possible to verify that the way in which the individuals perceive their life trajectories, permeated by the experiences of resistance and construction before a context where, according to them, there was a lack of affection, aggression and absence, especially, paternal, seemed to construct a scenario conducive to the emergence of violence. From this, it is highlighted the importance that the participants give to the significant social bonds and to the dichotomy of being male/female, as well as to the way in which this relational dynamic plunge into ethical and moral precepts and values. This, in turn, leads us to think how the look of Critical Social Psychology helps social problems to be identified and raised, just as other modes of existence for both men and women can emerge and be seen. In this way, problematizing gender makes possible to reconstruct and socially transform.
Violence against women; Men who commit violence; Narratives; Self-report; Report of the Other