Gender identity, culture of honor and gender violence: Social and personal implications

Gender violence is a social problem that has a great impact in Spain (Ferrer and Bosch, 2013). This complex process has also personal implications in women's health (physical and mental health) and social implications (laws or cultural constrains, among others) that affect interpersonal relationships. To analyze this phenomenon a wide range of variables should be taken into account. Two of these important variables are cultural level (culture of honor) and individual level (gender identity). Our studies show that there is a relationship between gender identity and culture of honor. Specifically, individuals high in masculine gender identity give more importance to culture of honor whereas high feminine gender identity relates with a lower concern to honor affairs. In this book chapter for Gender Identity: Disorders, Developmental Perspectives and Social Implications, we analyze the role that this relation has on gender violence and their consequences and social implications. Specifically, we summarize a series of studies that examine gender identity, culture of honor and gender violence both in prisoners and in non prisoners' men and in general population. Our results would help to better understand gender violence and the role that gender identity has in this complex, personal and social, phenomenon.