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In the old Montenegrin masculine patriarchal culture, having children was one of the primary motivations for marriage. Women in labour faced significant community pressure to give birth to a male child, as evidenced by various ethnographic records and confirmed by contemporary anthropological research. Montenegro exhibits one of the most unbalanced ratios of newborn male to female babies among countries. This necessitates an analysis that integrates legal and anthropological perspectives on son preference. The article explores the socio-historical circumstances and modern expressions of the cult of the male child, followed by an examination of the legal implications of selective abortions. The legal dimension of abortion encompasses a broad normative framework, with the fundamental question concerning the boundary of legal protection in this area, i.e., the limit of state intervention in the personal sphere of individuals and citizens. The legal analysis will also include a reflection on the impact of criminal legal protection on this debate, particularly through the lens of the criminal offense of unlawful termination of pregnancy as stipulated in Article 150 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro. Considering the scope of rights to life, family, and reproduction, and recognizing that pregnancy termination motivated by sex selection is generally prohibited, yet this practice is widespread, the assumption is that the formal legal means to address this issue are limited. As this is a societal phenomenon involving sensitive legal, personal, cultural, religious, political, social, and moral issues, the paper discusses approaches for combating this practice.

If we conceptualize reality as a large narrative we “build ourselves into” as social beings, and consider social activities and identities as narratively mediated, the full extent of the capacity of narratives in the creation, shaping, transmission and reconstruction of contemporary social identities, as well as the reproduction of the concept of nation in everyday life becomes apparent. The imagined Euro- Atlantic future of Montenegro demands certain narrative interpretations of the past, which, in latter stages tend to become meta-narratives susceptible to consensus. The linkage of significant historical events to the process of Euro-Atlantic integrations of Montenegro is preformed through different meta-discursive practices, most often through ceremonial evocations of memories of significant events from the recent as well as further history of Montenegro. In this context, celebrations of Statehood Day and Independence Day are especially important, as they serve as reminders of the decisions of the Congress of Berlin, the Podgorica Assembly, the antifascist struggle of World War II and the independence of Montenegro attained through the referendum held in 2006. The clearly defined key points, along with the logical coherence the narrative is based on, provide the narrative with a certain “flexibility” which enables it to take in new elements. Narrative interpretations of the past have a significant role in the reproduction of the nation, as well as the shaping and consolidation of a desirable national identity, while the established narrative continuity between the past, present and imagined Euro-Atlantic future of Montenegro emerges as the “official” mediator in the reproduction of contemporary Montenegrin identity in the process of Euro-Atlantic integration. In order to fully comprehend this narrative, it is advisable to conceptualize it both in a synchronic as well as a diachronic perspective, as can be shown in two charts which, depending on the context, I have tentatively named “the sovereignty graph” (wherein the “end” of the narrative is a prerequisite for the beginning of Euro-Atlantic integration) and “the identity graph” (wherein Euro-Atlantic integrations are conceptualized as a dialectic equilibrium of independence and non-independence).

The model of traditional Montenegrin masculinity is inseparable from the social formations that have contributed to its creation, hence the need for its more thorough economic, social and historical contextualization. It is particularly important to distinguish the two components of the model of traditional Montenegrin masculinity, which tend to be intertwined and are therefore difficult to separate. The first concerns the gender roles assigned to men and women in an economy based on livestock raising, warfare, and raiding, while the other concerns the concept of gender roles shaped by fictional, ethnological and historical narratives. The paper attempts to problematize the economic basis of the model of traditional Montenegrin masculinity in the context of a semi-nomadic livestock raising economy and a clan’s collective property.

Ukoliko stvarnost konceptualizujemo kao veliki narativ, u koji se “ugrađujemo” kao socijalna bića, a društveno djelovanje i identite razmotrimo kao narativno posredovane – onda do punog izražaja dolazi kapacitet narativa u kreiranju, oblikovanju, prenošenju i rekonstruisanju savremenih društvenih identiteta, kao i reprodukciji nacije u svakodnevnom životu. Zamišljena evroatlantska budućnost Crne Gore, nužno zahtijeva i određene narativne interpretacije prošlosti, koje u kasnijim fazama teže da postanu konsenzusu podložni meta-narativi. Povezivanje značajnih istorijskih događaja i evroatlantskih integracija Crne Gore vrši se različitim metadiskurzivnim praksama, a najčešće ceremonijama upriličenim evociranju uspomena na značajne događaje iz bliže i dalje istorije Crne Gore. U tom kontekstu, osobito su značajne proslave Dana državnosti i Dana nezavisnosti, putem kojih se dominantno vrši podsjećanje na odluke Berlinskog kongresa, Podgoričku skupštinu, antifašističku borbu u Drugom svjetskom ratu i na nezavisnost Crne Gore izglasanu na referendumu 2006. godine. Jasno određene centralne tačke, uz logičku koherentnost na kojoj narativ nužno počiva, ovako koncipiranom narativu objezbjeđuju „rastegljivost“, koja mu omogućuje i prijem novih elemenata. Narativne interpretacije prošlosti imaju značajnu funkciju u reprodukovanju nacije, kao i u oblikovanju i učvršćivanju željenog nacionalnog identiteta, a uspostavljeni narativni kontinuitet prošlosti, sadašnjosti i zamišljene evroatlanske budućnosti Crne Gore, javlja se kao “zvanični” posrednik u reprodukciji savremenog crnogorskog identiteta u procesu evroatlantskih integracija. Za razumijevanje datog narativa, poželjno je njegovo konceptualizovanje u sinhronijskoj i dijahronijskoj perspektivi, a koje se može manifestovati na dva grafikona, koja sam u zavisnosti od konteksta, uslovno naslovio kao “grafikon suverenosti” (unutar kojeg je “kraj” narativa preduslov za početak evroatlantskih integracija) i “identitetski grafikon” (unutar kojeg se evroatlantske integracije konceptualizuju kao dijalektički ekvilibrijum samostalnosti i nesamostalnosti).

Model tradicionalnog crnogorskog maskuliniteta sastoji se od dve komponente, koje su dominantnio uticale na njegovo produkovanje: tradicionalna komponenta odnosi se na dominaciju ratničko-stočarsko-pljačkaškog privređivanja, dok se tradicionalistička komponenta odnosi na koncept rodnih uloga, oblikovan putem fikcionalnih, etnoloških i istorijskih narativa. Polazna teorijska postavka jeste da su maskuliniteti produkovani kroz svakodnevne aktivnosti i mesto muškarca koje zauzima u privrednim odnosima, što zahteva dublju privrednu, socijalnu i istorijsku kontekstualizaciju datog modela. Najbitnija karakteristika ekstenzivnog stočarskog privređivanja i kolektivne imovine plemena, jeste da su zahtevali stalnu odbranu stada i zajedničke imovine plemena, a nedostatak osnovnih životnih resursa značio je njihovo pronalaženje na drugom mestu. Osiguravanje osnovnih sredstava za život – bilo kroz njihovu odbranu na svojoj teritoriji ili putem upada na druge teritorije – impliciralo je česte oružane sukobe, a oružane snage su u svim vremenima i unutar različitih kultura, gotovo uvek, u potpunosti muške institucije. Tako je i obezbeđivanje osnovnih životnih resursa u tradicionalnom društvu Crne Gore predstavljalo specifično muški posao, a logika svakodnevnog privređivanja nužno je davala prednost muškarcu u odnosu na ženu.

If we conceptualize reality as a large narrative we “build ourselves into” as social beings, and consider social activities and identities as narratively mediated, the full extent of the capacity of narratives in the creation, shaping, transmission and reconstruction of contemporary social identities, as well as the reproduction of the concept of nation in everyday life becomes apparent. The imagined Euro- Atlantic future of Montenegro demands certain narrative interpretations of the past, which, in latter stages tend to become meta-narratives susceptible to consensus. The linkage of significant historical events to the process of Euro-Atlantic integrations of Montenegro is preformed through different meta-discursive practices, most often through ceremonial evocations of memories of significant events from the recent as well as further history of Montenegro. In this context, celebrations of Statehood Day and Independence Day are especially important, as they serve as reminders of the decisions of the Congress of Berlin, the Podgorica Assembly, the antifascist struggle of World War II and the independence of Montenegro attained through the referendum held in 2006. The clearly defined key points, along with the logical coherence the narrative is based on, provide the narrative with a certain “flexibility” which enables it to take in new elements. Narrative interpretations of the past have a significant role in the reproduction of the nation, as well as the shaping and consolidation of a desirable national identity, while the established narrative continuity between the past, present and imagined Euro-Atlantic future of Montenegro emerges as the “official” mediator in the reproduction of contemporary Montenegrin identity in the process of Euro-Atlantic integrations. In order to fully comprehend this narrative, it is advisable to conceptualize it both in a synchronic as well as a diachronic perspective, as can be shown in two charts which, depending on the context, I have tentatively named “the sovereignty graph” (wherein the “end” of the narrative is a prerequisite for the beginning of Euro-Atlantic integrations) and “the identity graph” (wherein Euro-Atlantic integrations are conceptualized as a dialectic equilibrium of independence and non-independence).

If we conceptualize reality as a large narrative we “build ourselves into” as social beings, and consider social activities and identities as narratively mediated, the full extent of the capacity of narratives in the creation, shaping, transmission and reconstruction of contemporary social identities, as well as the reproduction of the concept of nation in everyday life becomes apparent. The imagined Euro- Atlantic future of Montenegro demands certain narrative interpretations of the past, which, in latter stages tend to become meta-narratives susceptible to consensus. The linkage of significant historical events to the process of Euro-Atlantic integrations of Montenegro is preformed through different meta-discursive practices, most often through ceremonial evocations of memories of significant events from the recent as well as further history of Montenegro. In this context, celebrations of Statehood Day and Independence Day are especially important, as they serve as reminders of the decisions of the Congress of Berlin, the Podgorica Assembly, the antifascist struggle of World War II and the independence of Montenegro attained through the referendum held in 2006. The clearly defined key points, along with the logical coherence the narrative is based on, provide the narrative with a certain “flexibility” which enables it to take in new elements. Narrative interpretations of the past have a significant role in the reproduction of the nation, as well as the shaping and consolidation of a desirable national identity, while the established narrative continuity between the past, present and imagined Euro-Atlantic future of Montenegro emerges as the “official” mediator in the reproduction of contemporary Montenegrin identity in the process of Euro-Atlantic integrations. In order to fully comprehend this narrative, it is advisable to conceptualize it both in a synchronic as well as a diachronic perspective, as can be shown in two charts which, depending on the context, I have tentatively named “the sovereignty graph” (wherein the “end” of the narrative is a prerequisite for the beginning of Euro-Atlantic integrations) and “the identity graph” (wherein Euro-Atlantic integrations are conceptualized as a dialectic equilibrium of independence and non-independence).

The model of traditional Montenegrin masculinity is inseparable from the social formations that have contributed to its creation, hence the need for its more thorough economic, social and historical contextualization. It is particularly important to distinguish the two components of the model of traditional Montenegrin masculinity, which tend to be intertwined and are therefore difficult to separate. The first concerns the gender roles assigned to men and women in an economy based on livestock raising, warfare, and raiding, while the other concerns the concept of gender roles shaped by fictional, ethnological and historical narratives. The paper attempts to problematize the economic basis of the model of traditional Montenegrin masculinity in the context of a semi-nomadic livestock raising economy and a clan’s collective property.