Consuming contradiction: media, masculinity and (hetero) sexual identity

Abstract

Using collective memory work, this study explored the development of masculinity and sexual identity through the media memories and experiences of five self-identified straight men. Implicit to collective memory work is the recognition that identity is the negotiation of social norms, such as heteronormativity, within the context of an individual's daily lived experience. Five straight men wrote about, discussed and analyzed positive and negative memories of masculinity and heterosexual identity as portrayed in media. Participants' analyses of their stories yielded a hierarchical schema of masculinities that were dubbed the alpha male, the beta male and the coward, and which manifested through characters' relations to one another. After identifying these general types, participants began to associate particular behaviours with different masculine types. Through this process of association, participants constructed their own conceptual tool to characterize masculine behaviour: the Man Card.