Typology of masculinity in fashion studies

Abstract

Introduction: the study of masculinity types in consumer culture is determined by the changes in perception of corporeality, attributes of masculine identity and creation of new universal male fashion images. Typologies of masculinity in gender studies deal with the ranking of men’s images and the emergence of individual strategies for the analysis of male behavior. Materials and methods: the types of masculinity are analyzed from the point of view of the system approach and philosophical-cultural analysis; the importance of marketing and visual cultural practices in emergence of new types of masculinity and their proliferation are studied; new trends in fashion industry of the second half of the 20th century, personal care, hobbies, and professional activities and their influence on gender norms are analyzed as causes of the social range of masculinity and its typologies. Results of the study: the studies of twentieth-century fashion and consumption oriented masculinity types indicate an important cultural change in the perception of male and female topoi and in marketing strategies to promote products and services. Visually colored and transforming man’s image expands the boundaries of masculinity and becomes the basis for individualization of the male cultural image. Discussion and conclusions: contemporary culture generates new types of masculinity, which is revealed in consumer fashion for individual (“male”) products, visual practices, interactions and subcultures that visualize new types of masculinity. Such changes in the perception of masculinity require further study and comprehension.