Abstract
The analysis of masculinity has been a topic of growing interest in recent decades. Its study has incorporated a wide and diverse range of research areas and themes, including the representation of gender relations and identities on the Internet. Specifically, this article concerns the research area related to online dating websites and aims to compare the principal current tendencies related to identity -as provided by research on masculinity- with the way that men present themselves on two Spanish dating websites: Meetic.es and AdoptaUnTio.es. These types of virtual spaces have specific characteristics that facilitate the analysis of the masculine ideal among their users; or at least the characteristics that these men consider attractive to women. This research was carried out through a qualitative analysis supported by Atlas-ti. The principal results highlight the presence of traces of the so called egalitarian masculinity within predominant forms of traditional masculinity, characterized by a minimal process of reflection and introspection on the part of users of these websites.
Highlights
The analysis of masculinity has been a topic of growing interest in recent decades
Traits that could be related to a model of masculinity that is cordial and friendly
There is a clear preference for presenting themselves in a synthetic and repetitive way, instead of going into more detail and being original. This confirms what was described by Illouz (2006), that online dating spaces do not promote processes of reflection on the part of the subjects, who prefer to follow standardized forms of self-presentation. This could be related at the same time to characteristics of traditional masculinity, linked with a supposed limitation of men when it comes to expressing feelings or showing personal issues
Summary
The analysis of masculinity has been a topic of growing interest in recent decades. Its study has incorporated a wide and diverse range of research areas and themes, including the representation of gender relations and identities on the Internet. This article concerns the research area related to online dating websites and aims to compare the principal current tendencies related to identity -as provided by research on masculinity- with the way that men present themselves on two Spanish dating websites: Meetic.es and AdoptaUnTio.es These types of virtual spaces have specific characteristics that facilitate the analysis of the masculine ideal among their users; or at least the characteristics that these men consider attractive to women. This article focuses on the study of masculine identities as reflected in these profiles, taking as a sample an all-male group of users (seeking a female partner) from the websites Meetic.es and AdoptaUnTio.es The strategies they use in their profiles permit the analysis of the ideal characteristics of contemporary men, or at least of those characteristics (emotions, attitudes, behaviors, hobbies etc.) that they consider will be most attractive to women. These tendencies will be compared with the profile strategies employed by users of the websites in question through a qualitative analysis
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