Construction Of Hegemonic Masculinity Research Articles

Imaginarios neo-colonizadores, Santiago Abascal y discursos (post)imperiales en redes sociales

The growing success of far-right political parties like Vox in Spain has attracted multiple studies that try to analyse this phenomenon. This article takes an intersectional approach to analyse the neo-imperial nature of Vox’s discourses and symbology together with the public construction of Santiago Abascal’s hypermasculinity. Thus, employing a decolonial theoretical framework, this study examines the triumph, symbology and construction of hegemonic masculinity in Vox, not only from an identity perspective derived from the patriarchal system but also from the post-imperial condition of contemporary Spain. Through close readings of Abascal’s social media posts, this article examines the instrumentalization of an imperial imaginary for the construction of an anti-Catalan and neo-colonial nationalism. Ultimately, the post-imperial images used by Vox function as affective devices for the construction of masculinity through appealing to the hero and his conquering enterprise that entails a violent ontology of domination of an Other.

White Warriors and Weak Women: Identifying Central Discourses of Masculinity in Neo-Nazi Telegram Channels

Building on calls for more analyses of constructions of gender within extremist groups, this study examines Australian neo-Nazis’ construction of hegemonic masculinity on the digital media platform, Telegram. Undertaking a keyword co-occurrence analysis of 3,279 posts and a qualitative analysis of 624 posts from 6 Australian neo-Nazi Telegram Channels, we empirically validate how Australian neo-Nazis use this media platform to idealise a strong, white and combat-ready masculinity. This masculinity is centred on protecting ‘vulnerable’ white women and girls from non-white men and simultaneously casts alternative masculinities, in particular those associated with the LGBTQIA + community, as weak and deviant.

Evaluation of the lights4violence program: reduction in machismo and acceptance of violence among adolescents in Europe

BackgroundMachismo and acceptance of violence (AV) against women are part of the social construction of hegemonic masculinity and are related to the risk of dating violence. This study aims to analyze the effectiveness of the Lights4Violence program in reducing machismo and AV in secondary school students from different European cities.MethodsQuasi-experimental longitudinal study using a convenience sample of 1,146 high school students from different European cities (12–17 years old) including 575 intervention group students (59.1% girls) and 571 control group students (62.7% girls). We performed linear regression models to identify the effect of the intervention, modelling the difference in means in machismo and AV (dependent variables) between wave-2 and wave-1.ResultsAn interaction was identified between the group variable and the empathy variable. In wave-2, girls with high empathy at baseline in the intervention group obtained lower mean AV scores (β: -0.131; p = 0.004). However, the boys in the intervention group (reference: control group) with low empathy at baseline registered a significant increase in the mean values of machismo (β: 0.247; p < 0.001).ConclusionThe importance of empathy is shown in the effectiveness of interventions to reduce machismo and AV in adolescents. While the Lights4Violence program focuses on promoting healthy relationships, there were some controversial results. It is possible that some children, especially those with less empathy, may have felt “challenged” during the intervention and/or assessment. This suggests the need for the development of interventions that also consider psychological processes and integrate the promotion of positive expressions of masculinity.

Construction of hegemonic masculinity in physical education

Construction of hegemonic masculinity in physical education

Construction and Deconstruction of Hegemonic Masculinity in The Arab of the Future 1: Youth in the Middle East (1978-1984) by Riad Sattouf

Through the analysis of the graphic novel L’Arabe du future 1. Une jeunesse au Moyen-Orient (1978-1985) by the Franco-Syrian cartoonist Riad Sattouf, this contribution aims to investigate the construction of hegemonic masculinity in Gaddafi’s post-colonial Libya and Hafez al Assad’s Syria. First, this study intends to track the stages of Riad’s journey towards the achievement of hegemonic masculinity. In this context, a special focus will be laid on the construction of the mother’s character through that of the father, thereby showing how the female character takes shape from the male perspective. Second and finally, it attempts to analyse how the author implements a deconstruction path of hegemonic masculinity by using certain rhetorical devices, namely irony, stereotype repetition and the adoption of his own perspective as a child.

Uncles’ Generation: Adult Male Fans and Alternative Masculinities in South Korean Popular Music (Translation into Russian)

This article discusses the recent emergence of adult male fans of Korean pop (K-pop) music who openly engage themselves in fan activities typically associated with teenagers (particularly teenage girls) and the significance of their adoration of young female celebrities. The recent appearance of the ‘samchon/uncle fans’ in the K-pop culture discourse marks the first instance since the early 1990s, when teenagers became the primary target audience of South Korea’s entertainment industry, in which male adults reclaimed a significant position as a demographic group of fans. The samchon fans differ from the traditional ajossi (middle-aged, patriarchal men) listeners of adult contemporary music in the kinds of singers and musical genres to which they listen, as well as in their self-identification as fans, participation in fan activities and mass media portrayals. I investigate the implications of the men’s consumption pattern and their representation in South Korean mass media within the contexts of the history of the construction of hegemonic masculinity in South Korea and of recent developments in East Asian popular culture. I also explore possible ways to apply, complicate and question existing theoretical and conceptual frameworks to explain the phenomenon and argue for the possibility of politically potent, alternative masculinities constructed and manifested through the men’s conspicuous consumption of cultural commodities.

Changing Cultural Practices: A Case Study of Male Circumcision in South Africa.

This article presents a case study of Simon, a 25-year old Black South African male. According to his Pedi customs, Simon underwent traditional male circumcision (TMC) as a 12-year-old adolescent. He tells of his fears relative to this experience and how, over time, he transitioned from a belief in TMC to a strong preference for medical male circumcision (MMC). Using a single-case study design, the aim of the research was to explore the value of the exercise of choice in TMC, which may influence cultural perceptions of gender and masculinity. The study unpacks the way in which the meaning and experience of TMC is shaped by the social and cultural contexts of South Africa. This qualitative exploration complements conventional medical accounts of circumcision, which are often focused on the medical procedure while ignoring cultural and social factors. Issues of gender, particularly the construction of hegemonic masculinity and how it positions men, women, and young boys in relation to each other and their communities, are discussed. Simon’s case study provides new insights and perspectives on personally and culturally sensitive issues which are not easily accessed nor commonly understood. Data collected via in-depth interviews were transcribed and analyzed thematically. Analysis applied information from the literature and key concepts from the theoretical standpoint of social constructivism. Case study analysis allowed space for unexpected, emergent themes to arise from the data. Four main themes were identified, notably language, silence, patriarchy, and masculinity.

Reprint Retrospective: Advertising and the Construction of Violent White Masculinity: From BMWs to Bud Light

Abstract: This chapter sketches out some of the ways in which hegemonic constructions of masculinity in mainstream advertising normalize (White) male violence and point to some new developments and continuities in the way this is achieved. Several recurring themes in advertising that targets men help support the equation of White masculinity and violence: these include the angry, aggressive, White, working-class male as anti-authority rebel (21st-century version); violence as genetically programmed male behavior; the use of military and sports symbolism to enhance the masculine appeal and identification of products; and the association of muscularity with ideal masculinity. In addition to examining some of the ways in which advertising links violence with White masculinity, this chapter makes a call to study other cultural sites where violent masculinities are produced and legitimated: video games, comic books, toys, the sports culture, professional wrestling, comedy, popular music, and pornography. More media literacy education is needed to help us understand better the connection between interpersonal violence and the construction of gender in media texts and other cultural representations and narratives, which might then contribute to more sophisticated and effective antiviolence interventions.

Gender, marriage, and the dynamic of (im)mobility in the mid-Western hills of Nepal

ABSTRACTThis paper explores the relationship between gender, marriage, and (im)mobility in rural hilly areas of mid-Western Nepal, showing how (1) the mobility of men is predicated on the ‘immobility’ of women, with marriage being key to the gendered dynamic of (im)mobility, (2) how the construction of hegemonic masculinity, exemplified by a figure of a successful international migrant, is inseparable from an ideal of femininity vested in the figure of a virtuous domesticated housewife. Examining different scales of mobility, the paper cautions against posing a rigid dichotomy between ‘mobile men’ and ‘immobile’ women, illustrating that the ‘left behind’ wives experience an impressive degree of everyday mobility in contrast to their internationally mobile husbands.

Masculinities of the Husbands in the Genealogy of Jesus (Matt. 1:2-16)

Abstract From a narrative approach, and through the lens of masculinity studies, this article examines a particular group in the genealogy of Jesus: the men associated with a woman in their “begetting”: Judah with Tamar, Salmon with Rahab, Boaz with Ruth, and David with the wife of Uriah. What traits characterize this specific group of biblical men put forth as Jesus’s ancestors? What kind of husbands and fathers are they? What is the effect on readers as they peruse this list of masculine prototypes? These male figures are then compared to Joseph and to Jesus. The Gospel of Matthew does not present the masculinities of Joseph and Jesus in the same way as it portrays those of others in the genealogy. Basically, the genealogy supports and subverts ancient hegemonic constructions of masculinity, by proposing a reversal of the values associated with masculinity.

Male primary school teachers, masculinity and identity work in regional Australia

ABSTRACTThis paper reports on the experiences of male primary school teachers in regional Australia. Drawing on 53 open-ended survey responses and interviews undertaken with five male teachers in Tasmania, the paper analyses their perspectives of their work and roles, and the additional labour of ‘career identity work’ through sport. For the men in this study, these additional roles find their antecedents in particular constructions of hegemonic masculinity where, on the one hand, they are expected to be ‘tough disciplinarians’ and, on the other, assumed to be ‘soft’ or ‘sinister’ for wanting to work with young children. Sport provided a safe context through which to manage such perceptions of their professional identity. Our study of teacher identities has wider significance for educators and policy makers to assist them understand and address the problem of low levels of recruitment and retention of male primary school teachers in Australia.

Ready and Waiting: Heterosexual Men’s Decision-making Narratives in Initiation of Sexual Intimacy

Recent sexualities scholarship generally frames men as adhering to narratives of sexual assertion and constructions of hegemonic masculinity. However, research on masculinities notes scripts are changing and providing mixed messages regarding the expression of sexualities for heterosexual men. Given this, we look closely at sexual scripts in initiation of sexual intimacy as a means of exploring transformation in sexualities and understanding men’s interpersonal/intrapsychic narratives as expressions of masculinities. Based on in-depth interviews with sixty-nine heterosexual men, ages twenty to fifty-nine, we found that interviewees recounted feelings of readiness and desire for sex as boys and young men. We also found that though, as boys and young men, interviewees felt ready for and desired sex, yet in first experiences, they shared they were anxious and usually waited for partners to initiate or for clear clues partners were ready. Men’s accounts reflect concerns with sexual performance and the incongruence of sexual scripts at the cultural and interpersonal/intrapsychic levels, as well as a private expression of masculinity, reserved for situations with intimate partners.

What Is in a Song? Constructions of Hegemonic Masculinity by Zimbabwean Football Fans

ABSTRACTRaewyn Connell defines hegemonic masculinity as the most “honoured” way of being a man, and as such all men in patriarchal societies are expected to try to meet the standards of hegemonic masculinity (Connell and Messerschmitt 2005). It can be encountered in a variety of everyday contexts, one of which is sporting events. This article explores the authors’ ethnographic encounters with hegemonic masculinities amongst football fans in Zimbabwe, particularly in the songs they sing. Utilising Connell’s concept of hegemonic masculinity, the authors argue that Zimbabwean football fandom is entangled with hegemonic masculinities. The article demonstrates a simultaneously covert and subtle, but always complex, relationship between football fandom and masculinities, specifically hegemonic masculinity. The study’s major conclusion is that hegemonic masculinity is strongly discursive and occasionally occurs even in seemingly harmless mundane banter, such as stadium songs. Despite the sometimes jovial nature of these performances, there are power undercurrents involved.

The Portable Locker Room

This article uses an ethnographically based sociolinguistic approach to analyse ritual interactions that took place in a New Zealand male rugby team, paying particular attention to the way in which space and place are used as part of the construction of team identity. In following the development of spatial practice, the discourses of territoriality in pre-match communication are explored, and it is shown how the team uses spatial and linguistic practice to reconstruct an unfamiliar space as “home,” thus allowing them to create a familiar space through ritual wherever they might be. In analysing the discourses and communicative practices present in the locker room, the construction of hegemonic masculinity is also discussed and it is found that while rugby is still inextricably bound up with hegemonic masculine ideology, these are found to a much lesser degree than elsewhere.

People with Intellectual Disabilities Negotiate Autonomy, Gender and Sexuality

Iceland is considered a gender equal country where diversity and human rights are prioritized. However, people with intellectual disabilities seem to be marginalized within Icelandic society, with limited access to resources and opportunities. They have not been viewed as autonomous agents and their abilities to form sexual and gender identities have been questioned, based on the stereotypical views that they are eternal children. The article addresses the manifestation of masculinity, femininity, and autonomy in the lives of Icelanders with intellectual disabilities by employing the concepts of hegemonic masculinity, emphasized femininity, and relational autonomy. Interviews were taken with 29 individuals with intellectual disabilities and participant observations were carried out in the homes of other 15 individuals who had been identified by health/human service professionals as having severe/profound disabilities. Results show that the participants saw themselves as adults and the men who participated in this research performed their autonomy through the construction of hegemonic masculinity. The women seemed to be at more risk of being surveilled and controlled by staff and family members by, for example, restricting activities, pressuring sterilizations, and abortions. The men and the women interviewed relied equally on traditional gender roles in their narratives, although the women resisted emphasized femininity by focusing on independence and abilities in their narratives. We suggest that the structure and practices of the school and support systems have normalized gender/sexuality in the lives of people with intellectual disabilities, thus contributing to their status as eternal children and consequently diminishing their opportunities to develop their autonomy.

The construction of hegemonic masculinity in the Semiotic Landscape of a CrossFit ‘Cave’

A Semiotic Landscape analysis, whereby a community or environment’s signage is photographed for linguistic and visual analysis, is a useful means of discovering power relationships within that community’s language use. While Semiotic Landscapes and their predecessor, Linguistic Landscapes, are traditionally used to explore differences between dominant and minority languages in a community, this research extends the concept to analyse hegemonic masculinity at a CrossFit gym. It also shifts the analysis from an outdoor landscape to an indoor, more private setting. Using an autoethnographic approach, the author argues that while many of the CrossFit signs are designed to appear as humorous entertainment or motivation, they simultaneously encourage the subordination of women and certain men, and the naturalizing of a particular view of hegemonic masculinity, as embodied by the ideal CrossFit male.

Analizando la demanda: relación entre masculinidad hegemónica y prostitución femenina

En este artículo se presenta el estudio exploratorio realizado en 2011en la que se analiza la relación entre la construcción social del modelo de masculinidad hegemónica con el consumo de prostitución femenina. Se trata de un trabajo cualitativo en el que se realizaron entrevistas en profundidad a hombres jóvenes que alguna vez habían pagado por mantener relaciones sexuales. El estudio se centró en las experiencias, actitudes y percepciones de los hombres jóvenes heterosexuales que al menos una vez en su vida, habían pagado por sexo. Para ello, realizamos seis entrevistas semi-estructuradas, en profundidad a hombres de entre 18 a 35 años. Los resultados del análisis de las entrevistas muestran las distintas características sociodemográficas, la frecuencia en el pago por sexo, la diversidad de motivaciones, los espacios de búsqueda de prostitución, etc. Las conclusiones principales destacan que en los discursos de los entrevistados se reproducen estereotipos de género y roles en el ámbito de la sexualidad, así como que la prostitución puede ser interpretada como un escenario de representación de la masculinidad hegemónica.

Violent potentials: exploring the intersection of violence and masculinity among the Bugkalot

This article explores the social significance of violence as potentiality and performance among former headhunters engaged in ritual killings. Taking its outset in an ethnographic study of violence and masculinity among the Philippine people known as the Bugkalot, we explore how violence as ‘performed violent potentiality’ plays a critical role in relation to Bugkalot men's construction of hegemonic masculinity and the sustaining of complex egalitarian relations. The Bugkalot have a notoriously violent history; until the late 1970s more than half of the adult men engaged in ritual killings. While most Bugkalot men have today abandoned headhunting, the potentials for violence and dominance, which the act of headhunting sought to elicit, remains a critical aspect of masculinity. We propose that a focus on the social significance of performative violent potentiality among Bugkalot men can provide general insights that can also be used in other contexts to understand how men construct hegemonic masculinity by strategically adopting the interspace of civility and violence.

“A boy cannot marry another boy”: adolescent boys' talk about ‘gay’ boys at school

This study explored how black South African adolescent boys talk about ‘gay’1 in schools. Thirty two boys (age ranged from 13–18 years old) attending two high schools in a historically black South African township took part. Data on their understanding of being gay were gathered using individual interviews and focus group discussions. The data were analysed using Edley and Wetherell's (2001) discursive interpretive framework. Findings suggest negative bias in the boys' attitudes towards ‘gay’ boys. The boys considered being ‘gay’ as ‘deviant’, ‘abnormal’, ‘un-Christian’ and ‘un-African’. Furthermore, ‘straight’2 boys reported isolating themselves from ‘gay’ boys and avoiding practices stereotypically associated with being ‘gay’, such as wearing colorful pink clothes. Social constructions of hegemonic masculinity and homophobia appear present within an ordinary South African school setting.

A Localized Masculine Crisis: Local Men's Subordination within the Marcellus Shale Region's Masculine Structure

AbstractRural economic decline in the United States has contributed to new situational conditions under which men construct masculinity. Under these conditions, men define jobs and activities that were feminized during periods of economic stability as masculine. One exception to rural economic decline for men is economic growth associated with oil and natural gas development in geographical hot spots throughout the United States and around the world. Employment opportunities in the oil and gas industry largely favor men; however, it is unclear what effect this development has on local men because itinerant extralocal male workers complete most of the labor. This article conceptualizes masculinity as a social structure, and uses economic reports and theoretically distinct literatures on natural‐resource‐based masculinities and energy boomtowns to illuminate how multinational energy companies and a predominantly extralocal, male itinerant workforce in Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale region cause adverse situational conditions for local men's constructions of masculinity. Within the new masculine structure, extralocal men's constructions of hegemonic masculinity become more important for defining the local socially dominant masculinity, which subordinates local men's constructions of nonhegemonic masculinities in their own communities. The article concludes with a discussion of how the oil and gas industry's hegemonic masculinity impedes sustainable economic development and community well‐being.