Hybrid Masculinities: New Directions in the Sociology of Men and Masculinities

Hybrid masculinity refers to men's selective incorporation of performances and identity elements associated with marginalized and subordinated masculinities and femininities. We use recent theorization of hybrid masculinities to critically review theory and research that seeks to make sense of contemporary transformations in masculinity. We suggest that research broadly supports three distinct consequences associated with recent changes in performances and politics of masculinity that work to obscure the tenacity of gendered inequality. Hybrid masculinities (i) symbolically distance men from hegemonic masculinity; (ii) situate the masculinities available to young, White, heterosexual men as somehow less meaningful than the masculinities associated with various marginalized and subordinated Others; and (iii) fortify existing social and symbolic boundaries in ways that often work to conceal systems of power and inequality in historically new ways.     

The ‘new industrial man’ as unhero: Doing postfeminist masculinities in an Italian pharmacological research centre

Recent work has documented the need to engage with how men construct masculinities within postfeminist discourses in the workplace. Postfeminism has sparked debates concerning the changing ideals of masculinities, highlighting the tensions between traditional forms of patriarchy and ‘new’ ways of being a man (e.g., emotional, a ‘new father’, in crisis). Men have been depicted as being in search of a new identity, opposed to the ever‐growing confidence and empowerment of women. In mobilizing postfeminism as a discourse, this article illustrates how men working in an Italian pharmacological research centre (managed by men but dominated by women) assume subject positions that contradictorily fluctuate between tradition and fluid modernity, to reveal a masculinity which we identify with the ‘new industrial man’. The postfeminist masculinities exposed in the analysis mesh pro‐ and anti‐feminist ideas by appealing to un/heroic and romanticized subjectivities. The analysis also shows how un/heroic masculinities and men's appeal to biological differences to reinforce social ones and devalue the feminine obfuscate organizational gender inequalities. The article advances masculinity theory by offering a nuanced analysis of how masculinities and men are affected by paradoxical contemporary pressures for more egalitarian gender relations and a renewed emphasis on patriarchal traditions, which continue to support the gendering of the workplace.     

‘How to be a rural man’: Young men's performances and negotiations of rural masculinities

This paper is concerned with young rural men and how they ‘do’ identity politics living in a rural area of Norway. Focusing on how masculinity and rurality are constructed and interrelated in young men's narratives of living in a remote community, it is identified that young rural men reproduce, negotiate and transform local discourses of rural masculinity. First, the article shows that young men living in rural areas believe it is important to express rural masculinity through hunting and outdoor life as well as by exhibiting skills as handymen. Second, it reveals that it is important for young rural men to communicate a particular stance in the ongoing and controversial Norwegian debate over snowmobiles and carnivores, as these topics are related to rural men's sense of loyalty to place. Third, the article shows how rural men negotiate ‘the tough man’ images related to hunting, motors and handyman skills by constructing new and alternative masculinities. The analysis reveals that young rural men enact alternative masculinities, expressed in relation to new working life opportunities in the service sector, through emotional openness and caring, and in relation to traditional ‘masculine spaces’ such as hunting and snowmobiling. It is concluded that, little by little, rural communities are opening up for more flexible masculinities.     

New masculinities in universities? Discourses,ambivalence and potential change

In this article, we explore forms and possible implications of new masculinities in universities, and elucidate how they relate to hegemonic masculinity. ‘New masculinities’ coins a particular tradition of naming in Nordic masculinity studies. In the Nordic context, gendered social relations are shaped by State policies and equality discourses, which are increasingly embracing father‐friendly initiatives. New masculinities refers to the increased involvement of men in caring practices and especially in fathering. Our empirical study comprises in‐depth interviews with young male academics in a Finnish business school. We elucidate, first, the ambivalence and struggles between masculinities in the discourses of these men and, second, how the construction of masculinities is specific to societal, sociocultural and local contexts. Relations of class, and middle‐class notions of the ‘good life’ in particular, emerge as central for understanding the experiences of these men. Beyond the Nordic countries, we argue that while the change potential of caring masculinity stems from particular contexts, the concept of new masculinities is helpful in capturing the ambivalence and struggles between hegemonic and caring masculinities rather than dismissing the latter as subordinate to the former.     

Masculinity and Meat Consumption: An Analysis Through the Theoretical Lens of Hegemonic Masculinity and Alternative Masculinity Theories

Research has found that men are more likely to choose to eat meat, particularly red meat, when compared to fruits and vegetables. This study examines the theory of hegemonic masculinity and discusses how the consumption of meat assists in the production of a masculine identity. Specifically, eating meat allows one to be seen as masculine, and the avoidance of meat permits one to be viewed as feminine. This narrow depiction of gender pushes alternative masculinities and unique eating habits to the sideline, ignoring the agency individuals possess when deciding the fate of their perceived gender. This paper seeks to discover if men, who participate in alternative eating practices, have the ability to define a new variation of masculinity. Four alternative theories will challenge hegemonic masculinity: multiple masculinities, natural masculinity, protest masculinity, and hybrid masculinities. Three examples will display the way marginalized men consume meat: historical upper‐class male fasting, meat consumption within men's ministries, and the vegetarian practices among men. Overall, this paper analyzes the basic concepts of hegemonic masculinity, the gendered consumption of meat, and questions if marginalized men are redefining the way others perceive their masculinity or if they are, in fact, striving to become exemplars of hegemonic masculinity.     

Youth masculinities: compelling male heterosexuality

This article seeks to extend understandings of heterosexual masculine identities through an examination of young men's constructions of what motivates young men to engage in heterosexual practices and relationships, and what not having sex might mean for them. Using the masculinity literature and work on heterosexuality to frame the discussion and to contextualize the findings, it explores the complex dynamics that frame the relationship between masculinity and heterosexuality. Specifically, how dominant or 'hegemonic' discourses of heterosexuality shape young men's identities, beliefs and behaviour. It considers these questions using empirical data from a qualitative study of young people living in close-knit working-class communities in the North East of England, with a specific focus on cultural and social attitudes towards sexuality and sexual practices. Peer group networks are a key site for the construction and (re)production of masculinity and, therefore, an important arena within which gendered social approval and acceptance is both sought and gained. In this article, I explore the reasons why young men engage in specific types of heterosexual practice in order to gain social approval. A central question is the extent to which heterosexuality is compelling for young men. That young men do feel compelled to behave in certain ways sexually, behaviours that they may be uncomfortable with and/or dislike, and the fact that they feel they are restricted in terms of how they can talk about their experiences within their peer group networks, demonstrates the power of dominant discourses of masculinity in everyday life. This is addressed through an examination of the restrictive effects of normative discourses about male heterosexuality, including their privatizing effects, which suggest that youth masculinities are often experienced in ways that are highly contradictory requiring young men to adopt a range of strategies to deal with this.     

Sexuality,romantic orientation,and masculinity: Men as underrepresented in asexual and aromantic communities

This study examines men as a minority in asexual (experiencing low/no sexual attraction) and aromantic (experiencing low/no romantic attraction) communities. First, we situate our research in existing literature on asexuality, compulsory sexuality/compulsory romance, and hegemonic masculinities. In our analysis, we use survey data from the 2020 Asexual Community Survey (n = 4974) and 2020 Aromantic Census (n = 3018) to provide evidence that asexual and aromantic men are demographic minorities within asexual and aromantic communities. Next, we turn to two interview samples with 39 individuals who identify as aromantic and 77 individuals who identify as asexual. We analyzed these interviews to explore how sexuality and romance contribute to the construction of hegemonic masculinities. Our interviews reveal several important themes that highlight how asexual and aromantic men navigate their masculinity and identity amid asexual and aromantic communities as majority-woman spaces. We focus on three main themes: (1) masculinity as inherently sexual; (2) masculinity, heteronormativity, and the gendered construction of romance; and (3) asexual/aromantic identity, masculinity, and the split attraction model. Taken together, our results show how (hetero)sexuality and romantic relationship formation are fundamental to hegemonic masculinity. We find that asexual and aromantic men face cultural pressures and social stigma around initiating sex and performing romance. Asexual men must contend with managing a sexual identity that runs counter to men's supposedly innate sexual desire, thus situating them as inadequately masculine. Aromantic men, meanwhile, must manage inhabiting an identity that is conflated with the fuckboy/player trope, situating them as excessively masculine. This study demonstrates how centering asexual and aromantic perspectives reveals complexities in the ways hegemonic masculinity relies on participation in both sex and romance. We conclude by relating our findings to larger conversations on gender and sexualities as well as implications for future research on marginalized sexual identities.     

“Not Your Average Nerd”: Masculinities,Privilege, and Academic Effort at an Elite University

Research on hybrid masculinity shows that privileged men incorporate aspects of subordinated and/or marginalized masculinities into their gender performances, contributing to the persistence of hegemonic masculinity. This scholarship has centered on white, straight, cisgender, class-privileged men. Yet, it is reasonable to imagine that not all privileged men enact hybrid masculinities and that at least some less-privileged men engage in hybrid identity work. Here, we draw on 24 interviews with a diverse group of men attending an elite university, examining their beliefs about contemporary masculinity in relation to academic pursuits. Generally, race- and class-privileged respondents rejected academic effort as unmanly while less-privileged men unapologetically committed themselves to their academic endeavors. Exceptions to these patterns—privileged men who embraced academic effort and less-privileged men who rejected it—revealed hybrid identity work attempted by both groups. However, only privileged men were able to successfully hybridize their masculine identities, while less-privileged men were left straddling competing cultural imperatives without clearly accomplishing either. We discuss the implications of these findings for both individual men and for larger patterns of inequality and offer new theoretical insights regarding how race- and class privilege shape men's performances of hegemonic, complicit subordinated, marginalized, and hybrid masculinities.     

This Sporting Life: The intersection of hegemonic masculinities,space and emotions among rugby players

Through an ethnographic study of rugby players, this research shows how when men enter a physical space, they are bound by codes that define what sort of masculinities and emotions they ‘should' perform in order to denote cultural legitimacy. The article investigates how different spaces on and off the rugby field influence how different masculinities are performed. Rugby players enact fleeting and relative masculinities as they move in and out of the multiple hyper‐masculine spaces they encounter on game day. The codes of masculinity dictated by these different spaces are manifest in the men's bodies and in their emotions.     

Accounting for Men’s Refusal of Heterosex: A Story-Completion Study With Young Adults

In the present study we bring together theory regarding the construction of heterosexuality and masculinities to understand the shifting and changing terrain of heterosexual sex (heterosex). We use inductive qualitative content analysis of story completion data to discover the different ways that heterosex is constructed by the male and female respondents in scenarios where women initiate sex and men, at first, refuse. The stories represented a spectrum of responses that reify and subvert dominant understandings of heterosex. Five major themes were generated from the current data (1) men should initiate sex, (2) he wants to take it slowly, (3) it is natural for men to want sex, (4) it is men’s job to look after women, and (5) coercion. We discuss in detail the dominant narratives described by women and men and how they may be shifting. The study thus provides a rich, experience-based representation of heterosexual sexual activity and suggests subtle shifts in how masculinity is managed within heterosexual relationships.     

‘Show us your frilly,pink underbelly’: Men administrative assistants doing masculinities and femininity

Research on men tokens (or numerical minorities) at work has focused on the processes by which men try to claim hegemonic masculine identities for themselves and how workplace interactants support or reject these attempts. In contrast to masculinity studies, token theory has paid less attention to non‐hegemonic masculinities. Using interviews with men administrative assistants, I develop a more comprehensive understanding of men tokens' gender performances and their significance for gender inequality. I present a four‐part typology: hegemonic masculinity, alternative masculinity, critical masculinity and male femininity. The categories are differentiated along two axes: support for hegemonic masculinity and support for hierarchical, binary gender.     

Food or Flowers? Dacha Gardening and Gendered Class Relations in Post‐Soviet Ukraine

The Ukrainian dacha is a rural site where urban residents grow food and relax during the summers, in the process also contributing significantly to households’ food provisioning since the Soviet Union's collapse. This article seeks to understand how gendered class relations shape why people participate, or not, in dacha work. Using ethnographic data collected during fieldwork in Komsomolsk, a central Ukrainian town, I examine how people's process of accepting or rejecting the worth of dacha work is both a strategy of navigating market transition and a process whereby they reveal the ways in which age, physical ability, and sense of efficacy factor into whether dacha work is worth their while. These, I argue, are gendered class processes that have been overlooked in dacha research. By taking into account how gendered processes intertwine with class practices, we are able to observe how privileged masculinities reinforce the ideology of market transition, an ideology most evident in agricultural policy approaches favoring fewer and larger food production sites. Moreover, my interactions suggest the dacha enables men experiencing masculinity crises to accrue patriarchal dividends in exerting decision‐making power over their wives.     

Gay Fathers Expanding the Possibilities for Us All

Abstract

This article describes a qualitative research study of 21 men who became fathers as openly gay men. The fathers were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire in a focus group format. The data were analyzed using grounded theory methodology. The narrative data depict the men's paths toward fatherhood. The themes elicited from their narratives suggested how gay men are changing traditional cultural norms for fathers, families, and masculinity. The authors propose that by degendering parenting, reconceptualizing family, and reworking masculine gender roles, gay fathers are expanding role norms in novel ways that may serve as alternative models for all families.     

Masculine Jealousy and the Struggle for Possession in The End of the Affair

This paper uses the representation of masculine jealousy in The End of the Affair (Neil Jordan, 1999) as a case study to explore the ongoing crisis of Western hegemonic masculinity and its depiction in mainstream cinema. Male jealousy is concerned with feelings of loss and wounded narcissism and so provides a useful focus to explore the emotional conflicts and losses of contemporary masculinities more generally. The End of the Affair is valuable to the exploration of affect and masculinity, for it provides a fluid and nuanced interpretation of male jealousy and rivalry whilst evoking the ambiguities of contemporary masculinities more generally. It also shows the potentiality of such representations for more nuanced interpretations of emotional masculinities within contemporary cinema. The paper employs a psycho‐cultural method to explore issues of emotional spectatorship and the affective relationship between the film text and its cultural reception in the press. It is significant that the less defensive quality of masculinity in the film was countered and potentially closed down in its cultural reception by hegemonic discourses within the UK press. Press responses to the film were shot through with anxieties about the potential failure of masculinity, the loss of mastery and the fear of otherness. Jealousy and betrayal were central themes of these press reviews in which anxieties about the depictions of masculinity and difference were encoded through the discourse of nation and Englishness.     

Cockpits,Hangars, Boys and Galleys: Corporate Masculinities and the Development of British Airways

This article sets out to examine the role of masculinity in the development of a gendered organizational culture over time. The development of images of masculinity within one company — British Airways — is examined through content analysis of company newsletters, advertising copy, annual reports, internal memoranda, and written rules and regulations. Exploring the notion of ‘multiple masculinities’, the article traces the prominent forms of masculinity that emerged in British Airways and assesses their impact on the ways that organizational practices were developed, maintained and understood. Four key corporate images of masculinity are examined — the pilot, the steward, the engineer and the ‘native boy’— and it is argued that those images contributed to the exclusion of women and people of colour from those occupations by laying down cultural rules about the ideal typical characteristics of the job holder. The article concludes by raising questions about the value of a multiple masculinities focus in explaining changing and contradictory practices of discrimination; the primacy of extra-organizational over organizational practices; and the relationship between multiple masculinities and hegemonic masculinity. Further research is suggested into the extent to which hegemonic masculinity is undermined, over time, by changing and contradictory forms of masculinity within definite sites of gender construction.     

Warriors in suits: A Bourdieusian perspective on the construction and practice of military masculinity of Korean men

Within masculinity scholarship, there is a gap about how masculinity carries over from a broad social context to an organizational context. This article explores the construction and capitalization of masculinity through a series of experiences in social fields such as the military and college, and the transfer of militaristic masculinity into the workplace. Drawing on grounded theory methods, we conducted in‐depth interviews with 20 Korean men who completed their mandatory two‐year military service and subsequently joined large corporations in Korea. We uncovered a four‐phase model that depicts how Korean men's masculinity is constructed during military service and transferred to their organizational positions characterizing them as warriors in suits. Informed by a Bourdieusian perspective, this study shows how masculinities are constructed, reinforced and legitimatized by the structural influences of society, and how masculinity becomes the desired image of men at work, which perpetuates the gender and power gaps among organizational members.     

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

Rural 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.     

IDENTITY DILEMMAS OF CHRONICALLY ILL MEN

Chronic illness frequently comes to men suddenly with immediate intensity, severity, and uncertainty. Because men contract more serious and life-threatening chronic illnesses than women, experiencing illness causes men different identity dilemmas. This paper explores men's identity dilemmas by studying how men experience chronic illnesses and by looking at how assumptions about masculinity affected their identity. The paper explores four major processes: (1) awakening to death after a lifethreatening crisis, (2) accommodating to uncertainty as men realize that the crisis has lasting consequences for their lives, (3) defining illness and disability and (4) preserving self to maintain a sense of coherence while experiencing loss and change. The data are derived from forty in-depth formal interviews of twenty men, informal interviews with these men, and an extensive collection of published and unpublished personal accounts. The data were analyzed through the strategies of grounded theory.     

Sensuality as Subversion: Doing Masculinity with Chinese Australian Professionals

Within western gender structures, dominant discourses of Asian men as weak, feminized and asexual continue to render Asian masculinities subordinate to white hegemonic ideals. Although research of gender in organization studies has revealed important insights into how gender might be redone or undone, non‐white voices remain marginalized in this critical project. This article explores through in‐depth interviews the ways by which Chinese cis‐male professionals in Australia attempt to coopt desexualizing discourses and ‘do’ masculinity through sensuality. Specifically, the findings show how their sensuality is practised across various dimensions at work and beyond, including via the presentation of the self, relationships with others and representations in social texts. In presenting the voices of Asian men, this article seeks to illuminate their individual and collective pursuits for decolonization, agency and pleasure.