TY - JOUR
T1 - Context masculinities
T2 - Media consumption, physical education, and youth Identities
AU - Millington, Brad
AU - Wilson, Brian
PY - 2010/7
Y1 - 2010/7
N2 - This article reports findings from a qualitative case study undertaken at a Vancouver high school designed to examine the role of media and physical education (PE) in shaping how young males (n = 36) understand and practice gender. The authors were specifically concerned with developing a nuanced understanding of how interpretations of masculinity relate to performances of masculinity and how interpretations and performances vary depending on social context and according to a youth’s social positioning. Findings revealed how participants criticized media portrayals of “hegemonic masculinities” (i.e., muscular, aggressive, and hyper-heterosexual masculinities) while simultaneously celebrating these same gender identities in PE. The authors used these findings as a foundation for arguing that (a) youth are flexible in their interpretations/performances of masculinity according to context; (b) the participants, in critiquing portrayals of hypermasculinity in media and supporting less radical versions of hegemonic masculinity in PE, were creating personal narratives around masculinity as a potential strategy for coping with feelings of disembodiment and disembeddedness; and (c) students’ critiques of gender portrayals, although offering symbolic challenges to the contemporary gender order, are nonetheless limited by structures that normalize hegemonic masculinities.
AB - This article reports findings from a qualitative case study undertaken at a Vancouver high school designed to examine the role of media and physical education (PE) in shaping how young males (n = 36) understand and practice gender. The authors were specifically concerned with developing a nuanced understanding of how interpretations of masculinity relate to performances of masculinity and how interpretations and performances vary depending on social context and according to a youth’s social positioning. Findings revealed how participants criticized media portrayals of “hegemonic masculinities” (i.e., muscular, aggressive, and hyper-heterosexual masculinities) while simultaneously celebrating these same gender identities in PE. The authors used these findings as a foundation for arguing that (a) youth are flexible in their interpretations/performances of masculinity according to context; (b) the participants, in critiquing portrayals of hypermasculinity in media and supporting less radical versions of hegemonic masculinity in PE, were creating personal narratives around masculinity as a potential strategy for coping with feelings of disembodiment and disembeddedness; and (c) students’ critiques of gender portrayals, although offering symbolic challenges to the contemporary gender order, are nonetheless limited by structures that normalize hegemonic masculinities.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=77953965813&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0002764210368091
U2 - 10.1177/0002764210368091
DO - 10.1177/0002764210368091
M3 - Article
SN - 0002-7642
VL - 53
SP - 1669
EP - 1688
JO - American Behavioral Scientist
JF - American Behavioral Scientist
IS - 11
ER -