Magister Artium - MA / This study questions why domestic work that is generally considered a feminine job is yet a field dominated by men in the city of Nampula, Mozambique. In the attempt to explain this phenomenon, the research explores economic, social and cultural aspects. Due to the fact that Nampula is a province with a strong Islamic presence and the majority of the population identify themselves as belonging to the Makhuwa ethnic group—which is traditionally defined by a matrilinear kinship system—I argue that the domestic sector remaines masculinised because of the influence of the matrilinear values and gendered practices. I also argue that the Islamic patriarchal values play a decisive role as men see themselves as the exclusive family providers and for that reason forbid their wives to develop and to get engaged in economic activities outside the household. This study also explores notions of masculinity in connection with domestic work and examines how male domestic workers, coming from rural areas and employed in the city, perceive and perform their masculine identities. How does the job of the domestic worker shape particular understandings of masculinity? Given the fact that many domestic workers in Nampula are immigrant people from the rural areas of the Zambézia province, I argue that migrating and working in the city is considered as a way to achieve a manhood as immigrants have access to goods that can only be purchased in urban contexts and are scarce in the villages. The access to all these “modern” commodities and the experience of the city make the immigrant young boys to gain respect in their original communities.

The fundamental questions this project aims to answer are 1) how the alt-right engages in storying the sexual, specifically the “homosexual” character 2) the ways that broadly circulating ideas about masculinity shape movement boundary work processes, and 3) the work that this storying is doing for the alt-right in the context of American white patriarchy. Broadly, two characters were storied on r/altright: The Degenerate and the Substandard Ally. First, the Degenerate is a pedophile, a diseased sexual hedonist, and a Jewish-led weapon set on destroying the white race. The image of the Degenerate is produced through the mobilization of anti-Semitic tropes, conservative Christian doctrine, and (pseudo)scientific rhetoric. This narrative presents homosexuality as a contagious risk to all people. The second character, the Substandard Ally, is constructed as a foil to the Degenerate. The Substandard Ally can be a member of the movement because they have no control over their sexuality and are adequately masculine. The strategies used to justify the Substandard Ally’s inclusion in the alt-right are to deploy the (il)logic of the closet and redraw the line between good/bad sex. I argue that the sexual storying of the alt-right ultimately functions to maintain white patriarchy by reinforcing the sexual value system, obscuring the workings of patriarchy by presenting a hybrid hegemonic masculinity, reconceptualizing the “good” sexual citizen, and deploying homonationalist discourses.

My thesis provides evidence supporting a theory asserting that the high level of competition that exists between motor carriers operating within long-haul trucking is the most significant factor contributing to the continuously high driver turnover rates affecting the entire logistics industry. I explore how long-haul truck drivers internalize the conflict between their identity and the aggressively competitive environment within which they work. Social science authors, industry reports, and truck driver feedback from my own ethnographic study are analyzed for contexts in order to explore the current operating definition of success for motor carriers in both monetary and human terms.

In this dissertation, I trace the contours of state control and capital in India, starting from the 1970s and see how the state’s increasingly centralizing tendencies and authoritarianism, in the service of capital, creates cultures of violence, fatalism, desperation, and ultimately, even more desire for authoritarianism. I study male stardom in Bombay cinema, beginning withAmitabh Bachchan (who was the reigning star in the 1970s and 80s), and following up with Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan (who have been successful stars from the early 90s), to understand how changing subjectivities, responding to changing socio-economic reality, were formulated and expressed through these star texts by the film industry. Through the study of these stars, I try to understand how dominant ideas of masculinities were being formulated and how misogyny came to be a prominent aspect of those formulations, because of social structures of caste and patriarchy as well as neoliberal precarity. I also study the cultures of fascist violence that have emerged in India under the rightwing Hindu nationalist BJP government in the light of increased individualization and self-commodification under neoliberalism. I contend that the socio-political system that enhances individualization and self-commodification and thus, gives rise to a heightened celebrity culture, is also responsible for the limits on the agency of the stars and celebrities through the formation of a totalitarian state. I study Indian prime minister Narendra Modi as the ultimate celebrity commodity text to understand the future of stardom itself in India.

Magister Artium (Psychology) - MA(Psych) / Fatherhood and masculinity have been studied globally, and these constructs are used to make sense of a variety of realities of men. In South Africa, traditional constructions of fatherhood and masculinity persist. Given the unique history of men in South Africa, it allows researchers to investigate a plethora of phenomena relating to how men experience them, including fatherhood. Having a premature baby is fraught with medical and physical problems, which disrupts the fathers’ transition to fatherhood. The experience of the transition to parenthood is exacerbated by the sudden premature birth of a child, which leaves fathers and mothers particularly vulnerable to intense emotional experiences. Much has been documented about fathers’ subjective experiences of pregnancy, as well as fathers’ experiences of having a premature infant.

The intention of this thesis is to analyze the representations of masculinity in the anime series Dragon Ball Z as it aired on Cartoon Network's programming block Toonami, specifically the nature in which they were framed and how oppositional interpretations in the fandom became prevalent as a result. The series emphasizes the evolution of its central characters Goku, Vegeta, and Gohan into performing a sensitive masculinity, but there are a prevalence of images in the series that discredit this. Similarly, the way the series was advertised on Toonami placed emphasis on images of superficial violence and reinforced the masculinity that the series was attempting to move beyond. Understanding the ways fans have interpreted Dragon Ball Z on Toonami helps reveal that there is much more to a media text's influence than its themes and representations of gender.

This thesis assesses the ways in which gentility served as a catalyst for the creation of a new masculine identity during the early American republic:  the Republican Gentleman.  In particular, I utilize taverns in Richmond, Virginia from 1780 to 1820, in which to understand the significance of gentility.  This thesis analyzes how Richmond taverns represented the growth of gentility through refined architecture and its male patrons.  It discusses how taverns, as predominantly male spaces, allowed for the expression of the Republican Gentleman's masculine identity.  The guiding research question for this thesis is how refined Richmond taverns illustrated the prominence of gentility, and thus provided a stage for the performance of the Republican Gentleman during the early national period.  Furthermore, this research is informed by the following secondary research questions:  In what ways did gentility and republicanism shape masculine identities?  How did evolving ideas of gentility and refinement shape physical tavern space and architecture?  The broader significance of this thesis is to offer an avenue in which to further develop scholars' understanding of the intersection of masculinity, class, and gentility during the early national period. / Master of Arts

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A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of the requirements of degree of Doctor of Philosophy Johannesburg, 2015 / The ways in which we have come to know the world through expressions and performances of dominant versions of masculine and feminine gendered identities is challenged, refracted and altered on a daily basis through social interactions. This work situates itself within the various spheres of dominant masculinity production such as neo-traditional African cultural practices, sexuality, the family unit, race and class, as well as other contributory factors such as migration and lack of social advancement opportunities. Through the use of the novelistic genre, this work examines how contemporary black South African novels of English expression engage with the production of dominant masculinity, in order to critique the taken-for-granted access by dominant men to social power over other men, women and children. Not only does this study concern itself with the extent to which core elements of dominant masculinities are being transformed, it tracks transformation in literary figurations of men, and is interested in the alternative masculine identities that these novels proffer. This works’ search for alternative identities is predicated on the primacy of a symbiotic relationship between strategies of self re-presentation, personal agency and the power of social structures. This study concludes that the central codes of contemporary dominant black masculinities are forced to change because their legitimising narratives are put under scrutiny. Fluctuating social, political and economic factors also mediate their constant breakdown and recreation. However, the development of the alternative gendered identities imagined in these novels is thwarted by the prevailing socio-cultural practices of the contemporary era.

The purpose of this research was to revise the Male Rape Myths Scale (MRMS; Kerr Melanson, 1999) and gather psychometric information using the gender role strain paradigm (GRSP; Pleck, 1991, 1995) as a theoretical framework in samples of U.S. undergraduate students. I provided evidence for a 16-item revised version of the MRMS (MRMS-R) across three studies. The MRMS items were first revised based on the results of a pilot study and expert reviews. Exploratory factor analyses revealed a correlated two-factor model: (1) Marginalization and Homophobia and (2) Victim Blame and Denial of Trauma. Results of the confirmatory factor analyses provided support for bifactor and correlated two-factor models of the MRMS-R. Criterion validity was supported based on (a) differences in MRMS-R scores between men and women and (b) lower scores for participants who reported experiencing a sexual assault. MRMS-R scores were also correlated with victim blaming responses to case vignettes and female rape myth acceptance in the expected directions. Construct validity was further demonstrated by correlations between MRMS-R scores and measures of traditional gender role attitudes, homonegativity toward gay men, and patriarchal beliefs. Further, the bifactor model met criteria for measurement invariance between male and female groups. The total and subscale scores had high internal consistency estimates of reliability. Results provided preliminary support for the use of the MRMS-R as an updated measure of male rape myth agreement among college student populations, and clarified links to other gender-related constructs. Limitations, implications, and recommendations for future research are also discussed.