In many South African communities, socially constructed masculinity norms that promote unequal gender relations and high risk sexual behaviour are key contributing factors to HIV transmission. Following a qualitative approach, using in-depth interviews, this study engaged graduates of the Tavern Intervention Programme (TIP) in Gauteng to explore and describe their perceptions of traditional and modern masculinities, as well as their experience of the TIP. The findings indicated that, while there are differences between traditional and modern men, several masculinity practices, such as unequal gender relations, inconsistent use of condoms, infrequent accessing of HIV testing opportunities and entitlement to multiple partners endure as potential barriers to HIV prevention. Additionally, peer groups reinforce and reward HIV risk behaviour among modern men. Participants did, however, report changes in perceptions and behaviour regarding gender relations and HIV prevention as a result of their participation in the TIP. This study concluded that the role the TIP played in providing these men with an environment where alternative masculinity behaviour could be explored and supported was of particular value in terms of changes in their perceptions of masculinities, gender relations and HIV prevention. / Sociology / M.A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS)

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the psychological development of South Asian masculinity in a diaspora that is depicted in Hanif Kureishi’s The Buddha of Suburbia and V.S. Naipaul’s The Mimic Men. Together, Kureishi and Naipaul construct a complete understanding of masculinity through childhood, adolescent, young adult, and adulthood. Chapter 1 explores the need to displace their father’s masculinity and seek better masculine models that align with the social norms of the diaspora. Chapter 2 establishes the motivation behind seeking peers to define the meaning of masculinity in a diaspora and the disadvantage of this pathway. Chapter 3 demonstrates two possible outcomes for South Asian men attempting to construct a secure masculinity. The difficulties these characters encounter when developing their identity is both a product of their diasporic environment and the lingering effect of colonization through the presence of hegemonic masculinity. They attempt to rectify the inadequacies in their masculinity by refuting a portion of their identity tied to being South Asian in order to better assimilate to the ideals of their diaspora. Ultimately, there are two possible consequences for South Asian men in a diaspora: one is to attempt to negotiate their position as a mixture of both the ideals of the diaspora and South Asian culture and the second is to continue to live a fragmented life of denying aspects of their identity tied to either the diaspora or South Asian culture.

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As a result of a historically anchored relationship between the Swedish state and the sports movement, gender equality has been a prioritized area of interest in Swedish sports since the 1970s. Despite long-term work in this field, research indicates a notable gap between what is said and done at the central level and locally. Research also indicates attitude problems; gender equality is often seen as an insignificant or unnecessary issue. This thesis seeks to relate to and analyze this development. Answers are sought via male sport coaches and leaders. This approach is motivated by the fact that gender equality-related sport research in Sweden seldom focuses on men and masculinities. At the same time men have been overrepresented as power holders and decision makers, and gender equality has consequently been constructed as a women’s issue. By means of a post-structural discourse analysis, the aim is to investigate constructions of gender equality in interviews with 47 leaders selected from seven sports. How is gender equality constructed in terms of meanings of and standpoints in relation to the concept, and which discourses set the frames for these constructions? Which subject positions are articulated? Results show that gender equality is given many different meanings in the interviews and that these meanings are produced in line with three discourses: a women’s rights discourse (semi-essentialism, structural feminism, a quantitative and qualitative support for women’s sport), a gender critical discourse (constructionism, structural feminism, “women can”, deconstructions of femininities) and a liberal discourse (“sport for all”, individualism, gender neutrality). Furthermore, four subject positions are distinguished: the skeptic, the cynic, the women rightist and the norm critic position. When the results are related to the production of gender equality policies four aspects are discussed, 1) relations between discourses (the discourses generate contradictory interpretations of sport, subjectivity, gender and equality), 2) men and gender equality, 3) the relatively substantial lack of interest in gender equality in the interviews and 4) sport and pluralism. One conclusion in the thesis is that the women’s rights discourse dominates and that the liberal discourse is marginalized in the interviews. Further, it is suggested that an elaboration and a more frequent practice of the gender critical discourse could be useful in the development of the gender equality project in Swedish sport. / Forskningslinjen Fritid

This study examines the ways in which men who relate sexually to children, identified in the press as paedophiles, are represented in four leading newspapers in the Republic of Ireland in the period from 2003-2005. Utilising a qualitative research methodology namely critical discourse analysis, a social constructionist approach and informed by post-structural perspectives, this research examines the ways in which the masculinities of the man represented as 'the paedophile' are constructed. This research demonstrates how the normative is reinforced through the delegitimation of the masculinities of these men. The discursive regimes and cultural scenarios drawn upon in representations of 'the paedophile' reflect degrees of deviation from hegemonic masculinity in an always already 'deviant' group of men. Inactive heterosexuality and homosexuality are not hegemonic masculine practices, and the masculinity of supposedly, celibate clergymen and homosexual men is discursively subordinated. A consideration of the material dimensions of these discourses, illustrates how the media representation of men who relate sexually to children, confirms the normative contours of society and strategically excludes hegemonic masculinity and the wider society from association with adult male sexual interaction with children.

Orientador: Lúcia Regina Vieira Romano / Resumo: Esta dissertação tem como objetivo investigar a representação de masculinidades na cena do Grupo Magiluth de Teatro, a partir da análise crítica na perspectiva da poética cênica e sobre as personagens dos espetáculos Aquilo que o Meu Olhar Guardou para Você e Viúva, porém Honesta. Um dos mais atuantes coletivos da cena contemporânea pernambucana, o Magiluth é um fenômeno teatral recifense surgido no início dos anos 2000, em meio a um processo de transformações democráticas políticas, econômicas e culturais no Brasil, e cuja forma de produção artística está ligada à prática coletiva – que tem entre suas premissas o trabalho continuado de pesquisa de linguagem, relação profícua com o contexto social em que estão inseridos e a horizontalidade das funções criativas. Recorrendo a uma contextualização histórica da passagem dos anos 1990 para 2000, no Brasil, procurou-se pontuar anseios do período de surgimento do Magiluth como parte tanto de um movimento intelectual pernambucano quanto de um resgate de referências estéticas e conceituais anteriores – a exemplo do teatro de grupo em organização micropolítica (COLETTA, 2014; AGUIAR, 2008). A pesquisa abrangeu ainda a reflexão sobre alguns estudos de gênero, intercruzados com o teatro performativo (ROMANO, 2017; MOSTAÇO, 2009; FERNANDES, 2010), a história do movimento LGBT no Brasil (QUINALHA, 2017, 2019; TREVISAN, 2018; LOURO, 2008, 2016) e as identidades de gênero masculino (BENTO, 2015; CONNELL, 1987, 1995; MATHIEU, 1987). Como hip... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: This dissertation aims to investigate the masculinities representation in the scene of the Magiluth Group of Theater, from the critical analysis of the poetic scenic and the characters of the plays Aquilo que o Meu Olhar Guardou para Você and Viúva, porém Honesta. One of the most active collectives of the contemporary scene in Pernambuco, Magiluth is a Recife theater phenomenon that emerged in the early 2000s, amid a process of political, economic and cultural transformation in Brazil, whose artistic production is based on collective practices - which has among its premises the continuous work of language research, a fruitful relationship with the social context in which they are inserted and the horizontality of creative functions. Recalling the historical context from the 1990s to the 2000s in Brazil, we sought to point out the yearnings of the period of Magiluth's emergence as part of an intellectual movement in Pernambuco as well as a rescue of previous aesthetic and conceptual references - such as the micropolitical practices in theatrical groups (COLETTA, 2014; AGUIAR, 2008). The research also included the reflection on some gender studies intertwined with the performative theater (ROMANO, 2017; MOSTAÇO, 2009; FERNANDES, 2010), the history of the LGBT movement in Brazil (QUINALHA, 2017, 2019; TREVISAN, 2018; LOURO, 2008, 2016) and male identities (BENTO, 2015; CONNELL, 1987, 1995; MATHIEU, 1982). As a hypothesis, it is evaluated that through the subjectivities of the ac... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Student Number : 0216658A - PhD thesis - School of Social Sciences - Faculty of Humanities / This thesis is a study of underground organisation from the 1950s until 1976, though it also draws on material prior to and after these periods. It delves into an area of social activity that has been relatively invisible in scholarship on South Africa and resistance history. The study considers the concept of underground operations. It is taken to include not only the place where the ‘final’ activities may have taken place, but those countries where cadres were trained or housed, even if this would normally be characterised as located in ‘exile’. It is ‘outside’, but it such activities are also treated as part of the underground phenomenon considered as a whole. At the level of historiography the thesis is a re-reading of early ANC underground, partly giving a different interpretation to existing literature, but also relying on the insights of oral informants. The establishment of the SACP underground is fleshed out through interview material, but the thesis challenges the notion that the Party controlled the ANC, arguing in contrast that the conditions of the alliance demanded limitations on SACP’s autonomy. In the period after Rivonia the conventional historiography speaks of a lull and an absence of the ANC and its allies. The thesis provides evidence to contradict this showing that while there may have been silence, there was never absence. It also probes the relationship between ANC and Black Consciousness, where it shows far more overlap than much of the existing literature has disclosed. The study is at once a historical narrative and also an attempt to characterise the social character of this area of study, the special features that go to make up clandestine organisaton. Within this characterisation of underground activity, the thesis also probes the gendered nature of these activities, the definite impact of concepts of masculinity and femininity within a conventionally male terrain. Related to these questions the thesis probes the relationship between the personal and organisational, both at the level of individual decision-making and notions of love and realising emotions. The chapter on gender examines the denial of manhood to African men and considers ANC masculinities and assertion of the need to regain manhood in that context. The thesis also examines the entry of women into the male world of the army and underground, explaining many of the difficulties and the countervailing efforts of women as well as certain men to assert the rights of women to equal participation. The chapter on the impact of revolutionary activity on the personal examines the subordination of individual judgement to the collective and in the personal sphere, notions of revolutionary love, found not only in South Africa but in most revolutionary struggles, where ‘love for the people’ tends to displace inter-personal love. The final chapter –by way of an epilogue- examines the outcomes of struggles after 1976, initiated by various forces including the underground organisation. In this period ANC hegemony begins to consolidate and the character of that hegemony is broken down into various components.

The research served a dual purpose: (i) to explore men’s subjective experiences of their violence toward their intimate partners and, (ii) to examine how men talk about their violence in an attempt to establish credibility in their accounts. The first emphasised the subjective and emotional bases of individual experience and the second contextualised these descriptions within a broader societal framework. Highlighting the shortcomings of a quantitative research paradigm, the research utilised a qualitative framework which privileged first-person descriptions as the primary sources of subjective meaning. Although oriented toward a phenomenological approach, the research drew upon elements of psychoanalysis and discursive psychology. Twelve men were recruited from three organisations in Johannesburg. Via in-depth semi-structured interviews, men’s most vivid incident(s) of violence were explored. Thematic analysis revealed two levels of meaning: men’s descriptions of their violence (narrative content) and, processes by which they talked about their violence (narrative form). On the subjective dimension, seemingly contradictory experiences of violence were evident, clustering around five central themes: (i) violence as ‘being out of control’, (ii) violence as ‘having control’ over another, (iii) the continuum of love and violence, (iv) violence versus emotionality and (v) the violent self as ‘not me’. In feminist-psychoanalytic terms, men’s emotional dependence on their partners was denied or repressed. Violence represented a negation or devaluation of the feminine where male vulnerability and powerlessness, once exposed, became intolerable to bear. The ability to integrate and tolerate contradictory aspects of self (i.e. ‘emotional’ and ‘rational’) was a decisive step towards healing and becoming the ‘changed man’. On the discursive level, through ‘talk’, men negotiated an identity of ‘changed man’ that provided distance from the ‘violent self’. Attention to the narrative as a persuasive tool revealed ways in which the men attempted to establish credibility in their accounts of violence – achieved by socially positioning themselves in relation to their violence, agreeing to talk and employing impression management ‘strategies’, such as dissociations, justifications and confessions. Reconciling the two levels of analyses, the tension between dominant gendered discourses on masculinity that men relied on (i.e. that which fosters masculine ‘toughness’, whilst diminishing ‘weakness’ or emotionality), and the psychological interior of their actual experiences was evident. A ‘multiplicity approach’ that accords significance to both societal constructions of gender and their impact on men’s behaviour, whilst giving expression to the psychological reality of men’s experiences could prove beneficial in fostering change.

The research investigated how men perceive constructions of masculinity in the talk of male rape. Research on gender relations and masculinities is a growing area of interest. The topic of male rape however, remains underrepresented within this. Male rape draws on discourses of gender, trauma, sex, sexuality and violence. It further offers a controversial topic that participants could engage in to further make sense of the multitude of masculine identities that exist, and how these directly influence responses to gendered phenomena. It is therefore likely to elicit significant constructions of masculinities and hence was used as a vehicle to further add insight into the constructed nature of masculinities. This was achieved through the use of a group of thirteen men who were divided into three focus groups. Each focus group made use of a vignette and a semi-structured interview schedule. Through this method the masculine identities that arose in their talk on male rape were examined. Data were analysed using thematic content analysis in which a social constructionist perspective was applied. It was found that participants strongly adhered to a hegemonic masculine point of reference in discussions. The patriarchal nature of this masculine identity that is subordinating of both women and other masculine identities was consistently used in discussions, thus representing the relatively stable influence of hegemony in gendered relations. Subordinated masculinities emerged more subtly, illustrating a growing acceptance of multiple forms of masculine identities. The results were understood as largely representative of broader society that still elevates the constructed standards of hegemony in conceptualising masculinities. This study thus sheds light on the social constructionist nature evident in society that continually influences the connotations attached to gendered identities within it. The significance in considering the masculine influences in responding to male rape lies in the multiplicity of factors that each involves as these collectively shape society's continued gendered understanding in shaping reality. A topic such as male rape, that directly threatens constructed notions of masculinities, thus allows for a new understanding to emerge in its consideration of the masculine identities that arise in responding to this traumatic experience.

The main aim of this thesis was to examine the ‘Men Going Their Own Way’ (r/MGTOW) community on Reddit. This aim was carried out by exploring (1) the themes perpetuated in the community, (2) how r/MGTOW fits in the contemporary ‘manosphere’, (3) the linguistic identity of its users, (4) the presence of hegemonic and inclusive masculinity, and lastly (5) the role of social media logics on r/MGTOW. The theoretical framework was comprised of theories about the characteristics of the manosphere, linguistic identity, hegemonic masculinity theory and inclusive masculinity theory, discourse, and social media logics.The analysis was comprised of research tools from Thematic Analysis, Content Analysis, and Foucauldian discourse analysis. The Content Analysis was facilitated by qualitative and quantitative software, WordStat. Through the use of these tools it was found that female nature, feminism, masculinity, society, and self-improvement were common themes in the community. Furthermore, masculinity, the dismissal of femininity, and a distinct lingua franca were elements that created a common antifeminist identity among the r/MGTOW users. Alleged scientific theories and beliefs about female nature and feminism were used as means to justify the position of men as victims. And lastly, most of the ideals of hegemonic masculinity, except for stoicism, were accepted.Taking social media logic into account, we see that users on certain platforms can boost certain content. This principle also applies to Reddit, which is the platform that hosts r/MGTOW. Therefore, research should further explore if online platforms can be held accountable for user-generated content. Additionally, further research should look into other methods for conduction the analysis, such as interviews, and should consider cross-fertilization of ideas between different manospherian communities. And ultimately, concepts such as victimization and identity formation online ought to be examined in this setting to acquire a broader understanding of the manosphere. The limitations of this thesis are the short timeframe of study and the lack of data triangulation.