Despite recent interest in masculinities and the Northern Ireland peace process, the gender dynamics of Ulster Loyalism has yet to capture serious interest among scholars. This research attempts to address this omission in the literature that informs our understanding of Loyalism. The research was conducted with groups of UDA and UVF aligned young men, who participated in a series of workshops. Groups of older Loyalist men and Loyalist women also participated in focus groups and semi-structured interviews. The thesis focuses on three aspects of Loyalist masculinity. Loyalism is presented as a highly gendered form of military masculinity, deeply rooted in local community narratives and social and cultural practices. Loyalist masculinity is not monolithic, but instead is understood as multiple and fluid. The thesis addresses how allegiance to patriarchal hypermasculinities damaged the emotions of Loyalist men and left many struggling with relationship problems, substance abuse, and mental health issues relating to the conflict. The thesis also explores the extent to which Loyalist men are engaging in transformation, if and why Loyalist men have changed, and in what forms this change takes. It understands the transformation of Loyalist masculinities as the transcending of patriarchal values and the will to dominate. It outlines the uneven nature of transformation of Loyalist men and describes the factors that influenced their transformation as twin pressures that both simultaneously encourage and discourage change in Loyalist men as Northern Ireland advances further into a post-violent terrain.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:577663 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Magee, David G. |
| Publisher | University of Aberdeen |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk:80/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=201700 |
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