Session Information
SES C 11, Paper Session
Paper Session
Contribution
Hearn and Pringle (2006) argued that, men within the last twenty years often were positioned in the centre of public as well as private agendas. Power and authority appeared to be taken-for-granted, unquestionable and natural elements of male identity. Nevertheless, this line of reasoning is now changing as the European context of public discussion on masculinity has a new dimension. Particularly, there is a growing awareness that masculinity can be as gendered as femininity. The purpose of my research is to define and explore ideological patterns and constructions of masculinity that circulate in contemporary European societies. The initial aim is to catalogue social understandings and dimensions of manhood. Nevertheless, in order to obtain a complex view on masculinity, the study has to acknowledge to what extent socially created representations of manhood are ‘consumed’ by individuals. In other words, the research will characterise if modern men attempt to maintain social codes of gender performance or try to confront the forms of traditional masculine behaviour with individual perception on manhood. Consequently, the project will focus upon analysing Online Social- Networking Websites (OSNWs), recognising boys’:
· Emotional needs, intimate and private feelings
· Relationships with other boys, girls and family
· Daily activities, interests and hobbies
· Attitudes toward school
· Attitudes toward work
· Relations to physical appearance
These thematic areas will allow examining the construction of men’s identities and categorising ‘meanings’ of masculinity into traditional (where men are presented as independent, objective, dominant or aggressive) and non-traditional (for example men as gentle, quite or emotional).
Research Questions
1. How are masculinity and manhood exposed to the generation of teenage boys?
· What representations of man are approved and sustained by the society?
· What roles are presented among teenagers as more appropriate to be adopted by men?
· Do current perspectives on manhood challenge gender stereotypes and generalisations? How?
2. How far do socially created ideologies of masculinity have an influence for constructing boys’ self-perception?
· How do teenage boys feel about themselves and contemporary culture?
· What are the social and cultural obstacles that concern adolescent boys?
3. In what ways do specific life variables such as age, race, sexual orientation, education or place of residence influence boys’ customs and understanding of their own position in the world?
· Is there a significant difference in the shape of perception on masculinity among boys with different educational backgrounds?
· Is there any similarity in perception on manhood among same-aged boys?
4. To what extent is an online context as well as usage of virtual research methods accurate and applicable to the social framework of this project?
· How can well-established educational or social research methods be adapted to fit cybernetic environment?
· Does conducting a research in virtual environment contribute to development of original designs or does it bring risks of neglecting traditional methodological approaches?
· In what ways can validity and reliability be assured within the virtual research design?
· What ethical issues should address the undertaking of virtual research?
How can teachers’ practice and classroom strategies be developed to reduce problematic issues that construct gender-based inequalities?
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Connell, R.W. 1995. Masculinities. Cambridge: Polity Press. Hearn, Jeff & Pringle, Keith with Members of Critical Research on Men in Europe (CROME). 2006. European Perspectives on Men and Masculinities: National and Transnational Approaches. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Seidler, Victor. 1997. Men Enough: Embodying Masculinities. London: SAGE Publications.
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