Media representations and narratives of masculinities across Europe
Santos, Sofia José; Amaral, Inês (2021), “Media Representations and Narratives of Masculinities Across Europe” thematic number of “Sociální studia / Social Studies”, 18 (2)
ABOUT: Within media and gender studies, while the study of women’s representation is critical to attaining gender equality, the deconstruction of patriarchal structures requires examining gender portrayals in a relational sense. The inclusion of masculinities and, specifically, the way boys and men are represented in the media is essential to understanding the full picture of gender (in)equality. In present times, notions of masculinities are becoming increasingly complex, and progressive gender ideals are ever more present but still coexisting with conservative ones. This makes the need to explore the expressions and dynamics of hybridity, backlash and breakthrough highly relevant – with media playing a pivotal role in these (re)configurations. This special issue intends to bring together critical analysis focusing on media representations, discourses, narratives and counter-narratives of what it means to be, feel and behave “like a man” in today’s Europe. It aims to contribute to a reflection on the stereotypes that underlie discourses in the mass media and in the online media, and on how cultural productions co-opt, confront, criticize, renegotiate and seek to promote gender alternatives that challenge gender inequality.
