About DeCode/M

DeCode/M is the first ever comprehensive study on media and masculinities in Portugal. It seeks to identify and critically analyse, through an intersectional approach, representations of masculinities that are (re)produced by both mass media and online social media in Portugal. It will explore why particular notions of masculinity prevail, how they are appropriated or contested by audiences and content producers, as well as examine whether they promote gender-equitable and/or non-gender-equitable perspectives of social relations. The project adopts an epistemological approach built on the constitutive role of discourses combined with a three-fold approach of media agency (production, message, and audience), and an ecological approach to media discourses, practices, and representations. DeCode/M addresses the complexity, non-linearity and heterogeneity of representations and attitudes regarding masculinities and gender relations within the Portuguese mediascape.

Photos: Alexandre Carvalho and CRJulio

As the media helps shape knowledge, it is inevitable that gender identities are also susceptible to this influence. DeCode/M will explore how specific representations of masculinities are reproduced, either intentionally or unintentionally, and their impact on gender identities and relations

Sofia José SantosPrincipal Researcher

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