A ‘Manual on Masculinity’? The Consumption and Use of Mediated Images of Masculinity among Teenage Boys in Ireland

Abstract

Most of the research on masculinity in Ireland stresses the influences of family, work and education in the construction of gender (Ferguson, 1998;Ferguson and Synott, 1995;Ferguson and Reynolds, 2001;McKeown et al., 1998, Owens, 2000. Although the impact of the entertainment media is regularly alluded to, there is a dearth of empirical work in this area. While it is generally agreed that mediated images play a highly influential role in young people's lives, both the nature and the scope of this influence remain unclear in the absence of concrete ethnographies of reception. This paper discusses the findings of a quantitative and qualitative investigation into Irish male teenagers' consumption and reception of a broad range of media texts and discusses these findings in relation to the relevant literature. It points to the shortcomings of both 'hypodermic needle' theories, which claim direct media influence, and of some active audience theories, which posit consumers as impervious to ideological influence. Contrary to popular discourses which frame the media as an autonomous, regressive force that lags behind a more progressive reality, the findings presented here suggest that mediated fictions are part of wider 'gender scripts' (Nixon, 1996) that both inform and are informed by the social structures within which (male) viewers are immersed.

The Presentation of Masculinity in Everyday Life: Contextual Variations in the Masculine Behaviour of Young Irish Men

“…Although not investigated in the current study, it is possible that the contradictory nature of such contextual presentations may contribute to a sense of fragmentation and confusion with respect to men's understandings of their masculine identity (i.e., the so-called 'crisis' of masculinity). Ging's (2005) recent investigation of Irish adolescents' media usage provides several points of convergence with the findings we obtained. In seeking to situate her study within a wider social context, she delineates the interviewees' conceptualisation of gender issues and also documents patterns in their behavior while serving as participants.…”

“…Finally, the participants in her study appeared highly aware of the performative nature of masculinity and the way in which it is policed in their everyday life. Ging's (2005) findings in conjunction with the results of the current study underscore the ambiguity that lies at the heart of Irish men's understanding of masculinity. Such uncertainty, commonly reduced within Irish society to a 'crisis' (Gosine 2007), is consistent with the radical social and economic shifts that have occurred in the country's recent history.…”

“…In the company of both peers and his girlfriend, these men may abandon this presentation opting for yet another, tailored to that occasion. However, these situated performances do not reduce the presentation of masculinity to a kind of voluntarism (Frosh et al 2003b;Ging 2005) where men can pick and choose who they wish to be. Indeed, men in this study often spoke with regret of occasions where they acted contrary to how they would have liked.…”

`Doing boy/girl' and global/local elements in 10—12 year olds' drawings and written texts

“…Overall then it seems possible to conclude that, as suggested by Ging (2005) globalisation supports hegemonic ways of 'doing boy'. However in a context where boundary crossing is eroding gender differences, global elements can be used to extend the repertoire of ways of doing girl.…”

Transition, Crisis and Nostalgia

“…This had led to what Wearing has argued to be the normalization of "chronological decorum" (2007: 298) within popular culture. While in this instance she refers more specifically to the temporal constraints of aging, it also bears relevance to youth, as "being young" also requires the performance of particular "appropriate" gendered behaviors (as found within the empirical work of Cann 2014;Ging 2005). Therefore, if we consider gender to be relationally constructed, youth masculinities must therefore be situated in relation to adult masculinities, which carry with them their own "chronological proprieties," and thus performances of "being masculine.…”