'Metrosexual' Masculinity: a Discourse Analysis
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Nottingham Trent Institutional Repository (IRep) ‘IT’S A METROSEXUAL THING’: A DISCOURSE ANALYTICAL EXAMINATION OF MASCULINITIES MATTHEW HALL A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of Nottingham Trent University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy February 2014 This work is the intellectual property of the author. Up to 5% of this work may be copied for private study, or personal, non-commercial research. Any re-use of the information contained within this document should be fully referenced, quoting the author, title, university, degree level and pagination. Queries or requests for any other use, or if a more substantial copy is required, should be directed to the owner of the Intellectual Property Rights. I declare that this thesis is my own work, has not previously been submitted in any form for the award of a higher degree elsewhere, and that appropriate credit has been given where reference has been made to the work of others. Matthew Hall 2 Abstract The recent critical focus on men and masculinities purports challenges to the dominance of ‘hegemonic’ or idealised dominant masculine scripts (Connell, 1995). Men’s increasing consumption of image enhancement products and especially facial cosmetics – aspects of so-called ‘metrosexuality’ (Simpson, 1994, 2002) – constitute one such example. Scholars have predominately examined ‘metrosexuality’ from sociological perspectives (Carniel, 2009; Coad, 2008; Miller, 2008) arguing it challenges gender and sexuality through an interest in feminised practices, but also by unhinging it from gender and sexuality as an asexual personal aesthetic lifestyle. Given that we know little of how self-identifying ‘metrosexuals’ define, construct and negotiate their identity in relation to other gender and sexual identities, these absences underpin this thesis. The wealth of Internet computer-mediated forms of communications provide fruitful datasets as newly forming identities like ‘metrosexual’ are arguably more easily claimed online in the absence of face-to-face interaction. This thesis examines four modes of electronic talk – an online magazine article and reader responses, forum contributions, video creator and viewer responses, marketing testimonials - with discursive psychological (Edwards & Potter, 1992) and membership categorisation analytical (Sacks, 1992) approaches. The analysis of the talk pays particular attention to the discursive features deployed in the construction of ‘metrosexual’ masculinity by both ‘metrosexuals’ and ‘non-metrosexuals’. The analysis also highlights the continued availability of, and difficulty in rejecting, conventional masculine scripts; men frequently reference sexual prowess, self- respect, corrective measures to combat the effects of extreme work and sport, whilst rejecting some features of conventional masculinity as outdated. This thesis shows 3 how masculinity remains a multifaceted resource, which can be creatively deployed to fulfill various functions – to embrace contemporary social demands – making the study of ‘metrosexual’ masculinity an important and novel contribution to knowledge. 4 Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................................. 7 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 10 1. MASCULINITIES .......................................................................................................................... 17 ‘METROSEXUALITY’ IN THE MEDIA .................................................................................................. 17 CONVENTIONAL MASCULINITIES ....................................................................................................... 28 MEN IN FEMININE-TYPE ENVIRONMENTS ......................................................................................... 33 ‘METROSEXUALITY’ IN FOCUS .......................................................................................................... 35 2. DATA AND METHODS ................................................................................................................ 42 ONLINE TEXTS ................................................................................................................................... 42 METHODS OF ANALYSIS .................................................................................................................... 47 ETHNOMETHODOLOGY ...................................................................................................................... 48 DISCURSIVE PSYCHOLOGY ................................................................................................................ 52 MEMBERSHIP CATEGORISATION ANALYSIS ....................................................................................... 57 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS ............................................................................................................... 62 3. STUDY 1........................................................................................................................................... 67 ‘DON’T YOU WANT TO KNOW IF YOU’RE “METRO” TOO? : MAGAZINE AND READER CONSTRUCTIONS OF ‘METROSEXUALITY’ AND MASCULINITY. ...................................................................................... 67 MEN’S LIFESTYLE MAGAZINES ......................................................................................................... 67 UK MEN’S LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE MARKET ...................................................................................... 68 GENDER, SEXUALITY AND CONSUMPTION IN MEN’S STYLE MAGAZINES ......................................... 71 APPROACHING THE STUDY OF MAGAZINES ...................................................................................... 74 METHOD ............................................................................................................................................ 76 DATA ................................................................................................................................................. 78 ANALYSIS .......................................................................................................................................... 79 READERS’ RESPONSES ....................................................................................................................... 85 CONCLUDING REMARKS .................................................................................................................... 98 4. STUDY 2......................................................................................................................................... 102 ‘ANY OTHER METROSEXUALS IN HERE?’: CONSTRUCTING METROSEXUALITY AND MASCULINITIES IN AN ONLINE FORUM ........................................................................................................................... 102 MASCULINE IDENTITY CATEGORIES ................................................................................................ 102 METHOD .......................................................................................................................................... 104 DATA ............................................................................................................................................... 106 ANALYSIS ........................................................................................................................................ 108 CONCLUDING REMARKS .................................................................................................................. 127 5. STUDY 3......................................................................................................................................... 130 ‘I’M METRO, NOT GAY!’: MEN’S ACCOUNTS OF MAKEUP USE ON YOU TUBE ............................... 130 THE MODERN MAN ......................................................................................................................... 130 DATA ............................................................................................................................................... 133 METHOD .......................................................................................................................................... 135 ANALYSIS ........................................................................................................................................ 135 CONCLUDING REMARKS .................................................................................................................. 152 6. STUDY 4......................................................................................................................................... 154 ‘WE WANT TO LOOK OUR BEST WITHOUT APPEARING FLAMBOYANT’: STAKE MANAGEMENT IN MEN’S ONLINE COSMETICS TESTIMONIALS .................................................................................................. 154 THE BODY AS A MEDIUM OF CULTURE ........................................................................................... 154 DATA ............................................................................................................................................... 158 METHOD .........................................................................................................................................