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"You're completely brainwashed": A qualitative study on toxic masculinity as expressed by a 'men's rights' influencers fanbase
Umeå University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Sociology.
2023 (English)Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (One Year)), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
Abstract [en]

In this thesis I will use a ‘men’s rights’ influencers fanbase as an example of a new generation of people who values toxic and traditional masculinity. I will do so by doing a critical discourse analysis on 1200 comments from the platform Reddit, using Fairclough's three-dimensional model as inspiration. Furthermore, to deepen the analysis I have chosen to analyze the comments in relation to parasocial relationships, hegemonic masculinity as well as the concepts of traditional and toxic masculinity. I found through my analysis that the fanbase views the influencer as a form of ‘beacon of truth’, and made a plethora of external references in regards to the movie 'The Matrix’. Moreover, the fans articulate masculinity in a way where ‘strength’ is prevalent, and is in line with traditional and toxic masculinity - whilst holding the influencer as a form of ideal of this form. In the discussion I draw parallels to how referencing the Matrix as a concept could speak of a mistrust towards the government, and how the countermovement to ‘modern’ masculinity could result in dangerous practices. To conclude, I highlight how there is still more research to be done on the field of alternative influencers and what consequences this ‘countermovement’ may have.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2023. , p. 41
Keywords [en]
oxic masculinity, parasocial relationships, influencers, Reddit, the Red Pill, the Manosphere
National Category
Social Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-209241OAI: oai:DiVA.org:umu-209241DiVA, id: diva2:1763791
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Available from: 2023-06-27 Created: 2023-06-07 Last updated: 2023-06-27Bibliographically approved

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CiteExportLink to record
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Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
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