Full Text Available
Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.
From #MenAreTrash to #MensConference: Networked masculinities in South African Twitter
Despite the extensive literature on men and masculinities in South Africa, researchers have largely overlooked the role of digitally mediated networked publics in the coproduction and negotiation of contemporary masculinities. This dissertation attempts to fill the gap by engaging in an exploration...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Centre for Film and Media Studies
2022
|
| Subjects: | |
| Tags: |
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1867613167979331584 |
|---|---|
| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Aguera, Reneses Pablo |
| author2 | Bosch, Tanja |
| author_browse | Aguera, Reneses Pablo Bosch, Tanja |
| author_facet | Bosch, Tanja Aguera, Reneses Pablo |
| author_sort | Aguera, Reneses Pablo |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | Despite the extensive literature on men and masculinities in South Africa, researchers have largely overlooked the role of digitally mediated networked publics in the coproduction and negotiation of contemporary masculinities. This dissertation attempts to fill the gap by engaging in an exploration of networked masculinities in South African Black Twitter through the analysis of two recent case studies. The first case study looks at the hashtag #MensConference, a fictional conference organised by men in opposition to Valentine's Day. The second focuses on the #MenAreTrash movement, a digital feminist campaign against gender-based violence, and men's response through the hashtag #WomenAreTrash. Employing a small data approach, this dissertation engages in a critical thematic analysis of a selection of tweets for each of the hashtags through the theoretical lens of critical masculinity studies. The dissertation takes a decolonial approach to African digital media research by examining the digital experiences of African men as sites for knowledge creation in their own right. In accordance with the notion of masculinity as multiple, fluid and discursive, the analysis uncovered a wide range of masculinity discourses on South African Twitter across a traditional-liberal spectrum. While expressions of sexism and misogyny were common throughout the sample, men also upheld alternative and progressive models of manhood. The affordances of social media provided men with a space to express themselves, but also to police and contest each other's masculinities through in-group dynamics that worked to reinforce patriarchal hegemony. The dissertation also provides insights into the role of women in shaping online discourses of masculinity by both challenging and reinforcing vii gender power structures. The findings present similarities with previous studies on networked masculinities from the Global North, for instance, in the anti-feminist resistance strategies deployed against #MenAreTrash. However, the interactions between black South African men on Twitter were defined by their specific social, economic and cultural context, with local media and consumerist culture playing a substantial role in influencing networked masculinities. Ultimately, this research demonstrates the critical role of social media, and Black Twitter in particular, as a prominent space for both the reproduction and contestation of hegemonic masculinities in South Africa. The dissertation concludes by highlighting the value of social media for researching the relational processes of co-construction and performance of contemporary South African masculinities, as well as its potential for gender justice efforts working to promote progressive masculinities in the country. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/35674 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:31:50.330Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| publishDateRange | 2022 |
| publishDateSort | 2022 |
| publisher | Centre for Film and Media Studies |
| publisherStr | Centre for Film and Media Studies |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/35674 From #MenAreTrash to #MensConference: Networked masculinities in South African Twitter Aguera, Reneses Pablo Bosch, Tanja Film and Media Studies Despite the extensive literature on men and masculinities in South Africa, researchers have largely overlooked the role of digitally mediated networked publics in the coproduction and negotiation of contemporary masculinities. This dissertation attempts to fill the gap by engaging in an exploration of networked masculinities in South African Black Twitter through the analysis of two recent case studies. The first case study looks at the hashtag #MensConference, a fictional conference organised by men in opposition to Valentine's Day. The second focuses on the #MenAreTrash movement, a digital feminist campaign against gender-based violence, and men's response through the hashtag #WomenAreTrash. Employing a small data approach, this dissertation engages in a critical thematic analysis of a selection of tweets for each of the hashtags through the theoretical lens of critical masculinity studies. The dissertation takes a decolonial approach to African digital media research by examining the digital experiences of African men as sites for knowledge creation in their own right. In accordance with the notion of masculinity as multiple, fluid and discursive, the analysis uncovered a wide range of masculinity discourses on South African Twitter across a traditional-liberal spectrum. While expressions of sexism and misogyny were common throughout the sample, men also upheld alternative and progressive models of manhood. The affordances of social media provided men with a space to express themselves, but also to police and contest each other's masculinities through in-group dynamics that worked to reinforce patriarchal hegemony. The dissertation also provides insights into the role of women in shaping online discourses of masculinity by both challenging and reinforcing vii gender power structures. The findings present similarities with previous studies on networked masculinities from the Global North, for instance, in the anti-feminist resistance strategies deployed against #MenAreTrash. However, the interactions between black South African men on Twitter were defined by their specific social, economic and cultural context, with local media and consumerist culture playing a substantial role in influencing networked masculinities. Ultimately, this research demonstrates the critical role of social media, and Black Twitter in particular, as a prominent space for both the reproduction and contestation of hegemonic masculinities in South Africa. The dissertation concludes by highlighting the value of social media for researching the relational processes of co-construction and performance of contemporary South African masculinities, as well as its potential for gender justice efforts working to promote progressive masculinities in the country. 2022-02-09T11:02:17Z 2022-02-09T11:02:17Z 2021 2022-02-08T08:23:52Z Master Thesis Masters MSocSci http://hdl.handle.net/11427/35674 eng application/pdf Centre for Film and Media Studies Faculty of Humanities |
| spellingShingle | Film and Media Studies Aguera, Reneses Pablo From #MenAreTrash to #MensConference: Networked masculinities in South African Twitter |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | From #MenAreTrash to #MensConference: Networked masculinities in South African Twitter |
| title_full | From #MenAreTrash to #MensConference: Networked masculinities in South African Twitter |
| title_fullStr | From #MenAreTrash to #MensConference: Networked masculinities in South African Twitter |
| title_full_unstemmed | From #MenAreTrash to #MensConference: Networked masculinities in South African Twitter |
| title_short | From #MenAreTrash to #MensConference: Networked masculinities in South African Twitter |
| title_sort | from menaretrash to mensconference networked masculinities in south african twitter |
| topic | Film and Media Studies |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/35674 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT aguerarenesespablo frommenaretrashtomensconferencenetworkedmasculinitiesinsouthafricantwitter |