Abstract:
This thesis will examine single men’s constructions of heterosexuality and masculinity in a New Zealand context. Using the data from 31 semi-structured interviews, I will discuss how men made sense of and (re)produced discourse around singleness and heterosexuality, while simultaneously positioning themselves in relation to hegemonic practice and ideals. As men strove towards acceptable masculine identities, both in their retelling of events and ideas, and within the interview context, their identity positionings were forged alongside their relations with women, other men, and a ‘progressing’ gender order (Connell, 2012). I will employ discourse analysis from a social constructionist perspective to analyse how men located themselves and made meaning through these relations, including ideas around: the interview context; a new progressive/‘open’ masculinity; the (post) #MeToo climate; and men’s rights and ‘closed’ masculinity (Elliott, 2020). I will additionally locate my own experiences of interviewing participants within hegemonic and patriarchal structures, and reflect on how my responses have shaped the resulting analysis. Through these conversations I will present a view of contemporary hegemonic masculinity in New Zealand, with the goal of contributing to continued efforts to discuss and expand understandings of what masculinity is/can be, by examining where we are at – and possibilities for where we might go.