Young Icelandic Men’s Perception of Masculinities

Post-print (lokagerð höfundar) Iceland enjoys an international reputation as one of the most gender equal countries in the world. This article analyses how young men in Reykjavík, the country’s capital, perceive masculinities as they orient themselves in surroundings where gender equality is regarde...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of Men's Studies
Main Authors: Jóhannsdóttir, Ásta, Gíslason, Ingólfur V.
Other Authors: Félagsfræði-, mannfræði- og þjóðfræðideild (HÍ), Faculty of Sociology, Anthropology and Folkloristics (UI), Félagsvísindasvið (HÍ), School of Social Sciences (UI), Háskóli Íslands, University of Iceland
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publications 2017
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11815/1564
https://doi.org/10.1177/1060826517711161
Description
Summary:Post-print (lokagerð höfundar) Iceland enjoys an international reputation as one of the most gender equal countries in the world. This article analyses how young men in Reykjavík, the country’s capital, perceive masculinities as they orient themselves in surroundings where gender equality is regarded as a common goal and a behavioral norm. The analysis, based on qualitative interviews, shows that the men in the study are heavily influenced by gender equality discourse and welcome change and the ever narrowing gap between genders. At the same time, they express uncertainties as they describe both changes and stabilities in what is expected of them as men. There are clear indications that masculinity is more broadly defined than before, that nowadays more things are “permissible,” and yet despite this liberalization, certain homophobic attitudes still linger on. Peer Reviewed