Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies

PhD Research

Men reading fiction: A study of the relationship between reader, (con) text, consumption and gender identity.

Male readers and questions of performed gender identity are the focus of my PhD. This work will involve a study of men’s fiction reading, looking at both ‘awkward’ and ‘safe’ reading. ‘Awkward’ reading is that which is culturally feminised, and may present a challenge to the reproduction of masculine gender identity, such as romance novels. ‘Safe’ reading conversely includes material that would be accepted as culturally masculinised and therefore seen as less challenging to the performance of masculine gender identity. This part of the study will be done through individual interviewing.

This research will also look at the difference in performed gender identity within a group setting, where the focus will still be on fiction reading. To this end, a small reading group with 4 male participants is being run. The sessions are held monthly, and all members have agreed to attend 12 sessions in which the discussion will be recorded and transcribed.

Research questions include:

• How does the discussion of culturally feminised reading material challenge the discursive reproduction of hegemonic masculine gender identity?
• What constitutes hegemonic masculinity? And how is it situationally contingent?
• How and why might the performance of masculinity differ across responses, particularly between individual and group discussions?

Supervisor: Dr Matt Hills

Research Interests

Gender Identity, Masculinity, Performativity and Discourse Analysis