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I drink, therefore I'm man: gender discourses, alcohol and the construction of British undergraduate masculinities

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I drink, therefore I'm man: gender discourses, alcohol and the construction of British undergraduate masculinities. / Dempster, Steven.
In: Gender and Education, Vol. 23, No. 5, 2011, p. 635-653.

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@article{dcb6c4321ee74848830de7cdc52f88b2,
title = "I drink, therefore I'm man: gender discourses, alcohol and the construction of British undergraduate masculinities",
abstract = "This article provides insights into the discourses that legitimate and perpetuate male undergraduate drinking cultures and considers the role of alcohol in communicating hegemonic masculinity within one British university. Taking laddishness as a template of hegemonic masculinity, the article contends that male students{\textquoteright} heavy alcohol use is partially motivated by discourses that position drinking as a {\textquoteleft}normal{\textquoteright} part of studenthood, but also by discourses that reinforce drinking as a {\textquoteleft}laddish{\textquoteright} behaviour or a male preserve. While interviewees recognised the importance of drinking in constructing masculinity, running parallel to this were attempts to disassociate themselves from the extremities of alcohol-induced laddishness and considerations that male peers who drank too much were lesser men. However, in their resistance to these extremities, interviewees demonstrated complicity towards more general attributes of hegemonic masculinity, such as independence and the strength to say no. This highlights the complex and somewhat contradictory processes individuals go through in the construction of gender identities, yet also offers a means through which male undergraduates{\textquoteright} risky alcohol use might be challenged.",
keywords = "hegemonic and complicit masculinities, laddishness , higher education students , alcohol",
author = "Steven Dempster",
year = "2011",
doi = "10.1080/09540253.2010.527824",
language = "English",
volume = "23",
pages = "635--653",
journal = "Gender and Education",
issn = "0954-0253",
publisher = "Routledge",
number = "5",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - I drink, therefore I'm man

T2 - gender discourses, alcohol and the construction of British undergraduate masculinities

AU - Dempster, Steven

PY - 2011

Y1 - 2011

N2 - This article provides insights into the discourses that legitimate and perpetuate male undergraduate drinking cultures and considers the role of alcohol in communicating hegemonic masculinity within one British university. Taking laddishness as a template of hegemonic masculinity, the article contends that male students’ heavy alcohol use is partially motivated by discourses that position drinking as a ‘normal’ part of studenthood, but also by discourses that reinforce drinking as a ‘laddish’ behaviour or a male preserve. While interviewees recognised the importance of drinking in constructing masculinity, running parallel to this were attempts to disassociate themselves from the extremities of alcohol-induced laddishness and considerations that male peers who drank too much were lesser men. However, in their resistance to these extremities, interviewees demonstrated complicity towards more general attributes of hegemonic masculinity, such as independence and the strength to say no. This highlights the complex and somewhat contradictory processes individuals go through in the construction of gender identities, yet also offers a means through which male undergraduates’ risky alcohol use might be challenged.

AB - This article provides insights into the discourses that legitimate and perpetuate male undergraduate drinking cultures and considers the role of alcohol in communicating hegemonic masculinity within one British university. Taking laddishness as a template of hegemonic masculinity, the article contends that male students’ heavy alcohol use is partially motivated by discourses that position drinking as a ‘normal’ part of studenthood, but also by discourses that reinforce drinking as a ‘laddish’ behaviour or a male preserve. While interviewees recognised the importance of drinking in constructing masculinity, running parallel to this were attempts to disassociate themselves from the extremities of alcohol-induced laddishness and considerations that male peers who drank too much were lesser men. However, in their resistance to these extremities, interviewees demonstrated complicity towards more general attributes of hegemonic masculinity, such as independence and the strength to say no. This highlights the complex and somewhat contradictory processes individuals go through in the construction of gender identities, yet also offers a means through which male undergraduates’ risky alcohol use might be challenged.

KW - hegemonic and complicit masculinities

KW - laddishness

KW - higher education students

KW - alcohol

U2 - 10.1080/09540253.2010.527824

DO - 10.1080/09540253.2010.527824

M3 - Journal article

VL - 23

SP - 635

EP - 653

JO - Gender and Education

JF - Gender and Education

SN - 0954-0253

IS - 5

ER -