Masculinity Manoeuvres: Critical Discursive Psychology and the Analysis of Identity Strategies

In this article, the entries about “being a man” on Ekşi Sözlük are analysed through the Critical Discursive Psychology approach. The extracts were analysed with the Critical Discursive Psychology approach and interpretative repertoires were revealed. As a result of the analysis, 6 different interpretative repertoires were obtained. In the first of these, “The ‘essence’ and ‘other’ inside the man” repertoire, being a man is explained based on the "natural-given" differences. In the "preoccupation with sexuality" repertoire, sexuality is positioned in the most central area of men's lives. In the "responsibilities and obligations" repertoire, being a man is defined by a number of responsibilities expected from men by society. In the "patriarchal system and the mother's son" repertoire, it is stated that men's behavioral practices are determined by the patriarchal system and this is supported and maintained by mothers. In the "car, football, repairs: masculine performance" repertoire, it is stated that certain masculine activities serve as the criteria for being a man. Finally, the meaning in the "woman versus masculinity" repertoire, being a man is defined over the oppositions established with women. Keywords Masculinity, critical discursive psychology, interpretative repertoires, new media

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‘You sick, twisted messes’: The use of argument and reasoning in Islamophobic and anti-Semitic discussions on Facebook

Discourse & Society ◽

10.1177/0957926520903527 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 31 (4) ◽

pp. 374-389

Author(s):

Shani Burke ◽

Parisa Diba ◽

Georgios A Antonopoulos

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Hate Speech ◽

Concentration Camps ◽

Discursive Psychology ◽

Holocaust Denial ◽

Critical Discursive Psychology

This research used critical discursive psychology to analyse anti-Semitic and Islamophobic discourse on the English Defence League’s (EDL) Facebook page. The discussion by Facebook users began about ‘reopening’ concentration camps, in which to incarcerate Muslims. Facebook users also expressed anti-Semitic discourse such as Holocaust denial, and the idea that Jews ‘could have done more’. The analysis focuses on the reasoning used when expressing this extreme idea, and how this was contested by other Facebook users, through the use of three strategies: (1) the construction of ‘sickness’, (2) Muslims as ‘the new Nazis’, (3) devictimising Jews as victims. This research shows how the EDL used positive aligning with Jews as means to present Muslims as problematic, and how such alignment resulted in the marginalisation of both Jews and Muslims. Findings are considered in terms of how critical discursive psychology can uncover the function of extreme discourse on social media, and the potential implications of hate speech online.

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