The Portrayal of Masculinities in a Kiswahili Novel

Author(s):  
James Ogola Onyango ◽  
Yasin S. Musa

Although the themes of fate and class struggle have been profoundly explored in the critical analyses that have been undertaken on Nyota ya Rehema, however, in Critical Discourse Analysis and Hegemonic Masculinity perspectives, the question of masculinities is no less vital. Therefore, this paper seeks to give a critical insight into varied shades of masculinity that are manifesting in Nyota ya Rehema. Focussing on relevant texts, we uncover the disproportional masculine ideological and power positions that are explicit in sexuality and socio-economic spheres such as marriage, prostitution, employment and property inheritance that depict the disadvantaged position of female characters. The exploration of masculinities in islands Kiswahili novel that has mainly focussed on class struggle may be a welcome departure.

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 185
Author(s):  
Sadok Abcha

The present paper critically analyses the ideological uses of the adjectives used to describe multiculturalism in opinion articles published by two British quality newspapers, The Telegraph and The Times, which politically lean to The Right. Methodologically, the sample on which this study is based has been retrieved from the websites of the two dailies by means of the Key Word In Context (KWIC) technique, which has been used to look for comment articles published between July 2005 and December 2015, and in which the search word, multiculturalism used with an adjective featured. Using Fairclough’s theoretical framework of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), the study pinpoints the ideological underpinnings of the adjectives used with the word multiculturalism in the editorials. The study found out that all the adjectives are used in a derogative way to describe multiculturalism as being unreasonable, harmful and unsuccessful. Significantly, this paper provides critical insight into the peculiar uses of derogative adjectives in comment articles dealing with multiculturalism and avers that negative adjectives are not simply linguistic elements, but most importantly, ideological tools.


2021 ◽  
pp. 019685992110408
Author(s):  
Kai Jacobsen ◽  
Aaron Devor ◽  
Edwin Hodge

Internet and social media sites have long served as a rich form of community-building and knowledge exchange within transgender communities. In particular, Tumblr has become a popular site among trans youth in recent years. Paralleling changes in medical and mainstream societal understandings of what it means to be transgender, trans Tumblr users have engaged in dialogue and debate about the definitions and limits of trans identity. While research has established the potential for positive identity-formation among LGBTQ+ youth on Tumblr, it is also important to consider how online trans communities may re-inscribe hegemonic narratives in addition to disrupting dominant discourses and ideologies. Using a critical discourse analysis of Tumblr posts, this research analyses how trans Tumblr users define “who counts as trans,” including how users define gender dysphoria and its relationship to trans identities. Our findings provide critical insight into how trans communities define the boundaries of their identities in a struggle for visibility, resources, and respect.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 10-38
Author(s):  
Phillip Joy ◽  
Matthew Numer ◽  
Sara F. L. Kirk ◽  
Megan Aston

The construction of masculinities is an important component of the bodies and lives of gay men. The role of gay culture on body standards, body dissatisfaction, and the health of gay men was explored using poststructuralism and queer theory within an arts-based framework. Nine gay men were recruited within the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Participants were asked to photograph their beliefs, values, and practices relating to their bodies and food. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, using the photographs as guides. Data were analyzed by critical discourse analysis and resulted in three overarching threads of discourse including: (1) Muscles: The Bigger the Better, (2) The Silence of Hegemonic Masculinity, and (3) Embracing a New Day. Participants believed that challenging hegemonic masculinity was a way to work through body image tension.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 256-275
Author(s):  
Mustafa Menshawy

Abstract In this article, I examine a corpus of texts that address the 1973 war; these texts cover the period from 1981 to 2011, marking the beginning and end of Hosni Mubarak’s rule. Utilizing Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), I explore how Mubarak’s regime employed the war to legitimize its power and defend its policies by deploying longstanding culturally-embedded ‘macro themes’. These macro themes refer to the war as an overwhelming and undisputed ‘Egyptian victory’ and, more significantly, they portray Mubarak himself as ‘war personified/war personalized’. The analysis of linguistic and extra-linguistic features in al-Ahram newspaper (the mouthpiece of the state), among other media texts on the war, show how the discursive construction was made consistent, coherent and resonant in a managed context that characterized the political and media landscapes. Depending on unique access to those who produced, edited and even censored the texts under analysis, this method unravels a complex set of cultural messages and conventions about the war, and fills a lacuna in the literature by offering insight into the deliberate and well-coordinated process of shaping and reshaping a specific discourse for a specific purpose.


2011 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 579-596 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerome Cranston

This article explores the potential for critical discourse analysis to provide insight into the language principals use to describe the adult relationships within schools. Unpacking the discourses of leadership may shed some light on how language strategically shapes the thoughts and actions of principals. In particular, the invoking of “family” to conceptualize staff relations is analyzed from a critical discourse analysis approach. Drawing on this analysis, the author offers cautions regarding how such poignant metaphors can serve as control strategies for sanctioning teacher behaviour.


Actor network theory as the “sociology of translation,” is used as a lens to examine the chronology of the development of the MOU Agreement, which provides insight into the mechanics of its formation and network of relations. Translation uncovered dimensions of the network's development: why associations between the actors were created, the factors that mobilized these heterogeneous parties to come together. Further, it also uncovered how their functions were ascribed and how stability or “black box” status was achieved. Critical discourse analysis (CDA) is positioned as a moment in ANT facilitating the analyses of the network linkages of the MOU actor network assist to identify the interactions at various levels of the MOU social partnership actor network. The two worldviews complement each other within an interpretivist framework revealing the potential to analyse network interactions through the lens of discourse.


2021 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Munaza Hasan Nasir

  AbstractThis research aims to explore the gender equality or lack thereof in the Urdu textbooks taught in Punjab, Pakistan.  Gender bias in textbooks is an important but almost invisible and overlooked problem.  Five Urdu textbooks taught in primary government schools in Punjab were selected for critical discourse analysis.  Both qualitative as well quantitative research methods were adopted.  The number of female and male characters, portrayal of domestic and professional roles by both genders, and cosmetic bias was taken into account.  In all five books analyzed, 28% characters were women whereas remaining were male characters.  Female characters were mostly found in domestic situations with insignificant roles in the stories who did not have a name or an identity except being mothers.    The text was highly biased towards the male characters associating valor and strength with men only.  Since textbooks play a crucial role in the development of the children, it is important to remove the concealed gender bias in textbooks and acknowledge the changing roles of women in the Pakistani society in order to create a society that treats men and women equally.


Author(s):  
Deddy Suprapto

This research aims at observing how advertisement define hegemonic masculinity and identifying the models of hegemonic masculinity in Indonesia. This research takes and focuses on Gudang Garam’s 2006–2010-released advertisements for the data. This research applies the analytical method of Fairclough's three-dimension of critical discourse analysis. First, the analysis is conducted by describing the advertisements. Then, the interpretation of the contexts of both the primary and secondary data. Finally, the explanation of the socio-cultural dimension. The results of this research shows that there are transformations on the representation of hegemonic masculinity from macho  to metrosexual, which is influenced by capitalism and consumerism. The transformation is only on the physical appearance, not in its essence.


2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaspreet K. Nijjar

There has been a recent influx of popular U.S. television dramas depicting heteronormative but emotionally conflicted male protagonists. This article examines discursive constructions of hegemonic masculinity in two of these dramas, Sons of Anarchy (2008-2014) and Ray Donovan (2013-), in terms of the socio-cultural concepts of the New Lad and the New Man. It questions whether these discursive tools are useful for analyses of contemporary, male-focalized television, or whether they need updating. Using Critical Discourse Analysis, I argue that protagonists from both programs embody mutated, destabilized versions of the New Lad and the New Man that connect to a current U.S. “crisis of masculinity.” Offering timely conceptual updates of the New Lad and the New Man (the “Family-Oriented New Lad” and the “Emotionally Inarticulate New Man”), I show that these terms remain useful, but also need revision to capture the intricate struggle between inexpressiveness and emotionality characterizing present-day U.S. dramas.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document