Hybrid Masculinities: New Directions in the Sociology of Men and Masculinities

TLDR: The concept of hybrid masculinities was coined by Demetriou as mentioned in this paper to describe men's selective incorporation of performances and identity elements associated with marginalized and subordinated masculinity and femininities.

Abstract: Hybrid masculinity refers to men’s selective incorporation of performances and identity elementsassociated with marginalized and subordinated masculinities and femininities. We use recent theoriza-tion of hybrid masculinities to critically review theory and research that seeks to make sense of con-temporary transformations in masculinity. We suggest that research broadly supports three distinctconsequences associated with recent changes in performances and politics of masculinity that workto obscure the tenacity of gendered inequality. Hybrid masculinities (i) symbolically distance menfrom hegemonic masculinity; (ii) situate the masculinities available to young, White, heterosexualmen as somehow less meaningful than the masculinities associated with various marginalized andsubordinated Others; and (iii) fortify existing social and symbolic boundaries in ways that often workto conceal systems of power and inequality in historically new ways. IntroductionAgrowingbodyofsociologicaltheoryandresearchonmenandmasculinitiesaddressesrecenttransformations in men’s behaviors, appearances, opinions, and more. While historical re-searchhasshownmasculinitiestobeinacontinuousstateofchange(e.g.,Kimmel1996;Segal1990), the extent of contemporary transformations as well as their impact and meaning is thesource of a great deal of theory, research, and debate. While not a term universally adoptedamong masculinities scholars, the concept of “hybrid masculinities” is a useful way to makesense of this growing body of scholarship. It critically highlights this body of work that seeksto account for the emergence and consequences of recent transformations in masculinities.The term “hybrid” was coined in the natural sciences during the 19th century. Initiallyused to refer to species produced through the mixing of two separate species, by the 20thcentury, it was applied to people and social groups to address popular concern with miscege-nation. Today, scholars in the social sciences and humanities use “hybrid” to address culturalmiscegenation – processes and practices of cultural interpenetration (Burke 2009). “Hybridmasculinities” refer to the selective incorporation of elements of identity typically associatedwith various marginalized and subordinated masculinities and – at times – femininities intoprivileged men’s gender performances and identities (e.g., Arxer 2011; Demetriou 2001;Messerschmidt 2010; Messner 2007). Work on hybrid masculinities has primarily, thoughnot universally, focused on young, White, heterosexual-identified men. This research is cen-trally concerned with the ways that men are increasingly incorporating elements of various“Others” into their identity projects. While it is true that gendered meanings change histor-ically and geographically, research and theory addressing hybrid masculinities are beginningto ask whether recent transformations point in a new, more liberating direction.The transformations addressed by this literature include men’s assimilation of “bits andpieces”(Demetriou2001:350)ofidentityprojectscodedas“gay”(e.g.,Bridges,forthcoming;