Caring masculinities and the politics of feminist representation in the Portuguese media
Sofia José Santos, Júlia Garraio, Bárbara Janiques de Carvalho

TL;DR
This paper examines how TV ads in Portugal portray caring masculinities and how these representations can both challenge and reinforce traditional gender norms.
Contribution
The study introduces a nuanced analysis of how media representations of caring masculinities can both challenge and co-opt feminist ideals.
Findings
Some TV ads present alternative models of masculinity through care and emotional availability.
Other ads reinforce heterosexual, middle-class norms, limiting the transformative potential of caring masculinities.
Media representations of caring masculinities can both challenge and stabilize patriarchal structures.
Abstract
In recent decades, the focus on masculinities as a means to sustain or challenge patriarchy has gained significant attention. Concepts such as “hegemonic masculinity”, which embodies the legitimation of patriarchy, and “toxic masculinities”, which encompasses its socially destructive dimensions, have been central to this debate. More recently, “caring masculinities”, have emerged as a potential entry point—not without challenges or ambivalences—for deconstructing patriarchy and the gender-based violence that it perpetuates. The construction and validation of patriarchy have always been closely tied to representations of traditional ideals of masculinity and femininity. Similarly, dismantling patriarchy and gender-based violence is intrinsically connected to representations that foster and uphold gender equality. Given their capacity to create and validate specific representations, media…
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Taxonomy
TopicsGender, Feminism, and Media · Media, Gender, and Advertising · Gender Roles and Identity Studies
