Mapping Intergenerational Masculinities on Instagram

Abstract

Gender identities and roles do not stand alone but rather evolve while intersecting with other traits, namely age, resulting in cross and hybrid (gender and age) identities. Media are one of the pivotal formative spaces where audiences learn role models and the way they should express and behave: Therefore, media environments influence the way one perceives and understands age and gender identities as well as expresses them publicly. Media also promote (inter)generational contexts given that different age groups organize their technological experience in their own specific ways and interact with different other generations. This article explores how masculinities are represented in the digital realm, shedding light on intergenerational dynamics and collective hashtag narratives. Specifically, this article will analyse collective narratives on Instagram through a hashtag stream, focusing specifically on representations of masculinities and how different generations interact and represent how to be, behave and express as “a man”.