Hegemonic masculinities: continuities and ruptures in the Latin American political field

Abstract

In patriarchal societies, the field of politics has historically been tied to masculinity which, at the same time, has defined key actors: those who seek and exercise power. These leaders have not only represented ideologies but a way of being a man and a model of how to be valued as such in specific contexts, through their discourses and actions. In Latin America, during the last decade, some leaders reached peculiar prominence within the news media by generating controversy around a diverse range of topics. Their public appearances were defined by a man-centred style of doing politics. In national and international media plenty of discourses which reaffirm the features of hegemonic masculinity could be found. In respect of display of authority in media platforms, this could appear to be a blind spot but that is not the case. Instead, it opens the door for possibles ruptures and brings new lights towards the representations of the proper way of “being a man”. By applying a hermeneutic interpretative methodological approach that follows Michael S. Kimmel’s theory of masculinity, this article analyzes media representations of former presidents José Mujica, Evo Morales and Rafael Correa.