Osservare le maschilità. Un’etnografia delle identificazioni di genere egemoniche e complici

Abstract

By discussing some results of a qualitative study on a group of young Moroccan migrant men in France (20-30 years of age), based on intensive interviews and ethnographic observations, this article deals with the hegemonic power of heteronormativity on masculine identification processes. It presents two case studies and focuses on social construction of masculinities in homosocial and mixed contexts by showing how the production of heterosexual masculinities shapes other complementary masculine profiles. More specifically, we discuss the case of the “predatory masculinity” and its “complicit” profiles. The analysis shows that the study of heteronormative masculinities does not only engage gender identification processes but also reveals the impact of intra and intergenerational relationships as well as intra and intercultural dynamics in drawing the complexity of the heterosexual power.

Keywords: heteronormativity, ethnography, masculinities, gender and social hierarchies, qualitative descriptions.