Contested Masculinity and Social Media


Author
Haikel Fansuri

Below the surface of these growing Muslim hegemonic aspirations, masculinity is becoming increasingly important as a contested marker of social positioning: used to legitimise institutionalised patriarchy and power relations between and within genders as well as acting as a tool for boundary-making and the maintenance of socio-political hegemony, particularly in secular and multiethnic settings. This project hypothesises that Islamic masculinity and claims to patriarchy have become contested due to challenges and changes on various social fronts. The tense relationship between ethnic, religious and national affiliation have resulted in challenges to men’s ability in constructing belonging with the need to reassess normative and performative aspects of the ‘ideal’ Muslim man. This will be examined taking the social media canvas as an empirical stage where men present, negotiate and mould their belonging and understanding of Islamic masculinity in the three selected contexts of Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.

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