CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2011
| Author | Zekany, Eva Edina |
|---|---|
| Title | The Gendered Geek: Performing Masculinities in Cyberspace |
| Summary | The purpose of this thesis is to problematize the binary of hegemonic/non-hegemonic masculinities as set up by R.W. Connell through the prism of the figure of the geek. By putting the geek into a historical contexts and emphasising the connections between various masculinities which fit into the binary, I argue that Connell’s framework is hindering the conceptualization of a hybrid masculinity, of which geek masculinity is a representative. I use Connell’s theory of masculinities, as well as Erving Goffman’s theory on performance and presentation of the self. I analyze the genealogy of the geek figure with the help of Connell’s hegemonic/non-hegemonic divide in order to determine which are the practices and performances that characterize the human-technology relationship which lead to the conceptualization of the geek as a subordinated male. I attempt to draw some parallels between the historical/imaginary figure of the geek, modern stereotypes in popular culture, as well as the geek as a social actor, the embodied computer user. In order to situate the performances of social actors in relation to the binary, I examine the performance of masculinity within an online forum for self-identified geeks by using Connell’s threefold dimensions of masculinity. I argue that geek masculinity is an example of hybrid masculinity which falls outside the binary while incorporating both elements of hegemonic, and non-hegemonic masculinity, and which can best be envisioned in relation not necessarily within the framework of the hegemonic/non-hegemonic duality, but rather as non-femininity in the face of socially constructed hegemonic expectations. |
| Supervisor | Loutfi, Anna |
| Department | Gender Studies MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2011/zekany_eva.pdf |
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