Arizona State University doctoral student, Jaime Holthuysen, with the guidance of Dr. Hjorleifur Jonsson, will investigate how ethnicity and socioeconomic status affect the structuring and commodification of male gender identity. This research will examine scientifically how cultural ideas of masculinity are constructed and contested in the United States, where most research on cultural and social aspects of gender has focused on women. Such research is important because as culturally accepted ideals of gender roles shift, it is essential to develop more current theories that incorporate men.
Holthuysen will employ a multi-sited ethnographic research design. Participant observation will take place in sport training facilities and competition venues. The researcher also will conduct semi-structured interviews and focus groups (employing photo-elicitation techniques) with athletes, organizations, and media. These data will be complemented by content analysis of media to examine understandings of masculinity in the public domain and trace its historical trajectory in sport contexts. This research funding also supports the education of a social scientist.
