If a Man, be a Man? Narrative Patterns of Masculinity

Abstract

In our research we aimed to get an accurate picture of society's image of masculinity and femininity by analyzing personal stories about gender roles, using narrative psychological content analysis. Our research examines the effects of gender essentialism through the narrative construction of masculinity, comparing gender differences in terms of agency, negative emotions and evaluation in personal narratives. According to our results men for whom the display of emotion is related to the loss of male status used more active verbs and more words related to negative emotions. In addition, we found that men associate more negative emotions with the loss of male status than do women with the loss of female status. Our results suggest that women show less anxiety related to gender status.