Instaman: a case study of male identity expression on Instagram

Navigating conversations about identity and masculinity can be hard for some young men. Society has a particular view on what makes a man manly based on cultural expectations and social norms. Instaman: A case study of male identity expression on Instagram qualitatively looks at how men talk and express themselves on a specific social media sight. The researcher looks at two different research questions: RQ 1: How are traditional freshman and senior males using Instagram to express their identity? And RQ 2: How has an individual's male identity expression changed between freshmen and senior years? The researcher hypothesized that freshmen would focus more on themselves and seniors focusing on aligning with a larger community. Moreover, it was hypothesized freshmen would be less knowledgeable about their own masculinity. After the research questions, is a discussion about the researcher with an explanation of the scope of the research. Next is a literature review including topics such as Identity Theory, Social Identity Theory, Communication Theory of Identity, Hegemonic Masculinity, Expressing masculinity in a feminized terrain, and information about Instagram us. The methods section of the paper explains how the researcher chose freshmen and seniors to study because they are in transition periods in life. A case study using two different data collection techniques is explicated including artifact analysis and in-depth interviews. Eight participants were chosen, and each had ten Instagram posts to analyze with a follow-up forty-five-minute interview about their posts and thoughts on masculinity. The results indicate that while the hypotheses were generally accurate, there seemed to be a good variation throughout all participants. Only a few seniors exclusively fixated on aligning with a larger community. Nevertheless, the most fascinating aspect of the study was to hear how the participants thought about their own masculinity. Every participant understood the difference between societal perceptions and their own mentalities, which translated to their posting habits. Not a single participant engrossed themselves in expressing hegemonic masculine ideals, but rather wanted to show facets of their identity that they do not normally get to express when they are not online. Therefore, it appears that Instagram is a place where men feel comfortable expressing all parts of themselves.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science (M.S.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Journalism and Media Communication

Grantor dc:publisher

Colorado State University. Libraries

Year dc:date.issued

2018

Authors dc:creator

• Gallegos, Thomas Edward, author
• Switzer, Jamie, advisor
• Champ, Joseph, committee member
• Aoki, Eric, committee member

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.

Language dc:language.iso

eng, English

Identifier URI

https://doi.org/10.25675/3.018600

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:mountainscholar.org:10217/193196