Negotiating Borders between "New Mannism" and "Laddishness" in British Men's Magazines' Problem Pages: A Case Study.

Abstract

Since the eighties, so-called ‘new mannism’ and ‘laddishness’ have become two recurring subject positions in the discourses on masculinity constructed in contemporary popular-culture genres in Britain, men’s general-interest magazines included. Drawing upon a critical discourse analysis perspective on ‘discourse’ and ‘identity’, this paper delves into the tensions between both images of masculinity articulated in men’s magazines’ problem pages. The discursive construction of masculinity in this genre is thus examined by means of a case study which explores the mechanisms of border negotiations between ‘new mannism’ and ‘laddishness’ in men’s magazines’ problem columns. This case study likewise highlights the fundamental role of language within the processes activated when reading this type of publications in English