"It's something I have to do" Masculinities in Spaces of Higher Education

Abstract

Social and cultural geographers have developed an important body of work on men, masculinities, and masculine spaces in recent years (e.g., Hörschelmann, & van Hoven, 2004; Gorman-Murray and Hopkins 2016). Informed by feminist scholarship and critical men’s studies, this work has examined masculinities as provisional, place-based performances, situated within a broader field of structured gender relations. In this thesis, I contribute to this body of work through an analysis of performances of masculinity within the space of post-secondary education. Drawing upon interviews with a small but diverse sample of participants, I examine the ways in which young-adult men draw upon, adapt and challenge masculine norms as they transition from high school to university, and as they plan for future careers. My analysis demonstrates that while some men understand their career trajectory, others express anxiety about futures. This anxiety reflects the increasing uncertainty of securing ‘good jobs’ in the current labour market set against the enduring norm of the male breadwinner.