Racially-Profiled Masculinities:
A Comparison of Trans Men’s Experiences
in a Mono- and Multiracial Society
More details
Hide details
Submission date: 2023-12-07
Acceptance date: 2024-03-12
Publication date: 2024-06-10
Polish Sociological Review 2024;226(2):189-206
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
The article presents results of a research project concerning trans men’s conceptualizations of
masculinity in a mono- and multiracial/ethnic society. Drawing from 60 in-depth interviews carried out in Poland
and in the US, the conclusions show that, despite different degrees of racial/ethnic diversity of their societies, the
research participants tend to use a similar cognitive mechanism, depicting a model of masculinity represented
by the majority group in their country, as the reference point of “just-right” masculinity, and positioning other
models as “insufficiently” or “overly” masculine. However, in case of lack of racial/ethnic diversity in a country,
it is the neighboring nationalities that serve as the comparative masculinity models. Also, the awareness of the
stereotyping behind the schema differs between the two research groups, and while the grouping of masculinities
refers to power relations in the US, in Poland it seems to be more related to the idea of compensation.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank the individuals who shared their stories with me in interviews.
FUNDING
The research carried out in the USA was supported by the Polish National Agency for Academic Research (NAWA).
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
I have no conflicts of interest to declare.