Shane Tas

‘Soma-Masculinities: Centring the Body within Studies of Masculinities’ (PhD in History, 2019). This thesis draws attention to a key blind spot in studies of masculinities and argue that bodies and embodiment must be brought into the frame in a more significant manner. In particular it considers the body through a number of case studies, including pornography, Australian Rules football and online dating sites, all of which continue to arouse interest and debate within academic and public spheres. In doing this, it introduces a new framework, soma-masculinities, which places a greater emphasis on the material body and its fleshy components; it aims to bring the flesh into bodies and questions of masculinity. Soma-masculinities is not one specific theory or concept but, rather, a mode of enquiry. Thus, it utilises a broad toolkit that incorporates conceptual models that are already available and engaged, particularly within feminist and queer theory. The thesis demonstrates how this framework might offer a more capacious account of contemporary masculinities and the complex ways in which they are embodied and lived.

Supervisors: Professor Joy Damousi, Dr Maree Pardy