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Football in Turkey has a framework that, by the discourses it generates in the social and cultural spheres, creates, and reinforces hegemonic masculinity. In Turkey, newspapers and magazines have produced discourses aimed at alienating women from football. Since the establishment of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, very few news articles about women playing football have been published in the newspapers and magazines, and those that have been published work to distance women from football. However, from 1960 onward, news about women's football slowly began to find its place more frequently in newspapers. In this study, we assess the history of women's football in the Republic of Turkey, which has a 100-year history, considering developments that ensued from the past to the present. Newspapers and magazines were analyzed to offer an interpretation of the development of women's football in Turkey, as these media serve as important sources to comprehend how women were distanced from a field perceived as a bastion of hegemonic masculinity, such as football, in traditional societies. Despite the number of news articles about women's football in Turkish newspapers increasing over the years, we conclude that women's football did not progress over the course of a century in Turkey and still remains very much in the background. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study explored how three professional Australian football coaches learned and understood mental toughness. Participants shared stories regarding mental toughness through semistructured interviews. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to interpret the data. Creative nonfiction was employed to develop a composite story. All participants' voices contributed equally to the narrative, which follows Sam (our composite coach) through three periods in his career: as a junior player, an elite footballer, and, finally, a coach in the professional football environment. Mental toughness was fundamentally determined by the sociocultural environment in which one was immersed. Athletes and coaches were expected to internalize dominant understandings of mental toughness and reinforce ideals and were punished if they deviated from mentally tough standards set up in their clubs. Mental toughness was defined by various values, beliefs, and norms that originated from the sociocultural environment, indicating the importance of context in understanding the roots of being mentally tough. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women athletes' experiences of gendered body ideals and empowerment have been well-documented. However, the existing literature largely neglects strength sports, which have a complex relationship with gendered norms given their historical association with masculinity and wide range of weight classes. In this article, we use a feminist poststructuralist lens to explore how eight Olympic Weightlifters participating in the women's category choose their weight classes while balancing strength, competitiveness, and esthetics. Participants often referenced sport-specific and gendered body discourses when choosing their weight classes, yet also identified a nondiscursive element that could force them to forego athletic and esthetic body ideals: the body itself. Based on these narratives, we suggest that awareness of the "rebellious body" be considered an important element of women athletes' bodily empowerment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Video games are an understudied sport featuring social interactions both similar and dissimilar to those in offline sports. While anonymity in online video games could create a space where minoritized groups experience more equitable treatment, offline social inequalities are translated into online video game interactions. Drawing on 20 semistructured interviews and 2,694 survey responses from self-identified queer men, I build a framework for understanding gender, sexuality, and racial/ethnic harassment in online video games. I argue that nerd masculinity is a protest masculinity that uses symbolic harassment to reframe masculine hierarchy online and enforce hegemonic nerd masculinity. With this study, I illustrate the prevalence of symbolic harassment and the channels it may follow to become direct harassment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ObjectiveMethodResultsDiscussionFilipino men's self-perceived masculinity and their inclination to seek help are influenced by the cultural context, and barriers in their help-seeking behaviour moderate this relationship. It is hypothesised that higher self-perceived masculinity corresponds to a diminished tendency to seek help, shaped by categorisation into social groups based on masculinity.The respondents were 348 Filipino males, aged 21–45 years, who accomplished the online survey. The participants completed the Male Role Norms Inventory-Revised, Barriers to Help Seeking Scale, and General Help-Seeking Questionnaire. A series of moderation analyses utilising JAMOVI was performed to investigate the moderation of help-seeking barriers on the relationship between masculinity and help-seeking behaviour.Results showed that when Filipino men's self-perception of masculinity increases, their help-seeking behaviour, specifically formal help-seeking, decreases. The following barriers act as moderators – Need for Self-Control and Self-Reliance, Concrete Barriers, and Distrust of Caregivers, significantly influencing the relationship between masculinity and formal help-seeking. Conversely, when seeking informal help, all identified barriers show no buffering effect, as Filipino men prefer informal help-seeking, consistent with the cultural context.Findings support the hypothesis that masculinity predicts their propensity to seek help. Add a one-liner recommendation based on the results. Future authors should focus on conducting localised research that examines the specific cultural factors influencing masculinity and help-seeking behaviours. Additionally, exploring the intersectionality of masculinity with other social factors can provide a more comprehensive understanding of the barriers men face in seeking help. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I consider how the COVID‐19 pandemic shaped the gendered self‐understandings of cabdrivers in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad. Extending research on the pandemic's effect on economically and socially marginalised groups such as app‐based cabdrivers and by taking into account masculinity as a framework of analysis, in this paper, I ask: how does a crisis like the pandemic impact self‐understandings of men cabdrivers? How does the intensification of precarity during a global crisis affect the way men understand themselves as gendered selves? Based on ethnographic fieldwork collected both before the pandemic and during, I trace two emergent patterns which I briefly explore in this paper. First, I show how and why the ‘breadwinner’ trope (and the attendant ideologies of protection and provision) was largely reinforced but also, sometimes, challenged during the pandemic. I then move the analytical gaze outside the space of the home to examine how care structures interrelatedness among cabdrivers as a community in the register of brotherhood. Ultimately, I argue that adopting a gendered lens on the pandemic offers an analytical flashpoint in identifying when and why ideologies of manhood, particularly among subaltern men, intersect with broader socio‐economic forces in shaping individual experiences and narratives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Since the late 2000s trans pregnancy has received increasing public and academic attention, and stories of the ‘pregnant man’ have become a media staple. Existing research has critiqued such spectacularization and the supposed tension between maleness, masculinity, and pregnancy that underpins it. Extending that work, this article draws on interview data from an international study of trans reproductive practices and analyzes participants' experiences of being, and expecting themselves to be, perceived in public space not as spectacularly ‘pregnant men’, but as fat men. As a starting point we take the experience of one participant whose heavily pregnant participation in a five‐kilometer race prompted the question: ‘Why is the chubby guy running?’ Using Judith Butler's concept of the cultural intelligibility of gender, we ask why the question asked was not: ‘Why is the pregnant guy running?’ We further consider the degree to which pregnant trans people manage their unintelligibility within the matrix of pregnancy, fatness, and trans/gender and how this reveals the limits of gender intelligibility itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developmental psychologists have studied how toys shape gender schemas but have not focused exclusively on sport toys. Given persistent gender gaps in sport participation, it is important to understand how gendered meanings about sport are communicated and perceived through all kinds of play. This mixed methods research examined such meanings attached to sport toys using a content analysis and a survey. In Study 1, a content and descriptive analysis of toy listings (N = 107) on retail websites revealed that most toy names lacked explicit gender labels. However, toys were more likely to display masculine color schemes and boys outnumbered girls 2-to-1 in photographs of children playing with the toys. Boys were also depicted as more actively engaged, especially with highly physical sports. In Study 2, a correlational analysis of survey responses from 530 participants indicated that adults primarily viewed sport toys as masculine, though they saw dolls, aesthetic toys, and pink toys as appropriate for girls. Aggressive sport toys were linked to boys even when they were pink, indicating limits to the impact of implicit gender markers. Together, both studies show that sports toys are still viewed as (mostly) for boys and suggest that these messages may communicate gender stereotypes about sport. Evidence-based recommendations for toy sellers regarding toy color and gender representation are included, as is advice for toy purchasers who want to encourage gender inclusive play and flexible gender schemas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines Western portrayals of white female captives in Moorish societies, focusing on how the film "The Sheik" fueled imperialist ambitions and reinforced Orientalist stereotypes in early cinema. Topics include the narrative framework of silent films, the role of actors like Rudolph Valentino in reshaping masculinity, and the use of captivity and romance tropes to construct identities of the West versus the "Other."

Australia's National Men's Health Strategy 2020–2030 considers men from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds to be a priority population and foregrounds the importance of initiatives focused on empowerment. This article seeks to explore young working-class men's experiences with mental health in their years immediately following compulsory schooling. Drawing data from a larger study, we explore five young men who openly discussed their mental health. The analysis focuses on where they struggled, how they struggled and what self-care they enacted. Adopting a health literacy framework, we highlight two broad themes: closing yourself off and opening up. While historically working-class manhood has been centred around stoicism and a reluctance to admitting vulnerability, these case studies suggest that the identity work around masculinities and mental health may be experiencing change. Point of Interest: Historically working-class manhood has been centred around stoicism and a reluctance to admitting vulnerability though this may be changing. This article examines young workingclass men's experiences with mental health in their years immediately following compulsory schooling. To nuance mental health literacy, we adopt a health literacy framework to highlight two broad themes: closing yourself off and opening up. In exploring mental health literacy, we address where working-class boys struggled, how they struggled and what self-care they enacted. The article makes tenuous links between working-class masculinities, mental health and the effects of social change which has implications for treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though extensive literature exists on Moroccan women in the public sphere, simultaneously less research explores the ways in which men 'do domesticity'. This paper will examine the ways urban Moroccan middle-class men interact within the private spheres of life, why they do so and what this means for gendered subjectivities in Morocco. For some urban middle-class Moroccan men, being a good father means taking an active role in his children's lives and taking care of them with the help of his wife. This is not true for all urban middle-class men, but most said that they were more willing to help with cooking, cleaning and childcare than their father had been: showing a generational shift. Additionally, most participants said that doing housework does not lower the level of a man's masculinity. Despite this, every Moroccan woman that I talked to does most reproductive labour around the house. This paper explores the dynamic nature of Moroccan masculinity across the life cycle: from early marriage, to being a father and being retired. This generational shift is happening due to the confluence of structural changes in education, socioeconomic class and occupation in addition to individuals' desire to be active fathers and husbands. I place urban Moroccan middle-class masculinities in context with Moroccan femininities and highlight both male and female voices. These findings are based on 17 months of ethnographic fieldwork in Rabat, Morocco including 53 semi-structured interviews and extensive participant observation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines figures of disability in the poetry of D. M. Aderibigbe to illuminate the fate of disabled Nigerians. It considers the connections between disability and social norms, showing how normative masculinity is implicated in the killings of persons with disabilities. It draws on Chielozona Eze's discussion of disability and Judith Butler's concept of grievability to analyze Aderibigbe's critique of normative culture, while situating the analysis of his poetry within the critical scholarship on disability, gender, masculinities, and social justice. In the poems "Olumo's Face" and "Ode to My Father's Childhood," Aderibigbe represents disabled bodies as disposable, which underscores the need to continue advocating for disability justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the wake of deindustrialization, many rural areas in the Global North face challenges such as an ageing population, declining welfare systems and limited job and educational opportunities, problems that have been enhanced by decades of depopulation. Young people have left the countryside for careers in larger cities, contributing to stigmatization of those who stay in rural areas. In Sweden, however, statistics show a slow but steady trend of remigration to rural areas, which is described in municipal and state discourse as positive and necessary to 'save' the countryside. This paper examines the perspective of rural youth who feel differently about such counter-urbanization. Based on a yearlong ethnographic fieldwork with youth, the article shows how young men involved in Swedish greaser culture perceived the influx of urban (re)migrators as a threat to their rural lifestyle and the rural place where they wished to stay. This is interpreted as an expression of subcultural, place-based and temporal resistance towards urban and neoliberal ideals that simultaneously reinforce white, masculine values. As these young men will be part of a rural future, they must be considered in the formulation of sustainable politics for rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose/Objective: To explore how spousal caregivers of older people undergoing rehabilitation experience gender within the Greek community. Research Method/Design: A psychological phenomenological design and analysis were used to illuminate the unique meanings 11 spousal caregivers attribute to their experience of gender by gathering qualitative data via interviews. Results: The data provided an insight into the structure of the experience of gender for the spousal caregivers as a normative diachronic identity in a succession of phases: normative constitution, alienation, and reparation. Conclusions/Implications: The findings highlight the influence of gender stereotypes on spousal caregivers' self-concept, agency, caregiving evaluations, and practices, emphasizing the importance of adopting an intersectional perspective in future research and interventions, considering various factors such as ethnicity, gender, sexuality, age, power dynamics, and cultural norms. Spousal caregivers experience alienation on entering the caregiving journey, with gender-related vulnerabilities affecting their psychological well-being. Addressing these vulnerabilities can improve caregivers' mental health and foster effective coping strategies. The study emphasizes the moral aspect of caregiving, highlighting the relationship between a sense of obligation, feelings of guilt, gender norms, and motivations calling for challenging self-sacrificial morals and societal norms associated with them to empower caregivers to prioritize their well-being while maintaining their caregiving motivations. This shift in perspective can lead to a more positive and fulfilling caregiving experience. Impact and Implications: Innovative framework for understanding spousal caregiving's psychological effects from a gender perspective highlights the role of gender norms in shaping caregivers' experiences, affecting their well-being, agency, emotional responses, coping, and moral decision making. Advances gender and care knowledge, informing research and therapy to enhance caregivers' well-being and caregiving experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How does gender shape how conservatives "do partisanship"? This paper draws on interviews with a group of conservative Americans—gun sellers—during a year of record gun sales amid a global pandemic, civil unrest, and democratic instability. In 2020, gun sellers navigated an increasingly diverse clientele, including what they understood as an increase in liberal, progressive, and leftist gun buyers. This unique influx bucked decades-long trends of partisan sorting in America and compelled gun sellers to "do partisanship" as they fielded the new gun buyers in their stores. Integrating the literatures on the gender gap in partisanship with scholarship on hegemonic masculinity, this paper examines how gun sellers mobilized masculinity as a means of expressing and engaging in partisanship. Our analysis details how interviewees (1) embrace a brand of hegemonic masculinity that champions self-preservation and preparedness, (2) define themselves against liberal politics and policies they deem emasculating, and (3) draw partisan boundaries around gun ownership that reinforce conservatives as responsible gun owners while denigrating liberals as emotional, impressionable, and incompetent. We argue that partisanship can be understood as a gendered practice that provides insight into how conservatives make political meaning in their everyday lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines how Black gay men produce identities in correspondence with cultural scripts of Black manhood. I illustrate how these scripts organize a subjectivity shaped by white supremacy and signify racial consciousness, respectability, and commitment to Black antiracism. The script intentionally excludes queer men. Instead, Black queer men are "faggots," a subjectivity signifying weakness, wasted manhood, and capitulation to whiteness. Utilizing Muñoz's (1999, Disidentifications: Queers of Color and the Performance of Politics, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis) concept of disidentification, I track how participants engage in a reimagining of the conventional script of heteronormative Black masculinity to embody a subjectivity I call Super Black Man. This hybrid subjectivity responds to interlocking systems of race, sexuality, and gender in their lives by locating space in conventional Black male subjectivities for Black gay men. As Super Black Men, participants accomplished identities that did not compromise their self‐expression or affiliation with Black communities. I discuss how disidentification adds analytic complexity to this empirical investigation of Black gay men's identity work. What results is a more robust understanding of how race shapes the motives, trajectory, and outcomes of racialized sexual identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The document "Radicalization in the Asia-Pacific Region: Themes and Concepts" is a special issue that aims to enhance understanding of radicalization in the Asia-Pacific region. It includes various research papers that explore the diverse socio-economic, political, ideological, technological, and cultural systems influencing radicalization. The papers discuss topics such as the 3 N Model of radicalization, the role of masculinities in recruitment and disengagement from militant groups, and the impact of martialization on individuals' values. Additionally, the document delves into specific case studies from Indonesia, examining the promotion of moderate Islam, relationships between existential anxiety and support for violent extremism, and the role of group identification in religious collective action. The papers highlight the need for context-focused research, interdisciplinary dialogue, and culturally specific perspectives to address the complexities of radicalization in the region. [Extracted from the article]

Men who join militant Islamist networks often frame their participation in masculine terms, as protectors, warriors or brothers. While the role of masculinities in recruitment to jihadi groups has received increasing attention, their role in disengaging men from armed groups (and particularly men in the global south) have not. This paper explores the role of masculinities in shaping men's paths out of jihadi networks. Based on life history research with Indonesian former militant Islamist we suggest that men's pathways out of armed groups are defined by negotiating alternate masculinities, which reposition their gendered role in society from those associated with militancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When adult men are made to feel gender‐atypical, they often lash out with aggression, particularly when they are pressured (vs. autonomously motivated) to be gender‐typical. Here, we examined the development of this phenomenon. Specifically, we provided a first experimental test of whether threatening adolescent boys' perceived gender typicality elicits aggression as a function of their pressured (vs. autonomous) motivation to be gender‐typical. We also investigated whether this causal link emerges as a function of boys' chronological age versus pubertal development. Participants were a geographically diverse sample of 207 adolescent US boys (ages 10–14; 23.2% boys of color) and one of their parents. Boys played a "game" and received randomly‐assigned feedback that their score was atypical versus typical of their gender. For boys in mid‐to‐late puberty (but not before), feedback that they are gender‐atypical predicted an aggressive reaction, particularly among boys whose motivation to be gender‐typical was pressured (vs. autonomous). Next, we explored which aspects of boys' social environments predicted their pressured motivation to be gender‐typical. Boys' pressured motivation was positively correlated with their perceptions that their parents and peers would be "upset" if they deviated from gender norms, as well as with their parents' endorsement of so‐called hegemonic beliefs about masculinity (i.e., that men should hold power over women). Parents with these beliefs resided in more conservative areas, had less formal education, and had lower incomes. Our results inform theorizing on gender identity development and lay the foundation for mitigating the harmful effects of gender typicality threat among adult men. Research Highlights: Similar to young adult men, adolescent boys in mid‐to‐late puberty (but not before) responded with aggression to perceived threats to their gender typicality.Aggression was heightened among boys whose motivation to be gender‐typical was pressured (i.e., driven by social expectations) rather than autonomous.Which boys showed pressured motivation? Those whose parents endorsed hegemonic beliefs about masculinity (e.g., that men should have more power than people of other genders).Hegemonic beliefs about masculinity were strongest among parents who resided in more conservative US counties, had less formal education, and had lower incomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the India's rarest kinds of cancer, Male Breast Cancer (MBC) manifests in late presentation, delayed diagnosis, often in the terminal stage, and shock because of a complete unawareness and lack of prior knowledge about the existence of such a disease. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 6 MBC patients of whom 5 patients died within 7–16 months after their respective diagnosis, 9 members of their families, and 5 physicians, this study has revealed that dying with MBC in India is doubly stigmatised as the patients with cancer, which is perceived as a stigma itself, have been diagnosed with an illness of supposed feminine organ, that challenges the masculine identity of the patients. The sense of shame and stigma often results in concealment of the reality from others, and in some instances, the family members also practice complete nondisclosure to the MBC patients themselves to protect them from the sense of 'indignity' associated with a 'woman's disease'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent work by Allison and Klein examining violence and homicide introduced the concept of strained masculinity, a theoretical integration of general strain theory and hegemonic masculinity. Using qualitative data collection (n = 63), the current study considers strained masculinity themes in the context of mass shootings and the gender gap. Findings demonstrated support for the prevalence of Allison and Klein's themes in mass shootings. The men who committed mass shootings in our sample responded to challenges to their masculinity (62%), pursued hegemonic masculinity through "sport" (33%), and pursued hegemonic masculinity through controlling space (27%). In addition, qualitative analysis revealed overlaps in strained masculinity themes for mass shooting cases, demonstrating the complexity of this type of violence. There were six outlier cases identified that did not display strained masculinity, rather the perpetrators in these cases suffered from psychological or emotional troubles before opening fire. Overall, findings indicate that the integration of traditional criminology theories and gender theories is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experiences of dating violence are widespread among adolescents. Therefore, increasing the understanding on the developmental antecedents is crucial. However, most existing studies involve cross-sectional designs, which poses a challenge in better understanding the developmental precursors of dating violence victimization. To address this, we examine age 13 predictors of age 17 dating violence victimization in a culturally diverse sample of 643 participants (57.3% girls). Negative binomial regression models showed some significant associations between self-reports of anxiety and depression, poly-victimization, endorsement of violence-legitimizing norms of masculinity, and having initiated sexual relationships and dating at age 13 with dating violence victimization at age 17, with variations depending on the gender of the victim and the form of dating violence measured. Findings increase longitudinal evidence in the field with the aim of informing prevention and intervention strategies that address factors associated with dating violence early in adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractTailored language and communication strategies underpin men’s engagement with public health initiatives. The aim of this study was to explore men’s preferences for language and communication in mental health promotion and provide recommendations for current and future programs. A sequential mixed-methods design was used including five focus groups and 21 individual interviews with 64 men. Interpretive description was used to inductively derive three themes: (1) Using coded language to confer mental health, which highlighted the tacit meaning and implications of language as well as men’s covert strategies to communicate their challenges and emotions; (2) Summoning masculine capital with association and metaphors, wherein men’s strategies for conveying mental health in acceptable and relatable ways are chronicled; and (3) Dynamism language to signal action and growth, illustrating participants’ preference for strength-based approaches and gain-framed messaging that positions men as drivers of self-management and personal development. Important implications for men’s mental health promotion are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a novel approach to youth mental health by examining the connections between young Finnish men’s mental health, ideals of masculinity, and public discourses of mental health. Drawing from critical sociological and feminist theories on gender, power, and therapeutic culture, we apply a thematic discursive analysis to a questionnaire data (n = 910) about men’s mental health targeted at young men (primarily aged 15-29). The findings illustrate how young Finnish men consider ‘traditional’ ideals of masculinity widespread in Finland, restricting the actions of men, and upheld by narrow representations of gender. In addition, young men display critical reactions to the public discourses of mental health, especially the ones they feel are repeated in the media. These discourses are seen as insufficient and too individualised, echoing therapeutic culture. Based on our results, we argue that the highly individualised and gendered discourses of mental health, deriving from therapeutic culture and rooted in Finnish cultural and institutional practices, are inadequate for supporting young men’s mental health. Instead, these practices can create a vicious cycle where the often-well-intended efforts can limit and guide young men towards restricted gendered possibilities to express themselves, talk about mental health, and seek support if needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Uganda, the ‘traditional’ wedding, wherein a groom brings money and gifts to his father‐in‐law's home, has long been understood as the ultimate demonstration of a man's social maturity. Yet masculine adulthood is becoming increasingly elusive as weddings become more difficult to afford. Widespread unemployment has rendered most young men unable to fund the rituals while weddings themselves have become exceptionally lavish: brideprice payments now include ‘cows’, or millions of Ugandan shillings, as well as furniture sets, refrigerators, televisions, and even cars. With wedding expenses surging and their fiancés out of work, women have begun ‘paying their own brideprice’, as Ugandans say, by contributing substantially to wedding costs. In this article, we explore this oft‐debated phenomenon. We propose that the emergence of women who pay their own brideprice has invited a broad reimagining of the gendered economic ideologies that tether men to money under the rubric of provider masculinity. That celebratory, seemingly innocuous events such as weddings occasion the questioning of hegemonic forms of masculinity is particularly notable in Uganda, where gender conservatism dominates public discourse. Beyond Uganda, our case suggests revisiting the normative as a potent site for observing gendered social change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agribusinesses invest in harnessing the goodwill affiliated with US agrarianism and farm iconography, hoping publics transfer the goodwill they attach to farming onto corporations. To make apparent agribusiness’s rhetorical strategies, we analyze “For the Farmers,” a 2021–2022 John Deere and Anheuser-Busch collaborative campaign to raise money for the nonprofit Farm Rescue. We theorize how productive tensions—farmers as thriving vs. farmers as needy and farms as human spaces vs. farms as machine spaces—mobilize the contradictions of agribusiness mythmaking in the twenty-first century. Our analysis of this campaign’s beer packaging and promotional video offers scholars who are invested in food rhetoric and agricultural communication an invitation to notice how agribusiness atmospheres both host contradiction about imagined pasts and recenter white masculinity to evoke a secure future based on trust of industrial-scale farming and the hydrocarbon economy. By theorizing how rhetorical affect aligns drinking beer with rescuing farmers, we offer a model of critiquing agribusiness’s reliance on myths to promote their brands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractCatalan director Lluís Quílez’s 2021 Netflix film, Bajocero ostensibly tells the story of men against nature. This article views the film as a rape-revenge thriller that narrativizes a ‘traditional’ masculine identity in crisis and attempts to rehabilitate via an ideal Spanish masculine based in the rural. Released in the aftermath of La manada rape trial, the film burdens the male body with both the believing of women and enacting justice. As one of the first fictional narratives to take on rape in post-manada Spain, the film provides an opportunity to address masculinity in relation to violence against women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractUsing Street Participatory Action Research (Street PAR), we examined the role of subjective neighborhood quality in bypassing adolescence (through adultification) and pro-violence attitudes among Black male youth. One hundred and thirty-seven street-identified, Black adolescent males (M/SDage = 18.07/1.66) were recruited using snowball sampling through social networks of individuals who identified as “street” or engaged in illegal activity. Respondents reported on neighborhood quality, bypassing adolescence, and pro-violence attitudes. Results showed that poorer perceived neighborhood quality correlated positively with bypassing adolescence and pro-violence attitudes. Bypassing adolescence mediated the association between neighborhood quality and pro-violence attitudes. Thus, street-identified Black boys who had more negative perceptions of their neighborhoods endorsed more positive attitudes toward violence and greater bypassing adolescence, or perceived adultification through street life. This novel finding contextualizes the development of violence attitudes in this understudied population and may suggest that bypassing adolescence is an important site of resilience within a street-identified Black masculinity framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article critically reflects on a television trend that remains poorly documented, namely that of representing male virginity as being caused by a form of neurodivergence. As part of an interdisciplinary research project on sexually inexperienced emerging adults (SIEA) in North American films and TV series, a textual analysis has been conducted for four TV series portraying sexually inexperienced men on the spectrum (The Good Doctor, Atypical, The Big Bang Theory, L’Heure bleue). Our research shows that this tendency to associate men’s sexual inexperience with autism is an important issue that reveals the persistence of gender and ableist norms in TV series. For instance, TV series contribute to the reproduction of the stereotype that a man on the spectrum is de facto sexually inexperienced, and then prioritize a “virginity loss” narrative. Characters also acquire maturity after their first sexual encounter, resulting in increased masculine capital. Considering that such series seek to represent neurodiversity, the lack of diversity when it comes to representing sexual inexperience is questioning. The fact that narratives invariably allow neurodivergent men to gain sexual experience seems to reinforce the cultural norm that sexual activity is mandatory, especially for adult men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study is to investigate the construction of street dances in the city of Rio de Janeiro, describing urban dancers and their daily ‘art of doing’, listening to their voices and observing their physical and virtual interactions. In this paper, a specific methodological approach is applied towards a tactical plan in order to understand the urban dance phenomenon within the universe of hip-hop culture. This particular approach includes the analysis of eleven narratives of young dancers and their everyday experiences, their personal life stories, interlinked with categories such as masculinity and business. The results reveal the complexity of hip-hop and street-dance culture in general, and specifically among young Brazilians. The narratives of these young men have provided an effective means for representing hip-hop dancers’ concerns and bodily articulations in order to comprehend their dance practice and the construction of spaces, but also indicate aesthetic and commercial dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing research observes that fathers navigate the workplace through a complex network of mistreatment, adopting “ground breaker discourse” as a mechanism by which to maintain alignment with masculine norms to reduce mistreatment. Through analysis of online forum comments in response to a UK newspaper article exploring fathers and masculinity, this research investigates if “fatherhood forfeits” and the “patriarchal deficit” are evident in this context and how they are navigated. The research affirms the existence of “fatherhood forfeits” and the “patriarchal deficit,” uncovering an additional forfeit of “impeded attractiveness.” Additionally, it expands knowledge regarding the way in which fathers maintain hegemonic masculinity when combining work and care through observing that fathers adopted a “disregarding discourse” toward any criticism as a management strategy, suggesting a new dimension for research in this area. This research identifies ways in which organizations can improve the workplace experience for fathers, with a view to increasing gender equality for both parents and maximizing the effectiveness of staff in the post‐COVID workplace. It is suggested that future research could involve a more representative sample and an exploration of any potential differences in the findings in the context of the post‐COVID work environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Janice Monk, an acclaimed Australian-American feminist geographer, has passed away in Tucson, Arizona. She was known for her achievements in social and cultural geography and her contributions to the field of women's studies. Monk's work focused on topics such as daily life in Aboriginal communities, women's creative responses to their environments, and the history of women geographers. She was committed to making the experiences of women visible in the field of geography and worked to advance the position of women in the discipline. Monk received numerous honors and was recognized for her internationalism and practical inclusion. [Extracted from the article]

The article analyzes President Vladimir Putin’s gender-based humor as a way of exploring Russia’s ontological insecurity. Our research explores how Russia’s masculine ontological insecurities are trapped in the realities of patriarchy challenged in a contemporary globalized world. We integrate a constructivist ontology with poststructuralist attention to language to understand the role of gender-based humor in the (re)production of gendered hierarchies, and therefore in sustaining Russia’s ontological security. To achieve our goal, we examined 29 videos of Putin’s speeches broadcast between 2012 and 2022 through the lenses of “feminization” and “masculinization.” The study concludes that it is necessary to take political humor seriously. Its deployment helps Putin to maintain a consistent narrative of Russian self-identity based on associations with masculinity and the feminization of the Russian nation and its foes in the eyes of a conservative segment of the Russian populous. Ultimately, such humor aims to alleviate feelings of insecurity and anxiety, maintaining a heteronormative gendered order in Russian foreign affairs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing from the field of Cultural Memory Studies, this article examines the process of recollection as depicted in Sangre de amor correspondido (Seix Barral, 1982) by Manuel Puig (1932–1990). Within this novel, we witness the portrayal of memory processes through the eyes of Josemar, a marginalized construction worker from a small rural town in Brazil. The protagonist endeavors to narrate his life experiences through the lens of idealized hegemonic masculinity. Some scholars think that gender represents a fundamental facet of identity. Furthermore, identity emerges from introspective processes driven by memory. Consequently, this paper asserts that the integration and signifying of masculine prostheses hinge upon the articulation and solidification of a self-narrative rooted in "masculinity's social frameworks of memory." Through narration, hegemonic masculinity assumes a foundational role within individual identity; simultaneously, it disseminates the patterns—these social frameworks of memory—used for the interpretation and organization of life experiences as recollections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Writing in the first century ce, Columella delineates farming practice based on personal experience and observation. Roman attitudes towards slavery, truth, and torture are highlighted in a particularly graphic description of preparing the soil for sowing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the global public health discourse, involving men in maternal and neonatal health is regarded as crucial for positive outcomes in both health and development. In South Africa, health interventions designed to promote male partner involvement among low-income indigenous populations have been framed within social constructivist notions of masculinities and have produced mixed outcomes. This has necessitated calls to explore alternative approaches, including the need to decolonise men and masculinities studies in Africa. As part of one phase of formative research for a mixed-method project aimed at adapting a male involvement intervention for the context of Sesotho-speaking men and women in the Free State, we applied a multi-site case study research design and collected qualitative data using focus group discussions and key informant interviews. Verbatim-recorded transcripts were translated, transcribed, and thematically analysed with NVIVO 14. The results indicate that customary practices in pregnancy, delivery, and newborn care are not static and vary between families based on belief systems, socioeconomic status, geographical setting (peri-urban/rural), and kinship networks of care. Therefore, these practices and beliefs should be understood, affirmed, and contested within the complex African-centred material and immaterial worldviews on personhood in which they were generated, transmitted, rejected, or adopted. It is recommended that a decolonised approach to male partner involvement in this context must be cognisant of the intersections of racial and gendered power relations, contestations in beliefs and practices, the resilient effect of colonialism on indigenous gender systems, as well as contemporary global entanglements that inform North–South power relations on the best practices in maternal and newborn health in the public health sector in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement, a new wave of progressive athlete activism emerged. While a section of sport media members supported these athletes and their causes, a subset of anti-progressive pundits and critics emerged resisting the new wave of politically active Black athletes. I argue that sport media pundits like Clay Travis at Fox Sports represent sport media monetizing white male backlash to "woke" Black athletes. By promoting these voices, these outlets committed to amplifying white male grievance politics and emboldened anti-Black racism in sport media, all while increasing polarization and partisanship, paralleling conservative political news pundits during the Trump era. This essay critically and closely reads and contextualizes the increasingly rightward rhetoric of Travis, explaining how he connects Trumpian rhetoric to sports punditry more broadly and allows major sport media an opportunity to advance overtly conservative, racist, and sexist dialogues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines a selection of narratives and images from newspaper articles, advertisements and educational programs to explore the controversies they reflect regarding the participation of women in athletics in Fin-de-Siècle Mexico and Argentina in 19th- and 20th-centuries. Topics include a discussion of the notion of feminine masculinity in modern female athletes, a description of a marimacho, and how the violence inscribed in masculine-feminine binary opposition is instituted.

The current body of literature is weighted to the female perspective in exploring the perception and experience of romantic relationships. The paucity of literature on the male perspective provides an opportunity to highlight the unique masculine view attached to relationships. The current scoping review is aimed at summarizing the available literature about the perception and experience of men in various romantic, heterosexual relationship contexts. The findings were drawn from 163 studies published in the last 10 years that were extracted from multiple databases, including SCOPUS, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Pubmed. The current masculine perceptions associated with romantic relationships were captured and grouped through four contexts: man as a relational being, man in a state of singleness, man as a partner, and man as a parent. Power and sex appear to be the key drivers of research about men across relationship contexts. This study contributes to the literature by identifying the current research gap and providing clearer directions in research about romantic relationships that take into account the perspectives of men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the relationship between art, queer masculinity, and transnational solidarity with Palestine. In particular, I examine the political thought of Jean Genet and Guy Hocquenghem, two leading gay historical French intellectuals who vocally supported Palestinian freedom. As their ideas continue to reverberate in the present, Yusef Audeh—a young queer Palestinian artist— articulates how the legacies of Genet and Hocquenghem inspire his paintings. I argue that Audeh's work demonstrates how queer Palestinian masculinity can be manifested through art and transnational solidarity. Critical reflection on the "disturbing attachments," a phrase borrowed from scholar Kadji Amin, that undergird such solidarity is also foundational to queer politics and scholarship on Palestine and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Centering the experiences of two Khawajasira Gurus from Lahore, this article explores the dominant gender regime in present-day Punjabi life, where a heavily policed gender binary is ingrained and naturalized into a pervasive masculinism. Here, maleness is prized, dominant, and superior, and it comes with an unearned, ontological privilege; and womanness is constructed as a loss, a defect, and a weakness, and is attached to people who are constructed as available to be dominated, given, taken, and exchanged for the larger purposes of the status, wealth, and wellbeing of the cisgender heteropatriarchal family structure. This article theorizes that in this gender regime, when a male-assigned body tends to womanness, the gender regime reads that person's masculinity as defective and their womanness as a loss. Khwajasiras respond to this regime with rebellion and defection, escaping to existing Khwajasira communites in search of safety, autonomy, and livable life. Examining the upbringing of two Khwajasiras, this article asks the questions: who is valuable in the Pakistani family and why, and what larger function does this valuation serve? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The epistemological formations of area studies and critical regionality have been instrumental in situating the politics of gender-sexual variance in the Global South. Recent scholarship in India encourages further rescaling of queer and trans studies to account for the mutual entanglements of sexual and caste modernity, rights-based organizing, and metronormativity. Following this work, this article considers the possibilities offered by emphasizing the micro-locality of the urban neighborhood. A reading of two Delhi-based documentary films, Who Can Speak of Men? (2003) and Yeh Freedom Life (2019), the article troubles the idea of a unitary global and national trans subject. Conceptualizing the urban neighborhood as method and mode of reading transmasculinity compels a rethinking of the dichotomous framings of metropolitan queer as elite and transgender as abject. This article provides a trans microcartography wherein the world- and place-making work of transmasculine people enables a reimagining of masculinity in the neoliberalizing Indian "world-class city". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article engages with Tamil thirunangai transgender women's perceptions and evaluations of masculinity and femininity among themselves and in others. Thirunangai is currently the preferred identity label among transfeminine persons in the city of Chennai in southern India. Pottai is one of many pejorative Tamil words that predate such positive linguistic assertion of Tamil transfeminine identity. In this article, I show how the word pottai is transformed into a word signaling relational plenitude, belonging, and moral selfhood among thirunangai s in Chennai. I also attend to three ways in which thirunangai s use the word pottai interactionally: (1) to emphasize belonging and intimacy beyond the boundaries of identity, (2) to playfully highlight genres of gendered action, and (3) to show gender's imbrication with caste and class. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we systematically and critically review the past decade of empirical psychological research (n = 132) on masculinity and violence against women (VAW) to demonstrate an overreliance on individualist and "culturalist" (or culturally essentialist) approaches to theorizing and studying masculinity. Individualist and essentialist approaches assume that masculinity is something men are or possess based on the extent to which they identify with, conform to, or approve of traits or norms (pre)deemed masculine. We argue that these approaches cannot explain why it is men who overwhelmingly practice VAW, or account for the contextual, material, and structural power asymmetries that create conditions for gendered violence. We demonstrate the potentiality of formulations of masculinity (structuralist, poststructuralist, and especially processual) for ending VAW that move beyond individualism and essentialism. While they have helpfully situated masculinity within wider systemic forces, structuralist approaches often overlook how structures operate in constituting masculinities; and they impose false unity by theorizing masculinity through a homogenizing categorical lens. Poststructuralist approaches have accounted for fluidity in the complex construction of masculine subjects, but not for sociomaterial forces, or systemic inequities and modes of structural violence (e.g., neoliberalism, colonialism) that coproduce VAW. We argue that processual approaches, not yet mobilized in the empirical psychological masculinity and VAW literature, offer a particularly productive new way forward in that they map how the individual and social intertwine. We outline implications for theory, research, and praxis. Public Significance Statement: Psychologists tend to conceptualize and study masculinity as something that men are or possess, leaving undertheorized how the individual and sociomaterial intertwine in explaining violence. New approaches that understand and study masculinity as constantly shifting with the social and material world will help us better understand and disrupt the links between masculinity and violence against women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The field of men and masculinities has examined rigid adherence to traditional masculine gender roles as a risk factor for sexual perpetration and as a vulnerability factor for sexual victimization. Very little research, however, has examined the role of masculinities in unwanted consensual sex (UCS). UCS is sex that is not wanted or desired by an individual but to which the individual consents or agrees—even though there is no immediate pressure from their partner to do so. UCS is sometimes called "sexual compliance" or "sexual acquiescence." This conceptual article reviews the literature on UCS, including describing the theoretical distinction between unwanted and nonconsensual sex, discussing sexual script theory as the predominate theoretical approach to research on UCS, summarizing the potential consequences of UCS, and addressing the—fairly limited—research on the intersections between masculinities and UCS. This article argues that traditional masculine ideologies may put men at risk for consenting to sex that they do want and may make them less sensitive to their partners' lack of desire during consensual sex. The article offers several future directions for research on men, masculinities, and UCS, and it discusses how research on UCS might guide prevention and therapeutic interventions to reduce rates of problematic UCS for men and their sexual partners. Public Significance Statement: Research has demonstrated that wanting (i.e., desiring or wishing for) sex and consenting (i.e., agreeing or giving permission) to sex do not always correspond. Adherence to traditional masculine gender roles may make men more likely to consent to unwanted sex, and it may make them more likely to have a partner who consents to unwanted sex, but these proposals have rarely been researched. The intersection of masculinities and unwanted consensual sex represents an important future research direction that could expand the understanding of men's sexuality. For example, understanding the role of traditional masculine ideologies in unwanted consensual sex may help to guide prevention and therapeutic interventions (e.g., involving deconstructing stereotypes of men's sexuality) to reduce negative sexual experiences among men and their partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many men's social support systems are romantically centered, with fewer men than women reporting regular emotional disclosure and intimacy outside of heterosexual romantic bonds. The field has not yet reckoned with the ways that shortcomings in men's social networks may further instantiate women's disproportionate emotion work on men's behalf. The current article theorizes an increasing and unequal dependency on close bonds with women in response to the decline of men's social networks through a discrete form of gendered labor we call mankeeping. Specifically, mankeeping is defined as the labor that women take on to shore up losses in men's social networks and reduce the burden of men's isolation on families, the heterosexual bond, and on men. Three testable postulates scaffold this theory that (a) women tend to provide increased emotional support to men who do not have it elsewhere, (b) women's provision of this support is a form of labor, and (c) women experience a burden on their time and well-being when this labor is not equally reciprocated. Mankeeping, a new extension of Carolyn Rosenthal's theory of kinkeeping, is framed in relation to the future of men and masculinities research to advance a fuller understanding of the impact of men's changing social networks on society at large. Public Significance Statement: Over the past 30 years, studies in places like North America and Europe show that men's social networks have shrunk significantly in comparison to women. Fewer close relationships between males may cause some men to rely heavily on relationships with women, specifically romantic relationships, for emotional support in ways that are not always fully reciprocated. This theoretical article argues that a decline in men's social connections may increase the work women exert to support men through a phenomenon we call "mankeeping." Mankeeping refers to the efforts women make to compensate for men's thinner social networks, which can strain their time and well-being. Naming and understanding this dynamic is crucial for disrupting the broader societal impacts of male social networks that are not emotionally intimate and supportive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past 40 years, the psychological study of masculinities grounded primarily in the gender role strain paradigm has characterized psychological representations of masculine gender and documented ways they correlate with psychological, behavioral, interpersonal, and social problems that frequently affect men. Although scholars working from this perspective acknowledge the complex interaction of multiple influences on the psychological construction of masculinities, they have not yet explored important questions about the development of individual differences in the structure and correlates of masculine gender identity among boys and men of all ages. Consequently, this conceptual review highlights ways the principles of developmental psychopathology might inform the next generation of research on the psychology of men and masculinities by more clearly documenting developmental pathways to adaptive versus maladaptive masculine gender identities across the lifespan. Five critical issues are explored: (a) development as a dynamic process, (b) the complementary nature of adaptive and maladaptive development, (c) critical issues in defining pathways to adaptive versus maladaptive developmental outcomes, (d) the complex nature of causal influences on development, and (e) the concepts of resistance and resilience. The discussion closes with brief notes on research methodology in developmental science and the conceptualization of developmentally informed approaches to preventive and clinical intervention. Throughout the discussion, the primary goal is to highlight ways a developmental perspective might advance the psychological study of men and masculinities and reduce the harm associated with maladaptive psychological representations of what it means to be a masculine man. Public Significance Statement: Over more than 40 years, research has documented a relationship between psychological representations of masculinity and many of the health, behavioral health, and social problems that frequently affect men. However, this research has failed to clarify how these problematic ideas develop and how they might change over the lifecycle of a man. Developmental psychopathology is an approach to studying problems in human development that researchers could use to better understand what might be done to reduce the harm associated with unrealistic, inflexible ideas about what it means to be a masculine man. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Masculinity is a central construct within the Psychological Study of Men and Masculinities and has been a component of a substantial amount of research. At the same time, masculinity has been examined from a variety of theoretical perspectives that exist at a range of levels of analysis (e.g., individual differences, immediate environment, societal/environmental influence). The range of theories and the variety of levels of analysis point to the complex nature of masculinity, create barriers to the integration of research findings, and hinder the field's ability to communicate and apply this research to men's lives. In this article, I present the multifaceted masculinity framework (MFMF) as a method of organizing different theoretical approaches and findings while also facilitating application and communication. The MFMF posits that focusing on four established research constructs—criteria, achievement, types, and negotiations—would achieve these goals. The MFMF is presented in full, including examples of integration within each construct, primarily in the realm of providing/breadwinning. Applications and implications of the framework for both researcher and interventionists are provided to help guide future work. Connections with intersectional approaches are addressed throughout the article. Limitations, particularly regarding the boundaries of masculinity, are addressed in some detail. Public Significance Statement: The impact of masculinity on men's lives has important implications for counseling, education, public health, and public policy. However, masculinity has been theorized from a broad range of perspectives leading to difficulties integrating research findings and communicating those findings to the public. In this article, I introduce the multifaceted masculinity framework as an organizing framework that might address these challenges. The multifaceted masculinity framework identifies four empirically supported aspects of masculinity—criteria, achievement, types, and negotiations—that are central to understanding and communicating about masculinity. Integrative examples are provided, as well as directions for future research, synthesis, and intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gender is one of the most essentialized social categories, with putative differences between cisgender men and cisgender women often framed in biological terms. We propose that the consequences of inaccurate and widely held essentialist beliefs about gonadal hormones (EBAGHs) in particular—that is, that androgens signify "men" and estrogens signify "not-men"—have yet to be fully appreciated. For example, placebo effects such as increased strength, sexual desire, and irritability have been documented for the androgen testosterone. Accumulating research also suggests that lay understandings exaggerate the causal importance of testosterone in men's aggression. Consequently, testosterone is often either eschewed (i.e., men are "poisoned" by it) or enshrined ("more is good, less is bad"). Moreover, the efficacy-bolstering role of estrogens such as estradiol across the physical, cognitive, and sexual health domains for men has been downplayed or ignored by those who assert pejorative links between estrogen and weakness or effeminacy. Critically, EBAGHs may fuel "hypermasculine" behaviors such as excessive red meat consumption, problematic alcohol intake, and anabolic steroid misuse as well as treatment seeking for "low T" in the absence of proper medical diagnosis—which can all, ironically, result in disrupting men's optimal hormonal balance. Implications of our analysis for research (e.g., EBAGHs as predictors men's health behaviors, use of bogus "hormonal profiles" to induce or assuage threats to masculinity in experimental studies) and interventions (e.g., "hormone education" to offset the adverse effects of EBAGHs) are discussed. Public Significance Statement: Inaccurate beliefs about gonadal hormones may cause testosterone to be either valued or devalued—and estrogen to be portrayed as the enemy—in men. Such beliefs may contribute to hypermasculine behaviors, poor diet, misguided health care, and other negative outcomes for men. Biologically accurate hormone education may therefore have beneficial consequences for men's self-perception, perception by others, and overall well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the psychological study of men and masculinities (PSMM) field has continued to develop (Addis et al., 2010; Valentine & Wong, 2023), notions of white masculinities have remained mostly uninterrogated (Liu, 2017; Wong & Wang, 2022). In this article, we emphasize the unexamined "whiteness" and assumed Americanness of masculinities research and scholarship (Liu, 2017) and use a racial–spatial framework to explore how systemic racism renders differential racialized experiences for white men when compared with the racialized experiences of men of Color (Liu et al., 2023). We critique the use of intersectionality to understand the asymmetric dominance of white men and masculinities. Additionally, we describe how the construction and maintenance of whiteness in the United States and the protections offered to white men, due to their whiteness, provide them with spaces of comfort and privileges that are unique to them and their masculinities. We contend that future psychological research in men and masculinities could be conceptualized within a racial–spatial framework of systemic racism wherein white racial power and privileges are explicitly interrogated. We offer seven recommendations that underscore the critical examination and naming of whiteness in researchers' and practitioners' theoretical assumptions, methods, practices, and positionalities. Public Significance Statement: This article discusses the unexamined "white" of masculinities research and scholarship (Liu, 2017), and explores how "whiteness" renders differential racialized experiences for white men when compared with the racialized experiences of men of Color (Liu et al., 2023). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]