Culture and Politics of Populist Masculinities

We invite proposals for contributions to an edited collection on masculinities and populism, with abstracts of 300-500 words due on Tuesday, December 10, 2019.

Whether it is the rhetoric of Donald Trump, Jair Bolsonaro, or Nigel Farage; movements like the Transfer of Public Lands Movement in the United States or the Five Star Movement in Italy; alt-right memes and reactions against Hollywood portrayals of gender; parodies and critiques of populist masculinities in late night shows, stand-up comedy, and social media posts; populism is intertwined with cultural and political assumptions and performances of masculinities. The complex relationship between populism and masculinity serves as the framework for this edited collection, combining cultural, political, and historical perspectives to improve our understanding of populism. How is masculine populism articulated? What kinds of historical interpretations do populist masculinities draw on? What is problematic about a specifically masculine populism and is there hope for a pluralist, inclusive, even progressive form of masculine populism?

Intended for publication with Lexington Books, the peer-reviewed collection will explore the often acknowledged but seldom explored complex relationship between masculinities and populism. We are interested in expanding the conversation and welcome contributions exploring the theme from a diverse set of perspectives, bringing in both political debates and popular culture interpretations of populism and masculinities.

Potential topics include but are not limited to:
Political movements    Popular culture    Populist leaders
Toxic masculinities     Misogyny in politics     Positive masculinities
Media representations     History of populism     Grassroots organization

Abstracts (300-500 words) along with a 150 word bio should be e-mailed to the editor, Dr. Outi Hakola (University of Helsinki) at no later than December 10, 2019. We will notify authors of the acceptance by December 18, 2019. Chapters (approximately 6,000-7,000 words, including notes and bibliography) will be due by April 14, 2020.

The collection is edited by the research project Encountering and Challenging Populist Masculinities (2018-2020, University of Helsinki).