The affordances of masculinities: An investigation of the construction and communication of digital masculinities through UK-based life(style) Influencers

Drawing on qualitative research, I explore the digital self-representations of UK-based personal life(style) bloggers to investigate the construction and communication of masculinities and their interplay with imagined affordances. My study aims to address the gaps existing within scholarly research in digital networked masculinities. My study is situated within the framework of Inclusive Masculinity Theory, proposing a 'softening of masculinity', which I explore by looking at the personal narratives the bloggers weave through their blogging practices. Those narratives are spun through the bloggers' self-representations and are highly enmeshed with the brands and products the bloggers feature. Moreover, the bloggers’ narratives also hold the potential to rework ideals around masculinities. Within the current neoliberal framework within which the bloggers operate, they are encouraged to construct and manage themselves as brands. Within this highly branded framework the bloggers' narratives reconfigure ideals pertaining to masculinities through instances such as the figure of the ‘modern gentleman’; the visual aesthetic communication of skincare and makeup; and discussions around mental health. Ultimately, the narratives of the bloggers are governed by the imagined affordances and algorithms of the social media platforms and websites they use, thus the construction and communication of digital masculinities, often becomes regulated by and imagined affordances and algorithms.