THE BEER TALKING - 4 LADS, A CARRY OUT AND THE REPRODUCTION OF MASCULINITIES

Discourse analytic research on masculinity has produced some interesti ng and insightful understandings of male-bonding talk and/or talk arou nd alcohol-related activities. These and other contributions have help ed demonstrate the dependence of 'hegemonic' masculinities on the disc ursive subordination of the 'other', notably women and gay men. The pr esent study builds on such work by examining the reproduction of mascu linities in the context of a group of four young men interacting under the influence of alcohol. The talk was recorded with the permission o f the four participants (one of whom is a co-author - GE) and subseque ntly subjected to discourse analysis. Particular attention is paid to definitions of (male) self and others - women, gay men and men from et hnically different backgrounds - which are negotiated during the inter action. The analysis is discussed in the light of current debates on t he discursive reproduction of masculinities.