Masculinities in Ireland

Research on Irish masculinities has focused on younger men. However, growing older can inform men's masculine identities in ways that can problematise earlier positions. Hegemonic masculinity, that is, ideals of masculinity, which are culturally constructed and socially constituted, informs a power structure in which expressions of manhood typically value qualities such as strength, success and control (Kimmell, Reference Kimmell, Brod and Kaufman1994; Connell, Reference Connell1995; Connell and Messerschmidt, Reference Connell and Messerschmidt2005). While hegemonic masculinity provides for some men to hold power, it also exacts a price from those men, as well as from those who because of age, race or sexuality, for instance, do not conform to the ideal (Kimmell, Reference Kimmell, Brod and Kaufman1994; Calasanti and King, Reference Calasanti and King2005). Although the concept of hegemonic masculinity has been key to understanding issues of privilege and subordination, it has been widely challenged as essentialist, restricting and not accounting for men's emotional lives or possibilities for changing masculinities (Elliott, Reference Elliott2016). Concepts such as caring masculinities have emerged that allow for men's adoption of values such as care, relationality and interdependence, values traditionally associated with women, into masculine identities, recasting traditional masculine values (Elliott, Reference Elliott2016). By exploring how older men in Ireland perceive the representation of their counterparts on television and in film, we consider how the often-contradictory narratives of ageing and masculinity can inform perceptions of older men and shape their experiences of growing older. This is an underresearched area in social gerontology. While there have been advances in understanding the lives of older women, the ways in which gendered ageing affects men remains underexplored; men may face challenges as age distances them from roles and relationship status that emphasise masculine ideals of power and autonomy (Arber et al., Reference Arber, Davidson, Ginn, Arber, Davidson and Ginn2003; Venn et al., Reference Venn, Davidson, Arber, Settersten and Angel2011). Although there are social gerontological studies considering older Irish adults in the context of cognitive decline, health and homelessness, rural old age and social exclusion (Cush et al., Reference Cush, Walsh, Carroll, O'Donovan, Keogh, Scharf, MacFarlane and O'Shea2020; Walsh et al., Reference Walsh, O'Shea and Scharf2020), there is a general lack of research on gendered ageing and on older Irish men's masculinities. Irish masculinity, historically rural and informed by the influence of the Catholic Church and the Gaelic Athletic Association (the most popular amateur sports organisation in Ireland), emphasised physicality, self-discipline and traditional family values (McDevitt, Reference McDevitt1997; Ferguson, Reference Ferguson, Pease and Pringle2001). Yet, while the practices and activities family members carry out in relation to one another reproduce family relationships, they can also redefine them (Morgan, Reference Morgan2020), however, this sense of fluidity is missing from studies of Irish masculinities in family contexts. Ní Laoire (Reference Ní Laoire2005) discusses how farming is bound up with masculine identities in Ireland, emphasising a gendered division of labour, patrilineal inheritance and the powerful role of the father, which is closely connected with pride in providing for one's family. This historical link between Irish masculinity and the ‘provider’ role is reiterated by Goodwin (Reference Goodwin2002) in his study of men and work in Dublin, and Ralph (Reference Ralph2020), who extends the masculinity/breadwinning connection to men who live in Ireland and work in other European countries. Given these associations, work on Irish masculinities has tended to focus on younger men, with a general lack of research on men past retirement age. However, due to patterns of inheritance where only the heir could inherit the farm, Ireland has the highest proportion of older never-married men in Europe, and while there has been research on bachelor farmers, it has not been focused on age or representation (Curtin and Varley, Reference Curtin, Varley, Curtin, Jackson and O'Connor1987; Kamiya and Sofroniou, Reference Kamiya, Sofroniou, Barrett, Savva, Timonen and Kenny2011). Recent studies of Irish men identify a traditional understanding of gender alongside new norms of masculinity informed by social change, urbanisation and globalisation, and point to the multiple, shifting and situational ways that they present themselves as men (Ging, Reference Ging2005; Ní Laoire, Reference Ní Laoire2005; Johnston and Morrison, Reference Johnston and Morrison2007; Darcy, Reference Darcy2019). Ging (Reference Ging2005) focuses on Irish male teenagers’ consumption and reception of media images of masculinity, finding that participants were active, literate viewers, who creatively mediated images to understand their lives and masculine identities. Recently, Darcy (Reference Darcy2019), in focus groups with Irish men aged 18–85 about their conceptualisation of masculinity, found that some are moving from stereotypical notions towards more fluid constructs. While Darcy points to differences in how men construct masculinities with age, noting the incongruence between emotional reality and gendered expectations, the complexities of these intersections remain unexplored in the growing body of work on masculinity and Irish society.

Ageing masculinities

Research on the intersections of masculinities and age demonstrates how the cultural blueprint for ‘being a man’ is deficient in guidelines for older men, who may struggle with the pressure of traditional masculinities (Thompson and Langedoerfer, Reference Thompson and Langendoerfer2016). This struggle is informed by social ageism – discrimination and stereotyping in institutional and everyday contexts (Ojala et al., Reference Ojala, Pietilä and Nikander2016). While age in men can be a source of power, it can also indicate a loss of power, as ageism undermines gender-based privilege (Hearn and Sandberg, Reference Hearn and Sandberg2009; Jackson, Reference Jackson2016). Yet, Hurd Clarke and Korotchenko (Reference Hurd Clarke and Korotchenko2016), examining how older men (aged 65–89) perceive ageism, found that while the men felt that age-based discrimination was prevalent, and although many had internalised ageist and sexist stereotypes, they considered it a socially distant issue that did not affect them directly. Gregorčič and Cizelj (Reference Gregorčič and Cizelj2019), in a study of masculinities, age and gender capital, observe that a variety of masculinities and femininities are necessary for individuals in older age given the contradictions that can arise with traditional gender constructs, yet they are often perceived in ageist discourse as de-gendered. Another stereotype that older men encounter is the association with loneliness. Ratcliffe et al. (Reference Ratcliffe, Wigfield and Alden2021), exploring how age and gender intersect in older men's constructions of loneliness, found that they associate the experience with vulnerability and hence ‘femininity’. Exploring subjective perceptions of ageing among people aged 65–74 years, Bordone et al. (Reference Bordone, Arpino and Rosina2020) found that men are less likely than women to feel old or to think that society perceives them as old. Integral to whether men are likely to feel old is a close association between ideals of personal autonomy, masculine identity and the notion of ageing successfully (Smith et al., Reference Smith, Braunack-Mayer, Wittert and Warin2007). Older men often construct hegemonic masculinity as an oppressive requirement but one which can be reshaped into traits associated with responsibility, caring for and helping others, thus maintaining the pride associated with masculine identity (Ratcliffe et al., Reference Ratcliffe, Wigfield and Alden2021).

The dynamics of work and family relationships can influence how masculine identity changes in later life, as traditional place and power is disrupted under globalisation (Hearn, Reference Hearn, Lutz, Vivar and Supik2011). There has been significant change in family structure and relationships in Ireland in recent decades, due to patterns including declining fertility, women's increased labour market participation, liberalisation in attitudes, and a shift away from celibacy and non-marriage, giving rise to decreasing family size and increasing diversity (Canavan, Reference Canavan2012). Although research is increasingly recognising the changing roles and relationships of men in this context, there has been little emphasis on grandfathers and less still on older men who are not fathers or grandfathers. Underdeveloped understandings of grandfathers reflect a feminised conception of grandparenting and failure to consider later-life masculinity (Mann, Reference Mann2007). Opportunities for caring practices and new perspectives on gender roles in grandfatherhood can disrupt hegemonic masculinity, though the role may also serve to affirm connections to hegemonic masculine ideals (Bartholomaeus and Tarrant, Reference Bartholomaeus and Tarrant2016; Mann et al., Reference Mann, Tarrant and Leeson2016; Hasmanová, Reference Hasmanová2019). In Ireland, while there are findings on the differing effects of grandchild care on grandparents’ wellbeing depending on whether it is through choice or obligation (McGarrigle et al., Reference McGarrigle, Timonen and Layte2018), there is no research on how grandfatherhood may inform masculinity. There is a lack of research on the impact of different forms of non-parenthood on men's masculinities, absent from the literature due to unreflective assumptions as childless men are outside heteronormative pronatalist ideology and masculine ideals of virility, with discourse centred on women's experiences (Hadley, Reference Hadley2021a, Reference Hadley2021b). However, childless older men are more likely to be disadvantaged and to experience isolation compared with older women (Venn et al., Reference Venn, Davidson, Arber, Settersten and Angel2011). Ageing outside a heterosexual context is also understudied and there is a need to consider the complexities of the lives of older non-heterosexual adults, which can provide insights into the challenges faced by non-heterosexual and heterosexual men as the meanings attached to traditional relationships change (Heaphy et al., Reference Heaphy, Yip and Thompson2004). Beyond family, retirement and loss of work identity can also inform men's masculine identities. Bordone et al. (Reference Bordone, Arpino and Rosina2020) found that, for men, retirement is associated with feeling old. With the changing relationship between ageing and work in recent years, due to demographic change, globalisation, new technologies, job insecurity and policies to extend working life, research is needed to understand these changes in a broader social context (Phillipson, Reference Phillipson2019).

Ageing masculinities and media representation

The relationship between ageing and media representation is a strained one, given the role of the media in reproducing stereotypical images, when not neglecting older figures (Iversen and Wilinska, Reference Iversen and Wilinska2020). Such images inform social preconceptions about later life (Iversen and Wilinska, Reference Iversen and Wilinska2020). As Gullette (Reference Gullette2004: 12) observes, ‘We are aged by culture’. The identities and lifestyles that are promoted in mass media inform individuals’ lives as well as others’ reactions. When older people appear in the media, the purpose tends to be the endorsement of age-marked qualities, roles or products (Ylänne, Reference Ylänne, Twigg and Martin2015). They are coded in positive or negative portrayals (Ylänne, Reference Ylänne, Twigg and Martin2015), for instance, frailty and loss, which is increasingly being replaced by wisdom and experience or, most recently, agelessness or ‘successful ageing’ (Uotila et al., Reference Uotila, Lumme-Sandt and Saarenheimo2010), a broad concept that endorses ‘ageing well’ as the maintenance of good health and active engagement with life (Urtamo et al., Reference Urtamo, Jyväkorpi and Strandberg2019). Such absence or stereotyping is conspicuous in advertising and has also been observed in primetime television series (Kessler et al., Reference Kessler, Rakoczy and Staudinger2004; Ylänne, Reference Ylänne, Twigg and Martin2015). Writers of Finnish print mass media were found to adopt two different representations of old age: an active, productive third age and a passive, dependent fourth age (Uotila et al., Reference Uotila, Lumme-Sandt and Saarenheimo2010). On ageing and masculinity, Calasanti and King (Reference Calasanti and King2005: 19), examining ageism in a consumer market of ‘successful ageing’, find that men seek to live up to the ideal representations in mass media of ‘working, playing, and staying hard’. While some men strive for these lifestyles, many lack the means or the health to do so and some deliberately resist (Calasanti and King, Reference Calasanti and King2005). An interdisciplinary approach bringing together insights from media studies and from social gerontology is therefore critical, yet underdeveloped (Iversen and Wilinska, Reference Iversen and Wilinska2020).

Research by media studies scholars demonstrates how images often exhort older men to continue to follow hegemonic scripts. Studies highlight a lack of range in cultural representations of ageing and masculinity in mainstream media (Chivers, Reference Chivers2011; Boyle and Brayton, Reference Boyle and Brayton2012; Evans, Reference Evans2015; Moran, Reference Moran2016), although some studies have found images that instead explore the complexities of later life (Saxton and Cole, Reference Saxton and Cole2013; Redding, Reference Redding2014; Casado-Gual, Reference Casado-Gual2020). King (Reference King, Lipscomb and Marshall2010) illustrates how the figure of the cop in action films demonstrates the contradictory scripts of hegemonic masculinity and ageing, e.g. strength versus decline, which prompt older men to find ways to keep ageing at bay. There are few empirical studies of ageing and television or film. However, King et al. (Reference King, Schlichthorst, Keogh, Reifels, Spittal, Phelps and Pirkis2018) observed that a documentary exploring links between masculinity, mental health and suicide encouraged Australian men to rethink stereotypes of masculinity and it encouraged help-seeking behaviours. The relationship between masculinity, ageing and the media is a complex one, as cultural representations inform social realities and individual lives. Here, we consider how older men in Ireland respond to visual representations of their counterparts in television and film, asking whether and to what extent is participants’ experience of gendered ageing informed by such cultural narratives, and how do they negotiate this on an individual level? Considering that men's social power may change as they grow older in ways that can inform their positioning in relation to hegemonic masculinity, we further consider how this incongruity may inform their lives, and whether and to what extent they maintain continuity with dominant scripts of masculinity.

Underrepresentation and stereotyping in media

Most participants noted gaps, underrepresentation and stereotyping in current images of older men, especially in advertising. Several observed that some recent television sitcoms and films provide more diverse and complex roles (FG1). One participant observed that the largely family-oriented roles depicted in the clips shown did not represent him as a gay man (Dermot,Footnote ¹ 66, interview). He did not refer to his family in the discussions or interview. Some observed that the stereotypes are at opposite ends of a scale. As one participant stated:

In his diary reflection, he elaborated that ‘the slightly declining abilities age generally brings’ are not portrayed (Kevin, 67, diary entry). Similarly, another participant reflected on the lack of representation of older men who for reasons of mental or physical health are no longer ‘able to participate in activities at such an active level’ (Dermot, 66, diary entry).

One advert that raised complex discussion of stereotyping was a Swedish advert for Nicorette chewing gum (FG1). In it, an attractive young woman walks confidently past an old man seated on a bench, as he places a piece of chewing gum in his mouth. She stops, leans over, takes his face in her hands, kisses him and walks away. As he stares after her, she is seen chewing the gum. The participants observed that the advert was taking two stereotypes, the grumpy old man and the ‘hot’ young woman, and building on the contrast. Although the advert appeared to suggest that the woman desired the chewing gum, one participant read a different cliché in the scene:

Another participant asked what would happen if the roles were reversed – in particular, he raised the issue of consent, observing: ‘It makes me think that as you get older people feel they don't need your consent’ (Sean, 66, FG1). In this light, the participants considered that if you flipped the actors’ roles, the advert would be viewed as unacceptable, but assumptions are made because of gender and age (FG1).

Views on the impact of representation

Opinions differed on the impact of representation on the lives of older men, but overall, most participants felt that it was influential (FG1). One noted that representations remain with you:

Observing how culture can influence as well as imitate society, he reflected:

One participant asserted that he is not personally influenced by television shows or movies, for example:

However, most participants considered representation to be important.

Diminishment of family role

Participants’ discussion of representations of older men and their role in families focused on fathers’ movement away from the centre and grandfather figures as underestimated or taken for granted. All but one of the participants are fathers and three are grandfathers. Although these representations resonated with the experiences of some participants, others observed that age afforded freedom and the choice to engage with family, beyond what the images showed. Commenting on how older men are regarded in society generally, one man, who is a grandfather, noted:

In a Christmas advert for a German supermarket group, a man who appears to be in his eighties sits down alone to his Christmas dinner. His children receive funeral invitations and gather at his house with their families, only to discover that their father is alive, having tricked them into coming home for Christmas (FG1). The discussion generally considered the image stereotypical, with participants asking why the man did not take the initiative and go on a cruise or travel to visit family, himself. However, in interview one man, who is not a grandfather, felt that the advert reflects social roles in that it was ‘Effective just as a plea from older, lonely, people not to be forgotten by their families’ and observed that

He wondered whether, ‘As a woman, he mightn't have been quite as isolated – he might have been better integrated’ (Thomas, 68, interview). Connectedly, in his diary another participant observed ‘a theme of older men being alone – with family coming to him’, and asked, ‘Is there an implication that men living alone need more support than women?’ (Brendan, 71, diary entry).

One of the clips from the Irish soap opera Fair City showed a man in his seventies seated in a pub doing paperwork at Christmastime. He is impatient at being interrupted but cheers up and begins to reminisce when he sees a baby. Some participants considered that these grumpy or reflective depictions, while typical, were not unreasonable; they identified with these moods. However, one reacted strongly to the stereotype, stating that it ‘was almost a slap in the face’ how ‘the lady came in and … questions his cognitive abilities’ (Sean, 66, FG2) (is he making a list and checking it twice? she asks, in a joke that recalls the song about Santa Claus).

In another clip from Fair City, three men in their seventies discuss family. One is reluctant to visit family in Australia, in case of family drama, and the others empathise but observe that it is worth it for the good times. Again, some of the participants made connections with their own lives. One observed that men's position in the family changes with age, whereby they lose their central role:

Participants generally considered the dilemma of whether to travel to family a good reflection of a dilemma facing older Irish men, thus indicating the impact of social change and globalisation on family dynamics.

Transition from work and retirement

In discussions about ageing generally, as well as following the film I, Daniel Blake, the need to rethink their lives on retirement emerged as a preoccupation for several participants. Following the question, ‘at what age do we become old?’, one commented:

On ‘what roles do older people play in today's society?’, another observed:

He later commented that ‘women who may be at home or may have careers and be at home and double jobbing, just continue on doing what they were doing before’ (Thomas, 68, FG1). In an interview, the same participant said the struggle to reorient on retirement was not something that happened to him, but to other men (Thomas, 68, interview). These comments suggest some gender-based assumptions about growing older, though he does not consider these to inform his own experiences.

The film I, Daniel Blake (2016) prompted further responses about work and retirement (FG2). In the film, although his doctor finds him unfit for work, 59-year-old Daniel is denied state support. He is required to keep looking for work as a condition for receiving jobseeker's allowance. On the day of his appeal, Daniel suffers a heart attack and dies. At the funeral, a woman he had befriended reads out a speech that Daniel had planned to read at his appeal, about how he deserved to be treated with dignity, having worked all his life. In a diary entry, one participant noted that

Similarly, in discussions, one participant commented that Daniel ‘represents everyone’ (Kevin, 67, FG2). Observing that any individual might suffer at the hands of the political or welfare system, the participants were not inclined to consider Daniel's troubles as age-related (although proximity to retirement and declining physical ability were a factor in his position). Participants tended to perceive Daniel as a proud, hardworking man who had paid his dues only to be ground down by the system and lose control over his situation (FG2). They extrapolated to the Irish context and the unjustness that they perceived of the increasing pension age (66 and set to rise to 68) and queried whether the State was breaching a social contract.

One participant admired how, despite the difficulties of his situation, Daniel

This statement highlights Daniel's caring qualities as effective forms of assistance and resilience.

Agency as opposed to confinement

Agency emerged as a central concern for the participants. As one defined it: ‘by agency I mean his ability to take action … and to have choice’ (Sean, 66, FG1). Some felt that the older men depicted were devoid of agency, and others disagreed. However, across discussions participants placed value on agency and choice in the face of changing circumstances with age. With the German supermarket advert, the focus was on agency in the family and one man noted:

Another observed that

It was considered by some that, in contrast to this depiction, age could afford freedom. One man contrasted it with his own behaviour: ‘I'm the one with the free time at this stage, so … go see the kids’ (Thomas, 68, FG1). On reflection, however, one participant considered that the man was shown to be ‘independent and clever’ by getting all his children to come to him (Brendan, 71, diary entry).

The film I, Daniel Blake raised similar issues of agency, this time in the realm of work and social welfare. One man observed the ‘dehumanising’ effect of the social welfare system (Thomas, 68, FG2) and another observed that although Daniel rebels, ‘the wind is taken away from him’ (James, 67, FG2). Another man sought to distance himself from Daniel's situation:

An advert for running shoes informed discussion about confinement in the context of the need for care and support in older age. In it, a man is shown in a care home. He looks out the window and at his running shoes and makes several attempts to run away but is always stopped by care workers. The other residents give him back the shoes, cheer him on, and hold back the care workers as he runs through the hall and breaks through the door to the open landscape. One participant stated:

Participants were critical that the advert lacked nuance, and in general found it to be sad. One participant noted his surprise that ‘the only option he appeared to have was to recapture what he was doing in his youth’, which was unrealistic, ‘say he slips and falls and hurts himself’ (Sean, 66, FG1). Ultimately, he observed,

These observations identify and critique stereotypes of older people as dependent and in decline. At the same time, participants remained mindful of the necessity for care and support, which can come into tension with the desire for independence.

Ageing, engagement and autonomy

The participants emphasised the importance of being engaged, active and purposeful. Several spoke about the importance of staying active. Two described ageing as something that can be ‘pushed out’ by maintaining physical health (Patrick, 73; Kevin, 67, FG1). One appeared to embrace age:

Participants agreed on the value of a positive mental approach to ageing. In this regard, they commented favourably on a trailer for a documentary The Man Who Wanted to Fly (FG2). In it, a man in his eighties is pursuing a lifelong dream to fly. He has cut a runway in a neighbour's field, built a hangar and is using his life savings to buy a plane. One participant observed that enthusiasm for new things is sometimes absent in portrayals of older people (James, 67, FG2). Another noted,

They compared The Man Who Wanted to Fly favourably to the Fair City clip in which a grumpy old man slips into reminiscence, because it demonstrated life having a sense of purpose and meaning as opposed to focusing on impairment and limitations, and they considered this a positive perspective:

The participants interrogated the term ‘older’ as generalising. To ‘get old’, as one stated, is ‘a matter of perception … I don't look at myself as young, or as old’ (Thomas, 68, FG1). Several times, they queried the assumptions that are applied to people as they age; one participant noted, about all the clips, that ‘they're portrayed as being different because they're older, and they don't have to be’ (Patrick, 73, FG2). Participants interrogated ageing stereotypes as unfounded, for instance citing the grumpy old man in the soap opera clip to claim, ‘we all have those moods and actually it doesn't matter whether we're 30 or 60 or 70’ (Kevin, 67, FG2).

Furthermore, older men were noted as being defined in relationship to others in some of the clips shown. One of the participants observed that some of the clips did not necessarily represent the older person but focused instead on the reactions of other people to the older person:

Similarly, in reaction to the German supermarket advert, the participant noted that it was ‘defining him in relation to his family’ (Sean, 66, FG1), suggesting that he observed a diminishment of the older man's subjective identity with age in these representations.