Migration, Habitus and the Struggle for Masculinity

Abstract

This paper explores the masculinity of migrants* and how the experience of migration transforms, challenges, and renegotiates it, ultimately shaping how it is practiced and lived. Drawing on Pierre Bourdieu's concept of habitus and masculine domination, as well as R.W. Connell's theory of hegemonic masculinity, the paper brings together two key theoretical frameworks for understanding masculinity and the relationships between men* and women*, as well as among men* themselves. By combining these perspectives, the aim is to better grasp the processes through which migrant masculinities are produced, reproduced, and potentially transformed. The research on male migrants* is thus revisited and reinterpreted through a masculinity studies lens informed by Bourdieu's and Connell's work, highlighting how gendered power relations are both maintained and reconfigured in the context of migration.