Analysing the Construction and Impact of Visual Discourse in Loyalist Communities through the Lens of Masculinity.

• In Event: Gendered framings and representations

Abstract

This paper seeks to decipher mechanisms that are operating within iconography, and furthermore examine how the material is deployed, within residing communities of Northern Ireland through the lens of masculinity. Although many academics have touched upon discourses of masculinity to explain the underpinnings and perpetuation of conflict, there are inchoate understandings in relation to Northern Irish visual material. This is perhaps surprising given, even at first glance, the obvious masculinity-related themes of guns and militarism depicted in the murals of key actors and events from the conflict and in the banners, flags and insignia that are so prevalent in many local areas. This research focuses on the production and display of such powerful visual material and explores the extent to which it can be viewed as gendered. By focusing on gender, the research seeks to highlight the potential of this dynamic for understanding and responding to common forms of sectarian or politically motivated violence and intimidation.

A principal focus is on the potential of visual material as a device for understanding sectarian and gendered behaviour and decipher the functions of power and control in local communities. This research examines how these depictions can illustrate assumptions of power and appeal to militarized masculine tendencies which mobilise and amplify the scope and scale of Loyalist agency. The paper will therefore explore how the construction and deployment of such identities can pose serious implications for community relations and the perpetuation of endemic sectarianism and segregation in Northern Ireland’s post conflict environment.

Author

• Paula Ellen Surgenor, Transitional Justice Institute, Ulster University