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Writing in masculine key, an exercise in reflection from social communication

11 March, 2026

The Social Communication program at the University of Cauca was created through Agreement 016 of March 9, 1999, following a diagnostic study that pointed to the need to professionalize the existing media outlets in the region and to cover new fields of professional development.

The curriculum was organized by areas of formation, namely: foundational training from the first to the sixth semester and professionalization from the seventh to the ninth semester, culminating with the degree project. Over the 26 years of the academic program, 28 cohorts of students have been admitted, and over time its contents have been adjusted to a context that has changed notably, allowing for an understanding of the specific needs of the program, its students, professors, and the spaces that are inhabited. Therefore, the development of the curricular plan has been conceived through the interaction between the social demands of the contexts and the mission and vision of the program articulated with those of the institution, which is reflected in the self-evaluations for the renewal of the qualified registration and in the self-evaluation process for accreditation purposes. The curricular design is articulated in the Educational Project of the Social Communication Program (PEPCS), which establishes the guidelines regarding the epistemological and pedagogical stance, appealing to a diversity of methodologies in accordance with the specific dynamics of each course, as well as to defined learning outcomes.

In this context, an internal development project entitled “Writing in masculine key” (ID 6277) emerged, which sought to answer the question: “What references does the student population of the Social Communication program have regarding the construction of the concept of masculinity?”; a project registered with the Office of the Vice-Rector for Research and belonging to the Research Group in Communication (GIEC).

The research process initially identified what is understood by masculinity, what types of perspectives have been woven, and how society has established expectations and values, also adjusted to professions. Reflecting on the masculine within professions has been a necessary and important dynamic from the places of enunciation, especially when speaking from a Social Communication program. Subsequently, similar research was reviewed, including the following: Men in the Media (Mexico, 2009); Representations of the Masculine in Two Argentine Women’s Magazines (2011); Social Representations of Gender among Journalists in Cuban Print Journalism: Case Study of the Cultural Supplement Vitrales (2016); Hierarchy of Masculinity and Its Audiovisual Representation in the Series Parks and Recreation (2016); Cuban Cultural Journalism: Social Representations of Gender. Case Study of the Cultural Supplement Vitrales (2017); Representation of Women and Men in the Spanish Press (2017); Frames and Representations of Masculinity in the Media in Mexico: Two News Outlets and a Telenovela (2022); and finally, Hypermedia Dossier on the Social Representation of Masculinities (2023). Each investigation clearly contributed to the way masculinity has been understood in specific media contexts, which served as input for this research process.

The methodological process was designed to explore and describe the different social determinations involved in the construction of masculinity among Social Communication students at the University of Cauca. The method employed was qualitative and included everyday conversations, a focus group, and the design of an instrument to collect information. The instrument was created in Google Forms with open-ended questions addressed to students of the academic program, emphasizing that participation was anonymous and entirely voluntary. From the methodological process, three stages emerged: 1) narratives, writings, reflections; 2) interviews and everyday conversations; 3) focus group and information-gathering instrument. Subsequently, categories and subcategories were established to classify the information.

Regarding the results by stages, the following can be highlighted very briefly:

Stage 1 (narratives): The individuals who participated voluntarily felt free when narrating their experience of masculinity, understanding that the details of discourse are important, that lived experiences can be told, and that these can be diverse: “I think it is important to broaden the possibilities, to commit to critical masculinities that do not reproduce gender roles and are capable of reflecting on their privileges and committing to transformation, both internal and social.”

Stage 2 (interviews and everyday conversations): It became evident that there is an absence of male spaces “to understand that men also have different emotions.” In these spaces, it must be kept in mind that the initial perspective is to believe that men are strong, do not cry, or do not express themselves, and this leads to overlooking the fact that the suicide rate among men is increasing and also to neglecting that men “face loneliness to a greater extent,” since it was evident that “among men there are no specific forms of support that are not validated as inferior or that blur what is considered masculine.”

Stage 3 (survey technique, information-gathering instrument – form): For this stage, the focus group was also used to validate the information and to establish the five axes that emerged:

Definition and perception of masculinity: It became evident that this category was specifically associated with the way men are taught and expected to act in society. It obeys a social construction in which the biological is directly linked to roles and characteristics assigned to the male gender at birth.
Roles and expectations: Social Communication students have faced patriarchal models that follow the imposed pattern: “In my family, my grandparents were raised with the idea that the man had to be the provider, responsible for bringing money home, while women were in charge of serving them, preparing food, washing clothes, and having everything ready for them.”
Emotions and vulnerability: Men have been taught that there are emotions that are difficult to express and, therefore, they avoid showing them. Among these emotions are sadness, fear, anxiety, and stress; they have also been taught that showing affection can be seen as something unmanly. In this sense, they also do not express frustration and instead transform it into anger or isolation.
Relationships and communication: The process showed that some men do not express themselves or lack the emotional tools to adequately communicate what they feel, without fear of being judged or labeled.
Masculinity and Communication: This category was important because it allowed for a kind of snapshot of Social Communication students. Within the responses, it was noted that “some continue with a conventional view of masculinity, influenced by social structures that emphasize leadership, competitiveness, and rationality over emotionality. However, these models are questioned and a more reflective, empathetic, and equitable masculinity is adopted.”

In the conclusions of this process, it can be pointed out that participants freely expressed their feelings regarding the concept of masculinity. Each contribution made it clear that the hegemonic concept of masculinity is still persistent and that only a small percentage considers it necessary to reevaluate this hegemonic masculinity. It also became evident that the role played by Social Communication in the formation of masculinities helps to create meaning in the face of new social challenges, rather than reinforcing the concept of male privilege that has long been present in society. Writing in masculine key as a project allows, among other things, Social Communication students to influence what is said, or not said, in society, and to be aware that both men and women can help build gender awareness, understood not only from the feminine or sexual diversity, but also from an understanding of masculinity.