Masculinities in mutation: A study about gender relations among university students

This paper has as proposal to present some partial results of the research developed in my master's degree in sociology at the Universidade Federal de São Carlos – UFSCar (Federal University of São Carlos), with funding from the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP). The research investigate the visions that undergrad students (male and female) from UFSCar have about masculinity (ies), and if it changes from the university experience (moving to another city, incorporation of household duties in the fraternity houses, new sociabilities and preparation for adult life or work life), through an ethnography conducted at university itself, in some of its fraternity houses, and also in its parties and sporting events. The study aims to understand and point the relational dynamics present at the creation of masculine identities. Based on theoretical sources in gender studies and, in particular, Queer Theory, which focuses on the difference and sees gender relations beyond the binarisms of the heterosexual matrix of intelligibility of gender presented by Judith Butler in her book Gender Trouble (2003), the analysis focuses on the normalizers processes that create and categorize the masculinities (or masculine identities) as hegemonic and subalterns - these positions are here thought of as situational and circumstantial – in order to understand if the changing aspects of masculinity among these young guys have possible connections with sexism and homophobia.