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Resistant masculinities in alternative R&B? Understanding Frank Ocean and The Weeknd's representations of gender

Frederik Dhaenens (UGent) and Sander De Ridder (UGent)
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Abstract
With the emergence of alternative R&B, contemporary R&B and hip hop culture are being confronted with a subgenre that challenges its key characteristics. One of the aspects that typify alternative R&B is the emergence of an alternative masculinity. The aim of this study is to research whether the alternative masculinities represented in alternative R&B resist the hegemonic masculine ideal established within R&B and hip hop culture. To this end, this study conducts a textual analysis of the representations of gender in the work of Frank Ocean and The Weeknd, artists considered representative for alternative R&B. The analysis reveals that Ocean's work features successful nonnormative masculine identities, whereas The Weeknd refrains to representing postmodern exaggerations of the hegemonic male. Despite divergent representational strategies, both artists do engage in questioning what it means to be a man in R&B and hip hop culture and thereby at least attempt to challenge the supremacy of hegemonic masculinity.
Keywords
MUSIC, HIP HOP, Alternative R&B, cultural resistance, Frank Ocean, gender representation, hegemonic masculinity, popular music culture, R&B and hip hop, textual analysis, The Weeknd

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MLA
Dhaenens, Frederik, and Sander De Ridder. “Resistant Masculinities in Alternative R&B? Understanding Frank Ocean and The Weeknd’s Representations of Gender.” EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CULTURAL STUDIES, vol. 18, no. 3, 2015, pp. 283–99, doi:10.1177/1367549414526730.
APA
Dhaenens, F., & De Ridder, S. (2015). Resistant masculinities in alternative R&B? Understanding Frank Ocean and The Weeknd’s representations of gender. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CULTURAL STUDIES, 18(3), 283–299. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367549414526730
Chicago author-date
Dhaenens, Frederik, and Sander De Ridder. 2015. “Resistant Masculinities in Alternative R&B? Understanding Frank Ocean and The Weeknd’s Representations of Gender.” EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CULTURAL STUDIES 18 (3): 283–99. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367549414526730.
Chicago author-date (all authors)
Dhaenens, Frederik, and Sander De Ridder. 2015. “Resistant Masculinities in Alternative R&B? Understanding Frank Ocean and The Weeknd’s Representations of Gender.” EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CULTURAL STUDIES 18 (3): 283–299. doi:10.1177/1367549414526730.
Vancouver
1.
Dhaenens F, De Ridder S. Resistant masculinities in alternative R&B? Understanding Frank Ocean and The Weeknd’s representations of gender. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CULTURAL STUDIES. 2015;18(3):283–99.
IEEE
[1]
F. Dhaenens and S. De Ridder, “Resistant masculinities in alternative R&B? Understanding Frank Ocean and The Weeknd’s representations of gender,” EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CULTURAL STUDIES, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 283–299, 2015.
@article{4400583,
  abstract     = {{With the emergence of alternative R&B, contemporary R&B and hip hop culture are being confronted with a subgenre that challenges its key characteristics. One of the aspects that typify alternative R&B is the emergence of an alternative masculinity. The aim of this study is to research whether the alternative masculinities represented in alternative R&B resist the hegemonic masculine ideal established within R&B and hip hop culture. To this end, this study conducts a textual analysis of the representations of gender in the work of Frank Ocean and The Weeknd, artists considered representative for alternative R&B. The analysis reveals that Ocean's work features successful nonnormative masculine identities, whereas The Weeknd refrains to representing postmodern exaggerations of the hegemonic male. Despite divergent representational strategies, both artists do engage in questioning what it means to be a man in R&B and hip hop culture and thereby at least attempt to challenge the supremacy of hegemonic masculinity.}},
  author       = {{Dhaenens, Frederik and De Ridder, Sander}},
  issn         = {{1367-5494}},
  journal      = {{EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CULTURAL STUDIES}},
  keywords     = {{MUSIC,HIP HOP,Alternative R&B,cultural resistance,Frank Ocean,gender representation,hegemonic masculinity,popular music culture,R&B and hip hop,textual analysis,The Weeknd}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{3}},
  pages        = {{283--299}},
  title        = {{Resistant masculinities in alternative R&B? Understanding Frank Ocean and The Weeknd's representations of gender}},
  url          = {{http://doi.org/10.1177/1367549414526730}},
  volume       = {{18}},
  year         = {{2015}},
}

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