This article explores how masculinities are constructed, negotiated, and occasionally transformed within the Mexican entrepreneurial ecosystem. Drawing on a critical epistemological perspectives and gender studies, the research analyses thirty in-depth semi-structured interviews with male entrepreneurs and institutional actors aged 25 to 50. Through thematic and interpretive analysis supported by Atlas.ti, the study identifies recurring narratives of control, emotional restraint, leadership, and care. Results reveal that entrepreneurship operates as a symbolic space where hegemonic masculinity is reaffirmed through ideals of self-sufficiency, competitiveness, and emotional discipline, yet also as a field where cracks appear—particularly in discourses that associate success with well-being, collaboration, and sustainability. These findings contribute to a broader understanding of how neoliberal entrepreneurial cultures reproduce and, at times, challenge gender hierarchies. The study concludes that entrepreneurship should be interpreted not merely as an economic activity but as a performative arena of masculine identity, where emerging models of caring and ethical leadership signal possible pathways toward more inclusive and humanized forms of being a man.
Cruz et al. (Tue,) studied this question.