'Biting Your Tongue': Negotiating masculinities in contemporary Britain

The burgeoning literature on 'masculinities' has produced many insightful theoretical and cultural analyses. Yet, apart from a few notable exceptions, very little work has analysed the things men say, or the social practices implied therein. The present paper, then, is based on a discourse analysis of three small group discussions with a sample of nine male undergraduate students. The analysis points to a repertoire commonly used by the participants about suppressing one's thoughts and practices ('biting your tongue') in particular contexts, notably at college in discussions with 'feminist' colleagues, at home addressing the division of domestic labour with spouse/partner and in the pub with old male friends. In addition, some anti-feminist and sexist discourses are reproduced in the talk, although these were not presented consistently and, indeed, were occasionally juxtaposed with egalitarian arguments. The ideological implications of such discourse on gender (relations) are discussed.