Analysing the construction and impact of visual discourses in Loyalist communities through the lens of masculinity.

My research explores the iconography embedded in perceived Loyalist communities of Northern Ireland and assesses the extent to which the production of such discourse can be viewed as highly gendered. The complexity of Loyalist paramilitaries, the communities in which they live and operate, and their nuanced socio-political and symbolic distinctions all have common traits that, it is argued, correspondent with theoretical explanations of masculinity. Key to this are the ways that the construction of visual material can represent a framework for understanding sectarian and gendered behaviour and provide a means to decipher the application of power and control in local communities. Despite the inherent potential of such mechanisms, there are inchoate understandings in relation to Northern Irish iconography.
Adopting a mixed methods approach, this research will examine how these depictions can demonstrate the holding of power and appeal to militarized masculine tendencies which mobilise and amplify the scale and scope of Loyalist agency. The construction and deployment of problematic masculine identities of this nature therefore pose serious implications for community relations and the perpetuation of endemic sectarianism and segregation in Northern Ireland's post conflict environment.