Masculinity in a time of crisis : A Critical Discourse Analysis of Professor Jordan Peterson in YouTube Shorts format

The topic of masculinity is something that has a lot of research done on it with it covering different spectrums of masculinity and how it affects society. Media has always played a part in how society is shaped and what is valued and therefore has had its effect on how masculinity is viewed. Today however social media has taken an important spot for both political and societal topics for younger individuals (Zimmerman, 2020), meaning more power for the individuals who create this type of content as they are seen as role models by their audience (Zimmerman, 2020). There are a few big creators who cover the topic of masculinity with one of them being Jordan Peterson. The format of short videos has exploded in popularity on platforms such as YouTube, TikTok and Instagram but as it is a newer format of video less research has been done on the topic of masculinity and the material of shorts. This thesis will analyse videos in the form of shorts where Jordan Peterson is present with an aim of getting an understanding what type of masculinity is being presented as there are several different types of masculinity that have different traits. The thesis will also look for a connection between what is presented in the videos and the crisis of masculinity which refers to that there is something that is troubling men in today’s society (McDowell, 2000). In the end the findings will be presented which indicate that there is a connection between what is being said in the videos and the crisis of masculinity as well as several examples that highlight both hegemonic masculinity, toxic masculinity, and patriarchal power structures