| dc.description.abstract | This research explores ways that masculinity is depicted in the HBO series The Wire, which
aired for five seasons from 2002-2008. More specifically, I examine and analyze the character of
Omar Little and his portrayals of hegemonic masculinities (HMs) and nonhegemonic
masculinities (nonHMs) through a framework proposed by gender theorist James
Messerschmidt. He calls for an unraveling of the concepts of HMs and nonHMs to aid in
discovering which gender presentations accurately legitimate unequal patriarchal gender
relations (2016). Omar Little transcends traditional notions of HMs based on his social location
and provides insights about HMs and nonHMs that enhances clarity and understanding. An
analysis of Omar’s gender presentation through the Messerschmidt framework offers young men
and boys, and people in general, an opportunity to break away from the conventional ways in
which masculinity is depicted and perceived in society. As an alternative to the traditional views
of manhood that provide a standard to which young men and boys may feel compelled to fulfill,
such representations of HMs and nonHMs in The Wire challenge the status quo and convey less
oppressive and less violent ways of being a man. | en_US |
