Mutated Masculinities: A Critical Discourse Analysis of the New Lad and the New Man in Sons of Anarchy and Ray Donovan

Abstract

There has been a recent influx of popular U.S. television dramas depicting heteronormative but emotionally conflicted male protagonists. This article examines discursive constructions of hegemonic masculinity in two of these dramas, Sons of Anarchy (2008-2014) and Ray Donovan (2013-), in terms of the socio-cultural concepts of the New Lad and the New Man. It questions whether these discursive tools are useful for analyses of contemporary, male-focalized television, or whether they need updating. Using Critical Discourse Analysis, I argue that protagonists from both programs embody mutated, destabilized versions of the New Lad and the New Man that connect to a current U.S. “crisis of masculinity.” Offering timely conceptual updates of the New Lad and the New Man (the “Family-Oriented New Lad” and the “Emotionally Inarticulate New Man”), I show that these terms remain useful, but also need revision to capture the intricate struggle between inexpressiveness and emotionality characterizing present-day U.S. dramas.