Man tears and masculinities: News coverage of John Boehner's tearful episodes

Abstract

John Boehner, speaker of the United States House of Representatives, has become known for tearful episodes during important interviews and events. Because of his role and ensuing media scrutiny, his crying made headlines due to its violation of norms of hegemonic masculinities. This study explores news themes related to Boehner's behavior to discover how media discourse upholds or resists notions of privileged expressions of masculinity. A qualitative discourse analysis of newspaper coverage of Boehner's tearful appearance on 60 Minutes found three dominant themes: crying as redefining masculinity, crying and the gender double standard, and crying and political fallout. The results add to the growing body of masculinity studies by illuminating how mass media perpetuate narrow constructions of gender. © The Author(s) 2013 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav.