Understanding Migrant Masculinities through a Spatially Intersectional Lens

This article analyzes migrant narratives on masculinity through an intersectional perspective that is sensitive to spatial aspects. Drawing on research with migrants in Berlin and Munich in Germany, we unpack how (self-identified) Polish men in these cities negotiate their gender identities vis-à-vis other people whom they perceive as ethnic, religious, gender, and sexual others. We address how their social and ethnic backgrounds shape their narratives on foreign masculinities and femininities at the intersection of ethnicity and gender. In particular, we draw attention to how these negotiations are entangled with local discourses over the presence and visibility of various immigrant groups and cosmopolitan queer communities in the cities. The intersectional approach helps us to formulate how masculine identities change within the context of migration.

Keywords: migration, hybrid masculinity, intersectionality, Europe, hegemonic masculinity