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This thesis investigates the construction of masculine identity in the discourse of men's lifestyle magazines' problem pages in the UK. The thesis means thus to be simultaneously a contribution to the fields of Language and Gender and Men's Studies adding to the emerging research on Language and Masculinity. In addition, given the methodological approach employed, this thesis may also be located within the domain of Discourse Analysis. Previous research of Language and Masculinity and Men's Studies is thoroughly revised and updated prior to presenting the methodology used to achieve the main purpose of this dissertation. The concepts of discourse and identity are subsequently explored as well as the process of construction of gender identities in (media) discourse. Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is therefore justified as a methodological tool for examining the construction of masculinity in discourse, and Norman Fairclough’s (1989, 1992a, 1992b 1995a, 1995b) model of CDA is then presented. Before the empirical analysis of a corpus of counselling pages from men’s general interest magazines published in Britain in 1999, the particularities of the magazine as a vehicle of media discourse –chiefly men’s lifestyle magazines– are considered. Moreover, a genre and register analysis of problem columns is carried out, together with the demarcation of corpus selection criteria. Once the methodological model is implemented on twenty samples, the conclusions shed light on the construction of masculinity at all three discursive levels: at a textual level –highlighting the role of linguistic features such as lexis, verbal processes, negation, mood and modality, cohesion, macrostructures, etc–, at an interaction level –including the production, interpretation, distribution and consumption of this discourse, and describing accordingly the role of situational context, intertextuality, presupposition, coherence and speech acts– and at a social-practice level –defining the social determinants and effects of this discourse on masculinity and its underlying ideology–. This discourse evidences a tension between hegemonic and patriarchal conceptions of masculinity on the one hand, and, on the other, the incorporation of new dimensions in masculine identity based on emotions, aesthetic concerns and more consideration of women’s demands. Further research directions are put forward for the future.
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