ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the intersection of the individual and the social through four different collective memory work (CMW) projects in which participants explored their consumption of media and its influence on their performances of masculinity. Chronologically, the first of these studies was conducted in a university community in the South-eastern United States and consisted of 13 members, 11 white and 2 men of colour, all of whom were between the ages of 19 and 24. The second study took place in Southern California, and as a result, was a more ethnically and racially diverse group. Similar to the first two studies, the third and fourth focus groups consisted of nine members and were also racially and ethnically diverse with five white, two black, one Latino, one Asian, and two biracial participants. Four separate CMW research projects all took on the task of describing and analysing formative media consumption experiences related to portrayals of masculinity.
