Imagined men: representation of male bodies and masculinities in tourism advertising in Brazil and Costa Rica
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25145/j.pasos.2025.23.026Keywords:
Tourism, Hegemonic masculinity, Gender, Brazil, Costa RicaAbstract
This article analyses how the male body is represented in two specific campaigns by the official tourism media in Brazil and Costa Rica, aimed at potential local travellers. Through a critical visual analysis, we identified the presence of four recurring categories: the heroic body as an expression of domination and/or exploration and movement; the body that embodies modern Western ideals about family and heteronormativity; non-hegemonic masculinities embodied in men who serve as hosts; and finally, absent masculinities, or men who do not appear, such as older men or men with non-hegemonic biotypes, performing adventures or heroic deeds, black men as adventurers or gay men with their couples or diverse families. The analysis shows that the two campaigns are guided by imaginaries that reproduce a system of gender norms and notions that bring the representation of men closer to that of a hegemonic model of masculinity.
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