Pasquale Noschese

Thesis Title: Neomasculinism as a Techno-Ideology: Political Socialization and Identity Formation in the Digital Ag

Neomasculinism is an emergent ideological formation born within digital culture. Unlike earlier masculinist movements, it operates as a diffuse and networked discourse rather than a formal organization, spreading through memes, influencer content, and everyday discussions about gender, success, and identity. This project conceptualizes neomasculinism as a “mass technoideology,” where cultural anxieties about changing gender roles are reformulated through online narratives of self-improvement, individualism, and perceived male disadvantage.

The study aims to examine how such narratives shape young men’s political and social attitudes, focusing on the mechanisms through which apolitical or metapolitical content may translate into broader ideological orientations. Employing a mixed-methods design, the research integrates computational text analysis with qualitative inquiry. In the first phase, masculinist content will be collected from major platforms Instagram, and YouTube. Quantitative semantic network and cluster analysis will identify thematic patterns and relationships among producers and audiences. In the second phase, surveys and semi-structured interviews with male students aged 16–19 will explore how participants interpret and engage with these messages in their everyday lives.

By linking ideology theory with empirical social media research, this project contributes to understanding how online cultures mediate identity formation and political socialization. It also offers a framework for analyzing the intersection between gender, digital communication, and youth political behavior, providing insight into how emerging narratives of masculinity reflect broader transformations in civic engagement and social meaning in the digital era.

Biography:

Before starting my PhD, I received a Bachelor's Degree in Philosophy at the University of Padova, a Master's in Philosophy at the University of Padova and a Master's in Politics at the University of Macerata. I spent time at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes in Paris and at the Radboud University in Nijmegen thanks to the Erasmus Project.

Publications:

Lutero e la Riforma di Immanenza e Trascendenza: Presupposti Teologici e Conseguenze Politiche, Mimesis, 2025

(With M. Zeller) Targeting Taxonomy and Patterns of Political Violence in Stable Societies: Evidence from the Far Right in Italy, Terrorism and Political Violence, 1–21.

School of Politics, University of Nottingham

2025 Cohort

Email:

Supervisory Team:

Mathew Humphrey

David Stevens