The construction of the masculinities of workers in coal mines in Santa Catarina (1940-1970)

Abstract

This article will address the construction of masculinities and the culture of virility in the category of coal miners in southern Brazil, in the coal region of Santa Catarina between the 1940s and 1970s. From the references of masculinity and hegemonic masculinity, first the miner will be analyzed in his work environment, the coal mines, as they were the space where they spent the most time. Then, we will go through other spaces of male sociability, such as bars, prostitution areas and cockfights, to identify other places where such practices were socially reproduced. Therefore, from aspects of a class culture, it will be discussed how the construction of male honor and its social practices are intertwined in the formation of masculinity of miners as a central element of their lives.