Vol. 5 No. 2 (2025): Studia Humanitatis Journal
Articles: miscellaneous

Wounded Masculinity and the Vote for VOX Among Eocially Excluded Youth in Zaragoza

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  • Victor Hugo Perez Gallo
Victor Hugo Perez Gallo
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1452-2531 (unauthenticated) University of Zaragoza image/svg+xml

Bio
DOI: https://doi.org/10.33732/shj.v5i2.161

Published 2025-07-31

Keywords

  • Youth vote,
  • Masculinities,
  • Precarity,
  • Far right,
  • Performativity,
  • Gender,
  • Political subjectivity,
  • Sociology of emotions
    • ...More
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Abstract

This study examines the case of young men in situations of social exclusion in the neighborhoods of La Paz and Torrero (Zaragoza), aiming to understand how certain representations of masculinity—shaped by precarious living conditions, institutional disenchantment, and the erosion of social status—configure political subjectivities inclined toward voting for VOX. Using a qualitative approach, the research employed in-depth interviews and focus groups, complemented by socioeconomic data analysis of the surrounding context. The methodology was designed to capture both discourses and affective experiences of participants. The central hypothesis posits that support for VOX does not stem from coherent ideological alignment, but rather from a search for identity reaffirmation within contexts of homosociability and symbolic resentment. Key findings include the identification of feminism as a perceived “cultural enemy” and the vote as a masculine performance of symbolic resistance. The study concludes that VOX functions more as an emotional container than as a rational programmatic choice, channeling affects linked to social dislocation and the desire for recognition. Finally, the article proposes educational interventions based on critical gender pedagogy to foster new forms of democratic engagement among socially vulnerable young men.

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