Men and the mask: dramaturgical mask-wearing, masculinities and oilmen's "stoical" emotional shielding practices in Scotland's offshore oilfields.

Adams, Nicholas Norman

Abstract

Scotland's North Sea offshore oil-drilling-fields have long been stereotyped as sites reinforcing and reproducing unique forms of masculinities aligning with hegemonic masculinity (HM) descriptors: stoicism, competition and conflict. Oilfields encompass near-all-male workplaces, requiring labour in difficult conditions, distancing from friends, family and home life. Emerging research in oilfields has begun to resist the HM-stereotype in favour of complex understandings of masculinities, labour-and-identity performances. This work details findings from a lengthy "embedded" ethnography of the UK Offshore Oilfield. Specifically, highlighting and discussing men's metaphorical "mask wearing" practices: the process by which oilmen engaged in complex performances of masculinities that resist HM yet retained overt components of stoicism; a key HM-descriptor. This "masked" stoicism was presented and performed in unique ways that bridged genuine and non-genuine performances of oilfield masculine identities, and interconnected with resistances against risk-taking and supports for safety. Goffman's dramaturgical perspective is applied to deepen and interrogate findings. Salient implications for oilmen's wellbeing, masculinities theory and future study are put forward.

Citation

ADAMS, N.N. 2025. Men and the mask: dramaturgical mask-wearing, masculinities and oilmen's "stoical" emotional shielding practices in Scotland's offshore oilfields. Energy research and social science [online], 122, article number 103983. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2025.103983

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 9, 2025
• Online Publication Date: Feb 19, 2025
• Publication Date: Apr 30, 2025
• Deposit Date: Feb 11, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 11, 2025
• Journal: Energy research and social science
• Print ISSN: 2214-6296
• Electronic ISSN: 2214-6326
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 122
• Article Number: 103983
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2025.103983
• Keywords: Oil and gas industry workforce; Oil and gas industry employees; Offshore workforce; Offshore employees; Offshore oilfields; Masculinity; Men and society; Gender and society; Emotional stoicism; Fossil fuels
• Public URL: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/2701653