Political Masculinities in 19th Century Carniola

In the article we will focus on the power relations between politics and masculinities. Politics was an almost completely male world in the 19th century, and as a result specific forms of hegemonic masculinity developed. Empirical evidence shows that there were not one but several forms of hegemonic masculinity in Slovenian politics at the time. The paper thus presents significant differences between liberal and conservative/Catholic hegemonic masculinity and alternative political masculinity developed in the context of the Yugoslav Social Democratic Party. Those contested masculinities can be recognized in different everyday life practices (such as moustaches, clothes, duels and beards) or attitudes toward women. They also promoted different perceptions towards work and life, from individual to team work, from boldness to discipline. The article is based on the memoirs of different political actors, periodicals, newspapers and symbolic representations of the male body as seen in postcards and photography.