Habitus of Masculinity in Chilean Miners: Efficiency, Control, and Consumption of the Bodies

Abstract

From a gender perspective, the persistence of the habitus of masculinity in Chilean male miners in their family relationships, relationships with their partners, sexuality, and work was analyzed, delving into a construction that drives them toward the satisfaction of desires and consumption. The discourses of 13 workers between 25 and 62 years old were obtained through individual and group interviews. The findings constitute an axis of the research Fondecyt 1180079 carried out in Antofagasta, the region with the highest mining production in Chile and the third largest in the world. The conclusions reveal notions of bodily habitus, mediated by gender hierarchies, where binary masculinity is accentuated, reproducing the extractive logic of the industry in the workers themselves. Men recognize a self-demand between fulfilling the mandate of economic provider vs. a relentless disciplining of male bodies in favor of efficiency, control, and exacerbated consumption, which underlies the industry.

Toxic Heritage

“…In its attention to care, this reflection allows us to analyse copper and lithium extraction not only through the traditional frameworks of environmental decay and political action, but also by considering ways of life intrinsic to the domestic spaces most affected by extractivism. Given the power of massive industrial intervention, these domestic spaces often go unnoticed in academic research (Salinas et al, 2012;Segovia & Salinas 2020;Segovia et al, 2023). In its exploration of practices typically ignored by hegemonic discourses, our framework is inspired by feminist research that deconstructs the masculinised, technocentric and geoengineered armours (Haraway, 1995;Haraway, 2016) that are built on discourses of 'innovation' and 'development' (Biskupovic et al, 2023).…”