A Study of Male Images in *Dear You* from the Perspective of Multiple Masculinities

Abstract

Based on R. W. Connell’s theory of multiple masculinities and Elliott’s theory of caring masculinities, this paper examines four types of male images and their constructions of masculinity in the film *Dear You*. Set against the cultural context of Chaoshan overseas-Chinese communities and the history of the Nanyang diaspora, the film presents the marginal masculinity of Zheng Musheng, the complicit masculinity of Chen Chuyuan, the hegemonic masculinity of Chen’s Father, and the transforming masculinity of Xie Laishun. These representations demonstrate how patriarchal kinship structures and the transnational migrant-labor class shape masculine gender practices. The film further distinguishes between two forms of male responsibility ethics: Chen Chuyuan and his father reinforce patriarchal domination through the continuation of the patrilineage, whereas Zheng Musheng and the transformed Xie Laishun practice caring masculinities through concrete acts of care, thereby reconstructing the meaning of responsibility around recognition of women’s agency. The film thus provides a representative text for understanding the formation and transformation of multiple masculinities within the localized context of overseas-Chinese communities.