BEYOND THE IRON LADY: THATCHERISM, BRITISH CINEMA, AND THE RE-SHAPING OF WORKING-CLASS MASCULINITY IN THE FULL MONTY

Abstract

This study examines The Full Monty (1997) within the socio-political aftermath of Thatcherism, concentrating on the shifting representations of working-class masculinity in 1990s British cinema. As Margaret Thatcher's neoliberal policies dismantled the industrial economy, they also destabilised the breadwinner role and traditional gender hierarchies that had long sustained working-class male identity. In the light of R.W. Connell’s theory of hegemonic masculinity, the study explores how economic decline, unemployment, and deindustrialisation reconfigured masculine subjectivities. Special attention is given to the symbolic function of key spaces such as the steel factory, job centre, and working men’s club, as sites where masculinities are both contested and redefined. Ultimately, the film is interpreted as a cultural response to the crisis of working-class masculinity in a post-industrial Britain, presenting alternative forms of male agency through performance, vulnerability, and collective reinvention.