Purpose

To advance the study of the social construction of violent masculinity, through the comparative analysis of testimonial, journalistic and fictional narratives on crime in contemporary Mexico.

Methodological design:

A qualitative interdisciplinary methodological framework is used to interpret through narrative analysis, typical of literary and cultural studies, textual and audiovisual materials on this topic from the last 15 years.

Results:

The analysis supports the existence of a dialogical process between the masculinity represented in the examined records, its attributes and performativity, and in how violent masculinity is internalized and externalized in Mexico.

Research limitations:

For this study, a relatively small sample of the vast extant material was selected, so it is necessarily restricted.

Findings:

This article contributes to corroborate that gender identity is socially constructed and indicates that one of the fundamental processes through which it is formed is the narrative construction of being, both individual and collective. Specifically, it proved that toxic masculinity in Mexico is nourished by representations that celebrate its violent expressiveness.