ABSTRACT
This article explores how men shape their masculine identities within the WhatsApp groups of cycling communities in Bandung, Indonesia, in particular how dominating masculinity is exhibited in the social interactions between members of WhatsApp groups and how this influences the formation of masculine identities. The comprehensive netnographic study conducted in this research, spanning from 2020 to 2023, discerns two distinct modes of interaction that underscore this association. In virtual chat groups, hegemonic masculinity is maintained through messages focusing on core cycling-related activities, which are rooted in themes of competition and male dominance. Additionally, the use of chat fillers, including verbal, pictorial, and video postings, reinforces hegemonic masculinity, even if they digress from the core discussions. This study employs a qualitative methodology to illuminate the multifaceted ways in which individuals engage in reshaping formal sporting communities into playful male homosociality. The aims are to examine the ways in which men perform their masculine identities through internal competition and the perpetuation of masculine stereotypes within these virtual homosocial settings. Moreover, they engage in the internalisation of gender role stereotypes and stigmas, the endorsement of heterosexual masculinities, and the expression of transphobic sentiments to defend and perpetuate norms associated with hegemonic masculinity. The article argues that the circulation of and interaction with digital images associated with femininity and womanhood underpins male homosocial bonding within WhatsApp groups belonging to the cycling community in Bandung.
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