Replication Data for: "Being a 'Real' Man: The Dilemma of Hegemonic Masculinity in Vocational High Schools in Türkiye

We analyzed the construction of masculinity in vocational high schools (VHSs) in Turkey in the context of male students' school experiences and the sociocultural background they carry to school. The experience patterns of this phenomenologically designed research consist of students' school life practices shaped with their habitus. The data obtained in semi-structured interviews with 36 male students from three VHS in Ankara. Analysis of the data revealed three themes. The gender factor in students' school preferences, how students interpret gender, and students' constructions of masculinity through their in-school experiences. The findings indicate that vocational high school students’ practices, while largely aligning with hegemonic masculinity, also embody a range of contradictions that challenge its stability. Our study sheds light on the intersections of hegemonic and dominant masculinities, while also illuminating the fractures within the seemingly unshakable and fixed image of hegemony.