Rural Masculinity and Antique Tractors: Reliving the Men in the Machines

As the economic contexts of farming change, occupational supports for the maintenance of traditional rural masculinities diminish. When these past identities remain salient, identity discontinuity can occur and alternative mechanisms of support may be sought. Nostalgic remembrances may serve to reduce such discontinuity. The current inquiry explores antique tractor collecting as a means of restoring traditional rural masculinities. Data were collected through observations at antique tractor shows, interviews with collectors, and examination of the contents of collecting-related periodicals and other publications. Data reveal three unique ways in which tractor collecting allows for more full re-enactment of past masculinities. Symbolically anthropomorphizing these tractors with unique identities, in turn, allows for the symbolic reliving of work experiences by restoring and utilizing the tractors. Finally, shows recreate a supportive community for these masculinities. Implications for antique tractor collecting as a mechanism of support for traditional rural masculinities are discussed. Research on masculinities has highlighted the connection between work and masculine identities in a variety of rural occupations, especially farming (Brandth 1995; Brandth and Haugen 2005; Saugeres 2002a, 2002b). Within this literature is the identification of traditional masculinities defined primarily in terms of workbased characteristics. Yet, as work and occupations undergo change, work-based supports for these masculinities may disappear or be replaced. To the extent these traditional masculinities remain salient for many, alternative mechanisms of support for these identities must be created and maintained. The current inquiry explores antique tractor collecting as one means of creating such supports. Utilizing a nostalgic frame of analysis, this inquiry identifies key symbolic processes in the practice of antique tractor collecting that create unique opportunities for the support and re-enactment of traditional rural masculinities. Central to the conception of traditional rural masculinities is the value of hard physical labor. Such labor was not only strenuous, but was often required over long days for weeks at a time. Similarly, traditional rural masculinities are also associated with mutually supportive attributes that include the value placed on hard physical labor under harsh conditions, toughness, tenacity, dependability, strength, and the The author expresses appreciation for helpful comments on earlier drafts of this paper from *