“Affluent and Tender Online”: Instagramming Celebrity,Masculinity,and Fatherhood in Contemporary Greece

Masculinity, Fatherhood, and the Family in Contemporary Greece

In Greece, extreme poverty had subsided by the 1970s. Better financial conditions did not lead to more births, as parents still opted for small (usually one- or two-child) families, similarly to in other Western countries (Doepke & Zilibotti, 2019). In the 1980s, the middle class expanded and parenthood was performed in better material conditions. The average apartment reflected the ambitions of a family open to consumer modernization; children often had private rooms for study and play (Tsiampaos, 2017). Society remained significantly patriarchal and women maintained their roles as housewives, but gender politics became more elastic.

From the 1970s, Greek women increasingly challenged established gender hierarchies, questioned the nuclear family as a site of women’s oppression, and claimed gender equality. The socialist government elected in 1981 modernized gender relations and family life by introducing civil marriage, abolishing the dowry, and adopting constitutional equality of the sexes (Pollis, 1992). In rural areas, men remained critical of participating in childcare or housekeeping (Maridaki-Kassotaki, 2000). The nuclear family remained the dominant social identity and divorce remained rare by Western European standards. Divorce rates fluctuated between 8 and 20% of marriages between 1980 and 1998 (Maratou-Alipranti, 2004).

Fathers remained more distanced from pregnancy and childbirth than in other European countries, such as the United Kingdom (Dragonas et al., 1992), but they gradually adopted the model of the father who is more emotionally involved, more nurturing, and more committed to playing and conversing with his children (Wall & Arnold, 2007). Since the 1980s, the figure of the strict father who inspired fear in his children has been succeeded by more laid-back performances of fatherhood. New habits, such as eating pizza with one’s parents while watching television or playing games, emblematized a modernity in which the ideal of fatherhood included providing material experiences that resulted in a joyful childhood (Panagiotopoulos, 2010). Being a father meant not only caring about the health, education, and living standards of one’s children, but also being affectionate and offering them time and happiness.

Economic progress and cultural pluralism impacted young men, who pursued playful consumer experiences and distanced themselves from the breadwinner and family man ideals. Rebellious masculinities in which men were seducers more than husbands emerged to threaten the norms that were central to the breadwinner identity (Holt & Thompson, 2004). Lifestyle media promoted conspicuous consumption and advocated bachelorhood as a marker of successful masculinity, which appealed to young urban men without drastically challenging the creation of family as a purpose in life (Zestanakis, 2020a). The economic potential of Greeks rose from 60 to 78% of the European average between 2000 and 2008 (Liakos, 2019). Between 2002 and 2009, household expenditures increased by about 50% (Aranitou, 2019). Marriage, which did continue to be seen as a desirable life goal, was nonetheless postponed for a later age, and marriage ceremonies became impressive events that demonstrated the family’s power (Panagiotopoulos, 2021): the average age of first marriage increased from about twenty-six in the early 1990s to about thirty in the late 2010s (Balourdos et al., 2019).

Parents saw financial provision as a key factor in the molding of children (Teperoglou, 1999), and they supported their children in obtaining expensive goods, such as brand-name clothes or cars that young consumers generally could not afford. In interviews carried out in the 2000s, youngsters often admitted that their parents offered them shelter, food, sometimes a car, and other facilities, such that they could reserve their own incomes to pay for personal expenses (Max, 2007). Elders also often helped youngsters pay debts (Placas, 2008). Improved pensions (previously low pensions increased by 133% between 1996 and 2003; Chrysolora, 2003) boosted this trend, and grandfathers and grandmothers assisted their grandchildren financially. As in France (Pleux, 2002), Greek families embraced the “child-king” model (Panagiotopoulos, 2018). This climate was eloquently visualized in the successful television comedy Highly Familial (Άκρως οικογενειακό, 2001–3), which depicted an upper-middle-class patriarchal family. In the show, the children maintained friendly relations with their father, who offered them a carefree life in a rich suburb.

Fathers performed sensitive masculinities in tune with the “new masculinity” (Hondagneu-Sotelo & Messner, 1994), but only to a degree. As in Canada, Australia, and the United States (Craig, 2006; Fox, 2001; Singley & Hynes, 2005), men were actively involved in their children’s lives, offering them a carefree childhood. They continued, however, to avoid participating in childcare activities such as cleaning or dressing the children; these duties remained in the female realm, even in the perspectives of well-educated men (Maridaki-Kassotaki, 2000). A survey in the early 2000s of 6629 women revealed that among couples with at least one child of up to seven years old, men dedicated only seventeen hours per week to child-rearing activities (i.e., bathing, dressing, feeding, transport, play, and reading) while women dedicated 36.1 hours to the same efforts (Grigoriou, 2003). These relations between gender roles, consumption, and family influenced the crisis environment, as increasing politicization and juvenile anti-establishment contestation usually excluded family issues (Panagiotopoulos, 2018). The 2008 revolt that followed the murder of an adolescent by a policeman in Athens offers an eloquent example: through slogans, graffiti, and other performances, the participants in the revolt challenged various historical and social aspects of contemporary Greece (Kornetis, 2010), while leaving the concept of family intact.

Ironically, trust in the nuclear family continued in a public sphere in which discourses that challenged it were increasingly welcome. During the crisis, films and novels challenged the nuclear family (Papanikolaou, 2018a). Politically emancipated audiences embraced these discourses, which contested patriarchy, homophobia, and heteronormativity, and academic interest in queer culture blossomed (Papanikolaou, 2018b). In spite of the recession, Greek society participated in the weakening of homohysteria. This weakening, which was expressed on social media, also characterized other European societies, such as the United Kingdom (Scoats, 2017). Mainstream media promoted LGBT events such as the annual Athens Pride. In a mid-2010s survey, 50% of those surveyed supported same-sex civil partnership, while they still repudiated more “advanced” calls such as that for the adoption of children by homosexual couples (which was endorsed by a mere 14%; Kostopoulou, 2016). Greek society increasingly accepted nonheterosexual masculinities, albeit without fundamentally challenging the nuclear family or established gender roles. Heterosexual masculinities that were attached to nuclear family, religion, homeland, or the fulfillment of parental duties under conjugal familiarity remained popular (Public Issue, 2018).

The crisis destabilized relations within families, unsettling the psychological status of a society accustomed to higher levels of social and economic stability. This was evident in the rise in the use of antidepressants (Siani-Davies, 2017). Domestic violence against women increased from 1630 cases in 2012 to 3196 in 2017 (General Secretariat, 2019), and the divorce rate rose as economic hardships rendered families vulnerable to ruptures, while some couples even resorted to iconic divorces for financial reasons (Elafros, 2017). Families had fewer opportunities to enjoy carefree moments, leading to an increase in disputes over financial differences (Charalabaki, 2017). Although the cost of leisure decreased (Yannitsis & Zografakis, 2016), during the crisis 68% of the population went out for leisure much less often than in the 2000s (Star.gr, 2018). Only half of the population could afford a weeklong vacation (Eurostat, 2020). Generous fatherhood became less common, something that was especially traumatic for middle- and upper-middle-class men, who were used to performing fatherhood in affluent conditions; these groups (defined as having an annual income between EUR 30,001 and 50,000 and EUR 50,001 and 75,000 respectively) were heavily affected by the crisis (Aranitou, 2019; Yannitsis & Zografakis, 2016). It is thus understandable that representations of affluent fatherhood began to provoke frustration; nevertheless, as we will see, this was not always the rule.

Methodological Choices and Limitations

I selected the sample from a wider pool of celebrities that I considered to be indicative of a frequently discussed media phenomenon (e.g., Antonatos, 2019; Motherblogs team, 2019). I focused on five male celebrities, which allowed me to provide details of their lives that may be helpful for readers who are not familiar with the Greek context. The main selection criteria were popularity (a high number of followers, for a country with about four million Instagram users; Statista, 2021) and the media’s preoccupation with these celebrities as successful fathers. Instagram communities are self-reflective in nature, and therefore it is not surprising that followers applaud celebrity posts. However, I would argue that the enthusiasm of followers for the ways that these celebrities visualize masculinity and fatherhood and associate them with affluence demonstrates that wide groups of young and middle-aged people in contemporary Greece applaud performances of masculinity and fatherhood in luxurious settings; such performances remind people of the historical climate before the years of economic crisis.

The sample includes celebrities of various ages and professions. Singer Sakis Rouvas, chef, media persona, and entrepreneur Sotiris Kontizas, entrepreneur Dimitris Yiannakopoulos, basketball player Vassilis Spanoulis, and media persona Petros Kostopoulos (born in 1972, 1983, 1974, 1982, and 1954 respectively) had 911,000, 356,000, 242,000, 126,000, and 82,000 followers respectively in late 2020. These celebrities do not have sympathizers only; for example, in the past, the media have castigated Kostopoulos’s attitude (Zestanakis, 2020a). The media’s negative critiques, however, do not characterize these celebrities’ Instagram audiences—therefore, they lie beyond the scope of this study. Kostopoulos divorced in 2014 after eighteen years of marriage and three children; the other celebrities are married and have children only with their current wives. Greece has had openly gay celebrities since at least the 1980s, and non-white celebrities have become more visible in recent years—NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo is a significant example. Gay and non-white celebrities have, however, consistently been underrepresented in Greek celebrity culture, which has been dominated by white heterosexual men (such as those examined here). This category of men continues to be associated with prosperous and successful masculinity and fatherhood.

The examined celebrities have systematically and publicly commented on the importance of family and procreation: in recent interviews, Yiannakopoulos, Kostopoulos, and Spanoulis (Alpha TV., 2020b; Antenna TV, 2021; Mega Channel, 2020) have each highlighted the value of family and of having children. The media have expressed equal levels of interest in their wives (and ex-wife in one case) as symbols of motherhood and fertility (e.g., The TocTeam, 2021; Zoitos, 2021). Such celebrities do not discuss having children as a national duty; they mostly refer to it as a pleasant and meaningful activity. Their positioning differs from the popular discourse that associates parenthood (particularly motherhood) with the preservation of the Greek nation in the context of demographic decline (Halkias, 2004).

The celebrities examined here do not enjoy the same economic status—some are richer than others. However, likely with the exception of Kostopoulos, who experienced economic problems after his media company went bankrupt in 2012 but remains engaged in smaller entrepreneurial projects, these celebrities generally enjoy high living standards. Yiannakopoulos owns a pharmaceutical company and Kontizas owns three trendy restaurants in Athens and is a presenter on the Greek edition of the successful reality show MasterChef. Rouvas has enjoyed popularity as a pop singer since the 1990s, and Spanoulis recently retired from a legendary basketball career. In all cases, their depictions of fatherhood are associated with above-average affluence.

I draw on some 2700 posts, starting from when these celebrities opened their accounts, with a focus on the period between 2017 and 2021. ¹ While many of the photos concern professional activities, in order to maintain this work’s focus on the family, such photos have not been prioritized. Through invisible observation I explored the accounts as a “lurker” (Garton et al., 1999); I did not engage in personal communication with the informants. This article aims at a historicized and contextualized intervisual analysis; such an analysis remains to a degree personal, as people are influenced by their cultural background when they interpret images and react differently to the same stimuli (Hall, 1997; Rose, 2001). While my main focus is on the images, I have also referred to the captions and followers’ reactions when necessary. Examining masculinity on YouTube in the United Kingdom, Morris and Anderson (2015) argued that audiences’ responsiveness to popular YouTubers’ masculinity requires further research. I argue, however, that although further research (e.g., oral interviews with followers) could offer more elaborated outcomes, investigating celebrities’ high numbers of followers also permits elucidation of the popularity of masculinity and fatherhood in Greek society as visualized through these accounts, at least from the perspective of young and middle-aged audiences (see Table 1).

Discussion

Nostalgic Hues?

Research has shown that users prefer to express positive emotions on social media (Novak et al., 2015; Waterloo et al., 2018). This contrasts with the experience of the Greek crisis, during which polarization blossomed (Ferra, 2019). In this research, however, reactions indicated that followers welcomed celebrities’ posts and that posts involving children were very popular. It was common for followers to post love emoticons (hearts) below posts depicting babies and children. Users’ comments identified fatherhood with absolute happiness (e.g., Spanoulis, 2 January 2021; Kontizas, 9 July 2021; Kostopoulos, 11 July 2021). The affluent background that framed such performances of fatherhood and reflected the more prosperous material culture that existed before the crisis was not perceived as offensive. This attitude provides evidence that the identity of the breadwinner who provides a comfortable life to his family continues to strike a chord in Greek society. This positivity seems to reflect enthusiasm for the recent past, which characterizes contemporary media culture (Niemeyer, 2014). In Greece, this enthusiasm conveys nostalgic emotions for the more affluent years before the crisis. Social media depicts nostalgia for the 1980s, a decade identified with PASOK’s (the Panhellenic Socialist Movement) redistributive politics, more often than it does for the 1990s, a period reconstructed in the contemporary Western imagination as an optimistic fin de siècle and an interregnum between the end of the Cold War and the post-9/11 era (Ewen, 2020). Facebook groups celebrating 1980s material culture, such as one named “The old, original PASOK” with approximately 153,000 followers, are very popular. This group’s main narrative is that people lived more happily at that time (happiness is associated with material prosperity).

The celebrities’ Instagram followers embraced the former’s opulent family lives, which often reproduced the affluent living standards that had been commonplace before the crisis. This indicates that enthusiasm for luxury survived the crisis. It is worth commenting that this enthusiasm also survived the SYRIZA-ANEL government (2015–19), which drew upon a tradition of left-wing asceticism and relied on historical roots that went back to the 1970s, if not even earlier—theoretically, this government castigated luxury. ⁴ In 2015, Yanis Varoufakis, the then-minister of finance, declared that “we are in favor of frugal life” (Athens Voice, 2015). Nevertheless, SYRIZA claimed the role of the symbolic continuer of PASOK’s generous 1980s-era politics (Kornetis, 2019), something that is incompatible with frugality. Furthermore, some SYRIZA cadres embraced luxury; Varoufakis himself gave an interview that included photos of him posing with his wife in their stylish apartment (Gröndahl & Lechevallier, 2015). SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras, meanwhile, appeared repeatedly in expensive clothes such as Moschino suits (Το Pontiki, 2015b).

Nostalgia signals a need to transform the present and secure a desirable future. “Controlling” the future becomes possible if one takes command of the present and the past via power over history and memory. To achieve this, nostalgia recycles images, objects, and styles that are associated with the past (Higson, 2014; Kalinina, 2016). In Greece, this nostalgia must be explained in the context of the survival of imagery of prosperity during the crisis and the revival of such imagery during its last stages, along with expectations for a better future in the post-crisis era. The plummeting of collective happiness in the early 2010s disappointed a society that had been accustomed to a gentle life.

The gradual re-regularization of images of affluence after 2017 shows that reduced polarization and the relaxation of financial supervision rendered audiences comfortable again with the imagery of affluence. The earlier moralizing anti-consumption rhetoric weakened as audiences tired of polarization. Furthermore, the management of authority by a government that had articulated an anti-consumer rhetoric and its subsequent compromise with austerity constituted an experience of disillusionment, defused a disappointed society, and helped it to overcome polarization. The adoption of lavish lifestyles by members of this left-wing government facilitated this process. Positive feelings gained ground—in a late-2019 survey, 60% of participants responded that the social climate was improving (Pulse, 2019). This shift was also expressed in media developments, including the return of the reality show Greece’s Next Top Model, which promoted a culture of lavishness. The show had ended in 2011 when the crisis deepened, but returned in 2018 and experienced renewed success. Similarly, Kostopoulos relaunched a coffee-table version of the lifestyle magazine Nitro in 2021, which he published himself. Nitro had experienced success in promoting its brand of lavishness in the 1990s and the 2000s before it closed down in 2012. This shift is reflected on Instagram: the celebrities’ posts expressed affluent masculinity and fatherhood. Their appeal demonstrates that affluent lifestyles continued to hold interest for wide audiences and that the nostalgic association between the nuclear family, established gender identities, and material prosperity remains powerful.

Epilogue

This article has discussed how masculinity and fatherhood have been visualized by male celebrities on Instagram during the last years of the economic crisis and the years that followed, which, in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, have been marked by higher levels of optimism. This research considered Instagram posts as expressing transformations in gender politics. As we saw, new performances of masculinity and fatherhood have emerged in Greece since the 1980s. The concept of tender fatherhood popularized the expression of improving living standards and the flexibilization of gender roles. Performances of affluent masculinity and fatherhood became more common between the 1980s and the crisis, at which point worsening living standards rendered such performances difficult. In the polarized environment of the early crisis, public displays of affluence became less acceptable as they were associated with superficiality. This perspective gradually softened and nostalgic sentiments toward earlier aesthetics of prosperity grew; this facilitated a renewal of public acceptance of displays of affluence.

Posts that demonstrated affluent masculinity and fatherhood and were reminiscent of pre-crisis material conditions were accepted again by followers. These posts demonstrate that the idea that successful fatherhood includes the fulfillment of the male provider role survived the crisis. They also express a masculinity that encompasses displays of tenderness and care toward children. Celebrities visualized involved and affluent fatherhood as a pleasurable experience and associated fatherhood with leisure; conversely, they avoided posts that implied open involvement with childcare activities. The latter fact reproduces the distinction that associates children’s amusement with fatherhood and tacitly identifies childcare with motherhood. Put more simply, fathers care about their children, and they express this care by offering them fun. This affluent and playful fatherhood also appears occasionally to be compatible with traditional values such as nation and religion, which demonstrates that online performance of more flexible masculine identities can be combined with enthusiasm for traditionalist values. Imagery of affluent masculinity and fatherhood establishes hierarchies between those who are able to fill such roles and those who are unable. One could expect that such images might have provoked emotional reactions even among followers (for example, envy) during the crisis, as they depicted a lifestyle that few consumers could afford; however, reactions that conveyed condemnation or envy were not common among those commenting on the public accounts of these celebrities. The identity of the successful, protective, and tender father who offers a carefree and prosperous life to his family remains inspirational for wide groups of Instagram users, confirming that established gender identities did indeed largely survive the Greek crisis.