Paper short abstract:

Using the case of local workers who work with Chinese workers in a Chinese mine in Papua New Guinea, this article aims to reframe previous studies on changes of masculinities and the mining industry and illustrate the ways in which place influences local understandings of Indigenous masculinities.

Paper long abstract:

Built upon the scholarship on changes of masculinities in Melanesian anthropology, this article aims to demonstrate the re-understanding of Indigenous masculinities by showing the ways in which Papua New Guinean mining workers work with Chinese migrant workers in a Chinese mine in Madang province, Papua New Guinean (PNG). Reviewing earlier studies of changes of masculinities and the mining industry in PNG, it is founded that earlier studies reflect a lineal understanding of the experiences of PNG workers from tribal men to modern workers within westerners' managed mines. In the case of a Chinese managed mine, however, this article maintains that we need a different framework in understanding the ways in which local men enact their masculinities with respect to their encounter with Chinese expatriate workers. Also, in consideration of space and place, it is founded that the studies of masculinities in Melanesia pay less attention to spacial factors, while at the same time the studies of personhood in Melanesia have emphasised the importance of place in understanding personal identities in PNG. Therefore, through combining ethnographic data and studies of personhood in Melanesia, this article states that it is crucial to explore the ways in which spacial factors affect the changes of Indigenous masculinities in this case study. In so doing, this article aims to contribute to the studies of masculinities, the mining industry, and overseas Chinese in Melanesia.