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Hegemonic masculinity can be best described
Hegemonic masculinity can be best described
Hegemonic masculinity as a social construct
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Hegemonic masculinity is a concept that is illuminated by Ten Responses to the Phrase “MAN UP” and “Do it for all your Pubic Hairs!”: Latino Boys, Masculinity, and Puberty, which identifies masculinity as a social construct influencing how one does their gender. Masculinity is a measure of a man’s social dominance and success and therefore is based on exaggerations of gender differences. Therefore, the more a man engages in masculine qualities and less in feminine qualities, the more accepted he will be. These readings build on different aspects of masculinity and work together to generate a more rounded analysis of social influences and pressures endorsing hegemonic masculinity, how it is practiced, and what its associated costs are.
In “Do
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Gaunte challenges the perceived benefits from engaging in hegemonic masculinity and its relevance to a person’s well being. Benefits are strictly social, whereas the costs are internal and limits how one can behave based on guidelines of masculinity. The phrase “man up” imposes gender expectations, exaggerating perceived differences between men and women such as physical strength and emotional absence. Mora concludes that puberty is a social accomplishment because boys can enact hegemonic masculinity, but Gaunte evokes the alternative where boys do not enact hegemonic masculinity and are penalized for it. Due to society’s expectations of engaging in masculinity, a boy’s freedom to express himself is limited, and being “strong in a way that isn’t about physical power or dominance” implies femininity (Gaunte). This is important because criticisms toward marginalized masculinities lead to internalized self-hatred that is projected onto self and relationships. Gaunte emphasizes the importance of addressing problems that arise from this, such as boys committing suicide, women being assaulted, and trans people being
The concept of masculinity is considered as the qualities and characteristics of a man, typical what is appropriate to a man. In this article, A Community Psychology of Men and Masculinity: Historical and Conceptual Review, The author Eric S. Mankowski and Kenneth I. Maton, analyze four main themes: "Men as gendered beings, the privilege and damage of being a masculine man, men as a privileged group, and men’s power and subjective powerlessness. The second and fourth themes are described as
Why do so many guys seem stuck between adolescence and adulthood? Guys might not completely buy into the negative parts of their atmosphere, but because it’s the group norm, they act accordingly. So if the reverse can be done, I think that can be a redeeming aspect of Guyland. In describing the young male adult culture, the author talks about there being some redeeming qualities. They’ve seen mistakes their parents have made, and they’re trying to account for that. There certainly is a negative aspect of guys not growing up in college or post-college. But there is the positive aspect: we are taking more time to think about what we want to do, and make sure that what we are doing is something we want, something we can do well. In their late
In Kimmel’s essay “’Bros Before Hos’: The Guy Code” he argues that the influence of society on masculinity is equal to or greater than biological influences on masculinity. In the essay, Kimmel uses various surveys and interviews to validate his argument. He points to peers, coaches, and family members as the people most likely to influence the development of a man’s masculinity. When a man has his manliness questioned, he immediately makes the decision never to say or do whatever caused him to be called a wimp, or unmanly. Kimmel’s argument is somewhat effective because the readers get firsthand accounts from the interviewees but the author does not provide any statistics to support his argument.
In the reading, Playing in the Gender Transgression Zone, McGuffey & Rich argue that the ways youth build their “hierarchy” in school, camps, etc. can explain the way ‘gendering’ in society’ happens and why. It discusses how boys are seen as the high status members of society. This is a result of the ideology of hegemonic masculinity. This says that there is a predominant way of doing gender relations that elevates the status and privileges of masculinity over femininity. This establishes a socially constructed level of male social power and explains why male dominance continues on past the middle school ages. Men still have high status in higher level of social organization, especially political/ governmental institutions.
For young males, pubescence is a time of proving one’s self as an adult by emulating masculine tropes found in older peers, family members, neighborhoods and in the media. The male body sees some of the most noticeable changes through puberty. As such the body becomes the main proof that young boys utilize in proving themselves as men and no longer boys. The developments in puberty are certainly influenced by culture, social setting and time. In Richard Mora’s study of how hegemonic masculinity influences the stage of pubescence for boys, he examines how the biological changes within the male body influence the socialization of ten sixth-grade Latino boys. First, Mora makes distinctions in how white working and middle class students experience puberty, which in most cases are hardly discusses with peers (189). However, Mora observes the opposite amongst the Latino boys at Romero, all of whom find many reasons to express their pride in their slowly changing bodies. Among these boys, puberty is more of a social accomplishment that comes with rewards in dominance and male peer congratulations.
Masculinity is described as possession of attributes considered typical of a man. Hegemonic masculinity is a form of masculine character with cultural idealism and emphasis that connects masculinity to competitiveness, toughness, and women subordination. Masculinity hegemonic is the enforcement of male dominion over a society. Masculine ideology dates back to the time of agrarian and the industrial revolution in Europe when survival compelled men to leave their homesteads to work in industries to earn a living for their families while women remained at home to take care of family affairs (Good and Sherrod 210). Women did not work in industries then because industrial labor was considered too physical beyond their capacity. This led to definition of roles which placated the position of men in a society while condemning women as mere subordinates who cannot do without men. The critics of gender stereotypes in America describe the following five hegemonic features of masculinity: frontiersman ship, heterosexuality, occupational achievement, familial patriarchy, and physical force and control (Trujillo 4). The advent of the 20th century led to sweeping changes in American masculinity.
In this paper, I argue that while sexual violence is arguably the monopoly of men, it is culturally cultivated rather than biologically determined. Consistent with the concept of Hegemonic Masculinity which theorises male domination of other males and subordination of females (Connell, 2005), I assert that rape is particularly rampant in societies where sexual violence is an effective means of attaining this status quo. Thus when rape is institutionalised in the context of war where masculinity is measured by the ability and willingness to assert violence upon the enemy, rape becomes rampant because it is not only condoned but authorised (Price, 2001). I then debunk the claims of biological determinism that men are inherently predisposed to rape in order to ensure reproductive continuity (Knauft et.al, 1991) by highlighting that victims of non-consensual sexual penetration are often males, children and post-menopausal women through whom reproduction cannot occur. Thus, rape does not demonstrate biological propensity but rather societal pursuit of male dominance. I conclude that since the occurrence of rape is consistently higher in more patriarchal societies, the issue of rape is more deep-rooted than isolated cases of unregulated male testosterone or criminality but it is rather the by-product of cultural legitimisation of male sexual violence.
War has been a mainstay of human civilization since its inception thousands of years ago, and throughout this long and colorful history, warriors have almost exclusively been male. By repeatedly taking on the fundamentally aggressive and violent role of soldier, Man has slowly come to define Himself through these violent experiences. Although modern American society regulates the experiences associated with engaging in warfare to a select group of individuals, leaving the majority of the American public emotionally and personally distant from war, mainstream American masculinity still draws heavily upon the characteristically male experience of going to war. In modern American society, masculinity is still defined and expressed through analogy with the behavior and experiences of men at war; however, such a simplistic masculinity cannot account for the depth of human experience embraced by a modern man.
Although he is taught these ways, man is deeply fragile. However, this fragility is covered in a shell of masculinity that society has placed upon
Although contemporary society is not as patriarchal as it was in the past, that male dominance still exists today. Young’s description of a self-imposed “I cannot” can be supported with common real life examples today. The “I cannot” comes from a woman’s insecurities, fear of getting hurt, and underestimating their bodily capacities. In a sexist society, these factors of the self-imposed “I cannot” would lead to
Men are thought to ignore the pain and pressure as well as never ask for help. A young boy learns what it takes to be a man from the male figures in their life: Fathers, brothers, coaches, and teachers. “The response was consistent: Guys hear the voices of the men in their lives-- fathers, coaches, brothers, grandfathers, uncles, priests -- to inform their ideas of masculinity”(Kimmel). These young boys agree to conform to the guy code because humiliation and judgment of other men force them to act a certain way. These young boys then become men who are more likely to be depressed, have suicidal thoughts/actions, and suffer from physical, psychological, and emotional abuse because of society’s strict gender roles placed on them. Watson supports Kimmel’s argument on the male gender roles by showing how young children are having ideas of what a man should be forced down on them. The same thing is said for girls, companies sell specific types of toys to both boys and girls. “I got the message then and there. If you are a girl, your aspirations should be to play at elegance, nurture a baby doll, and practice cooking and cleaning. If you are a boy, you are to aspire to a persona of power. You are to build physically, train and excel”(Watson). Girls were told that essentially they should be housewives, just cook and clean and take care of however many children that she and husband decides to have while the boys are told that have to be strong not only physically, but mentally as well, that they have to be the breadwinner of the house and support his
In the views of Micheal Kimmel “hegemonic masculinity” is a socially constructed process where men are pressured by social norms of masculine ideals to perform behaviors of a “true man” and its influence on young male’s growth. It is the ideology that being a man with power and expressing control over women is a dominant factor of being a biological male. The structure of masculinity was developed within the 18th to 19th century, as men who owned property and provided for his family with strength related work environments was the perfect example of being a generic “American man.” Kimmel introduces Marketplace Manhood and its relation to American men. He states, “Marketplace Masculinity describes the normative definition of American masculinity.
Masculinity is an idea that people, usually men, set, to achieve their ego. From generation to generation, men put on this mask of masculinity to hide their true self, to put up a front that’s made up of lies and discomfort. In the collection of stories Drown, by Junot Diaz, Diaz portrayed, through the perspective of Latino men, an overall idea of masculinity, and how masculinity is being used and misunderstood. From Ramon to his two sons, Yunior and Rafa, Diaz portrayed a pass of this idea of masculinity through family, passed down from the first to the next generation. Ramon, during the youth of Yunior and Rafa, sets up an image of how a man should be, how to show people their masculinity. The concept of masculinity, portrayed by Diaz through
The concept of hegemonic masculinity, as described by R. W. Connell, is becoming more applicable than ever, namely in the world of sport. This notion was developed nearly twenty-five years ago, yet remains highly influential in the social construction of gender roles. In current Western societies, there is an automatic assumption that women involved in sports are all lesbians, and men posses more masculine traits than one who is not involved in sports. This double standard emphasizes the inequalities within the athletic community. The emphasis on masculinity brings forth different consequences for men and women, where men are regarded as strong and powerful, while women are intrinsically seen as more masculine (Baks & Malecek,
As a child develops, their surroundings have a major influence on the rest of their lives; if boys are taught to “man up” or never to do something “like a girl”, they will become men in constant fear of not being masculine enough. Through elementary and middle school ages, boys are taught that a tough, violent, strong, in-control man is the ideal in society and they beat themselves up until they reach that ideal. They have to fit into the “man box” (Men and Masculinity) and if they do not fulfill the expectations, they could experience physical and verbal bullying from others. Not only are friends and family influencing the definition of masculine, but marketing and toys stretch the difference between a “boy’s toy” and a “girl’s toy”. Even as early as 2 years old, children learn to play and prefer their gender’s toys over the other gender’s (Putnam). When children grow up hearing gender stereotypes from everyone around them, especially those they love and trust like their parents, they begin to submit themselves and experience a loss of individuality trying to become society’s ideal. If everyone is becoming the same ideal, no one has a sense of self or uniqueness anymore and the culture suffers from