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Gender identity
Masculinity in today's society
Masculinity in today's society
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Recommended: Gender identity
Masculinity
“Qualities or attributes regarded as characteristics of men.” (Oxford)
Essentialism
“Essentialists argue that the collections of attitudes, behaviors, and social conditions that we call masculinities are “hard-wired” into males through biology (see Thorhill & Palmer, 2000) and/or the heritability of human psyche (see Jung, 1959/1989; Bly, 1990). They view masculinity as static, transhistorical, cross-cultural, and cross-situational. From this perspective, gender change is either impossible, or it involves the use of powerful force to constrain what is seen as “naturally” male. (Masculine Self pg. 19)
Social Constructionism “a constantly changing collection of meanings that we construct through our relationships with ourselves,
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What we do know from each of these statements is that masculinity is a quality or a behavior, what is left up for discussion is if these qualities or behaviors are biologically driven or historically driven. In my opinion there is no right answer to this because it is a belief and we are all entitled to them, right or wrong. What we can do is educate ourselves on both sides of the matter and form our own opinion on the matter with our findings. Take for example essentialism, what does that mean in conjunction with masculinity? This is the way of looking at masculinity as something that is inborn within us, something that would be difficult to alter with just simple interactions. This is something that has been ingrained within this person biologically and is a part of the individual not necessarily by choice but by genetics or nature. Then you have the view of masculinity through the social constructionism, this view based on masculinity through social views and settings. The view that masculinity is something that is every changing throughout an individuals life and that each interaction, both with one’s self or those around them, helps shape this view of
Therefore, this definitely adheres to the idea of masculinity being based on dominance, self-assuredness, as well as autonomy. Deborah Tannen’s theory of difference states
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.
Jensen proposes three ideas on why masculinity must be terminated: masculinity is harmful for both men and women, men are surrendering their humanity by conforming to masculinity, and that all characteristics should simply be human characteristics, not male or female.
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
Jensen provides evidence throughout the text for three assumptions on why masculinity must be terminated from pertaining to just males. It is proposed that masculinity is harmful for both men and women, that men are surrendering their humanity by conforming with masculinity, and
While we tend to look at the world in a gendered fashion, there are differences in what’s considered masculine and feminine. In addition to varying from person to person, the concepts of masculinity and femininity also vary across time periods, across different cultures, and even across the span of an individual’s life. Kimmel pluralizes these terms to “acknowledge that masculinity and femininity mean different things to different groups of people at different times” (Kimmel; 10). He goes on further to reference sociologist R. W. Connell’s explanation of hegemonic masculinity, which states that it is “constructed in relation to various subordinated masculinities as well as in relation to women” (Kimmel; 10). In an article by Connell, he describes
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 our society we see two forms of masculinity, hegemonic, and subordinate, this is known as the sociology of masculinity. Hegemonic is a very honored form of masculinity. This is the alpha male example, the man that protects all things, he is more superior than others both male and female, he has the chiseled chin, and the six pack you could wash your clothes on. Subordinate masculinity, on the other hand, defies the hegemonic norms society is so fond of. These males possess feminine qualities that put them below the hegemonic males on a hierarchal scale.
Biological masculinity should be distinguished from the learned standards from cultural standards. As culture evolves, so does our notion of what constitutes “manliness.” Manhood doesn’t mean that as men they have to be masculine and tough showing no emotion. And about the fact that men are just naturally more physical is true to certain degree, but it also a learned behavior from how our culture mostly media raises and influences them to be as well. Men shouldn’t have to be subjected to have to meet a level of masculine standard in order to be
This paper will detail the toxic effects that were caused by the hypermasculine attitude our culture has created. It will prove that glorification of masculinity encourages abuse, violence, and gender roles. What do most people think when they hear the phrase “be a man”? They probably think to toughen up and suppress their emotions, because everyone knows men don’t cry. In our society, traditional masculinity is characterized by violence, danger, promiscuity, and a lack of emotions. This is seen as the ultimate standard all men must aspire to. This infatuation with standard masculine ideals has instilled people with a mindset of male superiority. Society’s glorification of masculinity is toxic because it encourages
Watzlawik, M. (2009). When a Man Thinks He Has Female Traits Constructing Femininity and Masculinity: Methodological Potentials and Limitations. Integrative Psychological & Behavioral Science, 43(2), 126-137. doi: 10.1007/s12124-008-9085-4
While many associate masculinity with being strong and collected, that preconception of what men should like is harmful and wrong. However some may still ask: what’s wrong with being a man? The definition is what is wrong with masculinity. American culture classifies masculinity as tough, egotistic, powerful, and rigid. We use the phrase, “man up” to exercise power over others while remaining toughened to oneself. “To be a man” is to play into the stereotypes projected on by society, with little room for individualism. There’s no room for compassion, empathy, or softened humanity. That would all be associated with femininity, which should be no where near a growing
For my topic I chose masculinity, I chose this topic because it was different from my everyday perspective. Learning about new perspectives in the research made the reading easier and more interesting. When thinking of a topic I wanted to learn about something new and learn about how others live their daily lives. When considering this topic, I thought it was interesting because I have two brothers and would have never considered that they would have these struggles. I didn’t think that men struggled like women do. I thought it was interesting to read that men have similar struggles.
The Western idea of ‘masculinity’ is so entrenched into society it is difficult to find a definition of it within the academic literature, instead we must turn to popular literature to describe what is taken as social fact. REFERENCE FICTON ON DESCRIPTION OF A MAN. These descriptions of masculinity matter as they have ‘represented and influenced almost every aspect of modern history’ (Hosse, 1996). One of the main ways in which these descriptions have influenced society is that ‘man’ has become the marker for every other type of person to be judged against, this included the male body.
Masculinity and femininity are two terms, which have been interpreted differently throughout history. Both the males and the females have responsibilities and duties but these duties differ based on one’s gender. Gender has played a prodigious role in the economy, politics, and the society. Everyone starts making interpretations of the strengths and weaknesses based on one’s gender. These interpretations are not always based on his or her ability but is usually based on his or her gender. Males tend to be judged as extremely strong and unfashionable in terms of appearance. Whereas, females are judged as expensive and very fashionable. Males and females both differ in their abilities and their enjoyments. Fashion, entertainment, and strength are three topics, which are used to define masculinity and femininity in the 21st century.