The socialization of masculinity in our society begins as early as the first stages of childhood. In the video documentary called "Tough Guise," Jackson Katz, succeeds in providing a persuasive examination of the relationship between the images in pop culture and the social…
This is because hegemonic masculinity does not remain static but changes over time, “hegemony… is a historically mobile relation” (Connell, 1995, p. 77). As different forms of masculinity go in and out of favour the attributes associated with hegemonic masculinity can fluctuate and evolve. Feminism has had an effect on hegemonic masculinity as it has challenged the patriarchy and questioned the dominance of some men over others. As the number of women in the workplace has grown, men have begun to take their share of responsibility in the household (although this is still imbalanced). Alternative forms of masculinity such as the ‘new man’ and the ‘metrosexual’ which praised a more sensitive, caring man who respected women have challenged the previous macho, aggressive version of hegemonic masculinity.…
In the past women changed their last name from their father’s last name to their husband’s last name when they got married. Women changed their last name to show a change in ownership from one male, the father, to another, the new husband. Men did not change their last names because they were viewed as the owners. Throughout history women were viewed as property rather than as individuals. In today’s society many women still change their last names when they get married, however it is not necessarily because they are being “traded” as property.…
While masculinity may vary in culture, there is a general consensus that all men must live up to being competitive, successful, and desirable. However, the ideology of masculinity is not inherited in ones genetics, it…
In today’s world, it seems that one can see many examples of misogyny, violence, and sexism anywhere she goes. Masculinity was once something that people did not pay much mind to, but it has now become something extremely fragile. To question a man’s masculinity is probably his worst nightmare. Nowadays, that sense of manliness unfortunately causes men to put women or other men down. Works such as Jean Kilbourne’s “Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt’:…
Domestic violence plays an enormous problem in society, specifically when there is no set explanation to why it occurs. By analyzing the role of hegemonic masculinity, patriarchy, and traditional gender roles as it pertains to domestic violence, this essay intends to expound on how the three interlace to perpetuate the domestic violence cycle. Hegemonic masculinity rose out of the post-World War II era as the idea of the “real man”, and the idea that the real man is not peaceful, nurturing, or indecisive, nor a sissy, crybaby, or loser” (Messner & Greemberg, 2015, p. 10). Rather, the “real man” is a man who is seen as someone who has the speed and strength of an athlete, as having a large income, authority, charm, loyalty for family, manual…
Masculinity’s Crossroads The article “Guys vs. Men,” Dave Barry uses satire to explain the problems with masculinity and a new approach to how males should be classified and judged. The article “The Crisis of American Masculinity” by Eric Garland discusses his view of how the traditional image of manhood is dying in today’s society. Each of them give their opinions on what manhood is; the manner that society should treat males with, the importance of masculinity in males, and their opinion of the necessity of these masculine characteristics.…
Society accepts their destructive behavior as a norm, even though it is truly not; because of this, harmful and aggressive behavior--sexual behavior included-- is easily accepted. As well as forcing men to act as ‘a real man’ would, toxic masculinity…
Alexandra Duma Professor Helen Kapstein LIT 316 Defying the Gender Binary in Luna Gender identity is the subjective understanding of one’s gender (Morrow 7). The way in which an individual forms a gender identity relies heavily on the socio-cultural environment in which one lives. Gender identity is different than biological sex and sexual orientation. Luna by Julie Anne Peters follows the coming of age story of Luna, a boy who struggles with gender roles and expectations imposed on him by his family from a young age.…
The idealized form of masculinity in a given place, time, and culture is intentionally used to connote the hegemony involved in the patriarchal system of gender relations. Moreover,…
Forty years ago Patricia Sexton stated that masculinity was produced through different characteristics such as: aggressiveness, being courageous, self direction and strength (Donaldson, 1993). In the early 1990s, many sociologists believed that Sextons’ ideas could be linked specifically to hegemonic masculinity (Donaldson, 1993). Hegemonic masculinity was first used in ‘Ockers and Disco-Maniacs’; however, it has since been suggested that hegemonic masculinity is at the top of the masculine food chain (Wedgwood, 2009). Theories of different types of masculinities, especially hegemonic masculinity exploded in the early 1980s, and a theoretical part of these discussions were how men experience their own bodies (Connell and Messerchmidt, 2005). The foundation for hegemonic masculinity is: heterosexuality, homophobia and that woman are seen as sexual objects for men (Donaldson, 1993).…
Theorizing Masculinity: Multiplicity, Embodiment, Politics Feminist theory has sought to undo the binary opposition of man/woman and male/female, to varying degrees of success. What appears to still be intact, if only for its common use by the very theorists who would seek to unravel it, is a third binary: masculinity/femininity. As such, this paper focuses on arguments about the former term, masculinity, presented in two important works: Masculinities by Raewyn Connell and Female Masculinity by Jack Halberstam. Though both are approximately twenty years old, they engage with questions that are still relevant today, and indeed can be read as, at least in part, foreshadowing contemporary theorization. In this paper I first point out the major…
It is simply naïve to disregard the overwhelming influence that the media and literature has had over the public over the past century and more precisely, in our youth. As a society, we constantly twist ourselves to fit the mold presented to us through various media outlets (e.g. TV, movies, magazines, advertisements, etc.) and in literature we encounter in our lives for a multitude of reasons. Throughout time, men have been presented to fit very traditionally masculine traits based on a preconceived narrative as to what it means to be a man and how to present oneself in order to be perceived as manly by others. Media and literature have branded a hyper-masculine image of men that has in time become what is expected for young boys to follow––be it relayed to them or not.…
What is ‘masculinity’ and where did it come from? When did we decide what roles men should have? At what point do these become harmful – how do we know? Many countries’ gender roles are quite similar to one another. There’s almost a general rule of thumb that gender roles are harmful when it comes to women, and when it comes to men, there’s a clear double standard.…
The representation of masculinity is humanly constructed and set by stages for social expectations and the creation of gender and sexuality that vary form culture to…