Examples Of Hegemonic Masculinity

When someone thinks of a man the first thing that comes to mind is a large man, the epitome of strength and toughness, but where did they get that idea. More often than not people get their ideas of masculinity from the shows and movies they watch throughout their lives. In the article Hegemonic masculinity in media contents, by Peter J. Kareithi, he focuses much more specifically on how the media has presented it to the public, and less of the why, and how it started. The paper by Connell and Messerschmidt, Hegemonic Masculinity: Rethinking the Concept, does a much better job at explaining the history of hegemonic masculinity and how it came to be. Though together the two articles give the reader a complete sense of what the focus is, and

The normal hegemonic male is athletic and carries traits of strength, courage and mateship. The hegemonic male was the communal standard in the 1900’s

Gender role bias in advertisements has been so prevalent for so long that the untrained eye wouldn't even discern it. All the same, these biases, for the most part, put women in subordinate positions and men in dominant ones. This assumption on both the genders is unfair and demeaning. These ads portray women as subservient and play toys for men. Not only do the models depict an image nowhere near close to reality, but their bodies are scantily clad and what few clothes they are wearing are very revealing.

One of the key concepts detailed by Pringle (2007), is the idea of hegemonic masculinity, which was originally coined by Connell (1995). Connell suggest that the concepts of hegemony and masculinity have been intertwined, which has created a social form of a masculine ideal, developed around male dominance, power and patriarchy over groups who are deemed “weaker” such as women and homosexual men. Hegemonic masculinity is essentially a socially elite or desirable status, with which the “performance of ‘masculinity’” can be legitimately practised within society.

In watching the 2012 Super Bowl commercials, we can see versions of hegemonic masculinity demonstrated. Perhaps the most vivid version was seen in H&M’s Super Bowl ad, utilizing soccer (futbol) star, David Beckham:

This mentality is ingrained in the minds of young men from a very early age. It is, “men’s and boy’s practical relationships to collective images or models of masculinity, rather than simply reflections of them, that is central to understanding gendered consequences in violence, health, and education” (Connell). For instance, characters like James Bond and Barney Stinson, as well as public figures including Derek Jeter, encapsulate the ideal womanizing characteristics idolized by many men. In fact, even those men who don’t actively exercise, “hegemonic masculinities, are complicit” (Connell), in practice. As a result of these dominating and oppressive ideals, “women become a kind of currency that men use to improve their ranking” (Kimmel). Essentially, as a defense mechanism to feeling powerless, homosocial enactments, sexual conquests, and even domestic abuse allow for men to regain their sense of power. In the process, however they damage the people around

Hegemonic Masculinity is basically the idea of male dominance. This is important to American Culture because, it helps to explain why males put themselves higher than females. In the American culture it is easy to see that males have more power in the deciding aspects. One of the ways to see this is in the government. If you look at the United States government you would see that the majority of representatives are males. Additionally, if you look at the list of presidents you would see that they have all been males. This goes to show that the male dominance is a real thing in terms of a glance.

In order to fully understand a more in depth evaluation of both why and how men conform to this social phenomenon, one must know how hegemonic masculinity is defined. This term was made popular by Connell’s work Gender and Power which critiqued the male social role and how hegemonic masculinity has developed (Connell 830). Scholars agree that hegemonic masculinity is characterized by “being emotionally detached and

Testosterone, a key element in the genetic makeup of all human beings. The driving hormone controlled from the pituitary gland. This hormone dictates the sex drive of the male human being. However, this hormone also leads people to believe that males should act and be a certain way. The concept of hegemonic masculinity, where hegemonic is defined as ruling or dominant in a social class, and masculinity is defined as possession of the qualities traditionally associated with men (Morettini, 2016). It originated with concepts such as masculine fundamentalism, which was a form of promoting dominance of a man in a household of married men (Frances & Ester, 2013, p. 143). In today’s contemporary society, hegemonic masculinity is a key problem.

Masculinity has been an important part of many cultures throughout time. African, European, Asian, and American groups have had a concept of masculinity. However, some groups show masculinity using completely different qualities from another group. In particular, African, Burmese, and English groups have had very distinct beliefs, though some similarities do occur. Achebe, Orwell, and Kipling all depict this in some of their works.

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

In contemporary society, hegemonic masculinity is defined by physical strength and boldness, heterosexuality, economic independence, authority over women and other men, and an interest in sexual relationships. While most men do not embody all of these qualities, society supports hegemonic masculinity within all its institutions, including the educational institute, the religious institute and other institutes which form the ideological state apparatus.

There are many existing literatures on women and weightlifting. This research will be focusing on how hegemonic masculinity has set ideas of gender roles and how these women challenge the social discourse that they face being a muscular or look ‘manly’.

First, hegemonic masculinity is the ultimate description of a male and anyone who does not fit this description is seen as inferior and unworthy (Kimmel, 2012). In America, the hegemonic men are described as being white, middle class, married, straight, church going men that provide for their families (Kimmel, 2012). The problem with hegemonic masculinity is that it is largely unobtainable and is more of an idea that is held up because many may never achieve it (Connell and Messerschmidt, 2005). People that don’t feel like they fit the standard definition of hegemonic masculinity still feel like they have to subscribe to it in order to avoid being degraded or

Hegemonic masculinity is present in many forms throughout life and allows for certain types and groups of people to have an advantage. This typically discourages women, other genders, and men of not Caucasian decent. In many twenty first century movies this is prevalent and sets a standard for other people to follow which is wrong in so many ways. Throughout the films Dope and Rogue One hegemonic masculinity occurs which causes men to perform acts to assert dominance, which in turns suppresses women and other races.