Implications of Living in a Gendered Society Essay

Masculinity has changed very little over time. By definition, to be masculine is to be tough, having little or no emotion, and having great physical strength and endurance. Men are thought to be natural leaders and should accept the role of dominating the household (both his wife and children. “Inequality between women and men is a worldwide social phenomenon”. (Schaefer, R., 2012. p354)

Masculinity is a topic that has been debated in our society extensively, through research as well as in informal settings. Many wonder what it means to be masculine, and if we can really assign a definition to such a subjective term. After all, shouldn't one's own perception be the determinant of what constitutes masculinity? This self-construction would be the ideal in our society, but unfortunately, it represents a false belief. Masculinity has certain characteristics assigned to it by our culture.

Usually I have a natural affiliation to viewing texts as a feminist, but recently this has been turned around. Masculinity is often perceived as the ideal trait for a man and this masculinity can be explored through the aspects of dominance, objectification, ownership and the space this dominance has in our society. The masculine lens puts most of its emphasis on strength and dominance, the idea of being able to control others. The epitome of a man's man can assert himself over others often by controlling physical and conscious space. This frequently violent type of masculinity has a huge influence over the feminine as well as creating a feeling of insignificance for men who do not fulfil this type. “Taking a ‘gender perspective' is often assumed to mean highlighting the roles, needs and rights of women and girls – vital to addressing persistent gender inequalities in access to power, influence, resources and security.

A way we explain masculinity is the “Man Box” inside of the box is a list of socially valued roles and expectations that you associate masculinity with and the words outside of the box are used to confine boys into a very narrow definition of manhood. For example some of the words inside the box are: strong, tough, rugged, in control, powerful, muscular, and never show weakness. Examples of words outside of the box used to confine boys and men are: Queer, fag, pussy, wuss, homo, and mama’s boy. In this way, boys and men are often punished (by other boys and men) in a particularly gendered manner. For example, if boys and men do NOT meet the expectations of being a man they are often called homophobic and feminizing slurs.

This difference in oppinions give credence to the idea that gender (more specifically the binary of male and female) is not the the most fundimental aspect of masculinity. Rather it is a specific interpretation of masculinity that makes the male gender masculine; “it is difficult to say that the male body can be objectivley defines and that it exists without cultural influence. The male body has a particualry close connection to cluture and discorse and is one of the main avenues throughout which culture attempts to construct masculinity” (Reeser, 2010, p.91). in terms of generation to generation, the ideals of masculity have change greatly over the last thirty years, from a patriarchal norm to what could be labeled as a more effeminate masculinity. According to John Maclnnes, the “innovations of late modernity have undermined the sexual division of labour and the dominant beliefs which have served to substantiate notions of masculinity” (Whitehead and Barrett, 2001, p.307), and that “the legacies of patriachy and the rationalisaton of male privilege have reached an impasse and we are witnessing...the end of masculinity as a gender iudentity” (ibid, p.27). this idea would suggest that a cultural change is happening that is affecting traditional veiws of

The topic of gender roles is a subject that has been discussed and argued upon for several years, regarding the depiction and expectations of what it means to be a man and, conversely, what it means to be a woman. Along with the topic comes what and how society defines masculinity and femininity. Society has given men the title of being masculine due to the reflection of  dominance, strength, aggressiveness, independence , and the use of interpersonal skills. Whereas society has given females the title of being feminine for having the qualities of being vulnerable, modest, dependent, and delicate. The definitions for both genders follow behind the depiction and expectation on how one may act, whether male or female. A male wants to appear

Masculinities are not equivalent to men; they concern the position of men in a gender order. They can be defined as the patterns of practice by which people (both men and women, though predominantly men) engage that position (Connell, 2005). Both males and females can exhibit masculine traits and behavior (Alan Gregory, 2015; Book of Alan: A Universal Order).

I am a cisgendered female. The roles that are expected of me in society are dependent on my gender. As a girl I am expected to, "sit like a lady," and am encouraged the choice of words I decide to use are not, "ladylike." I am taught, as a woman to keep quiet and don't take up space. I am greeted with looks of surprise from men in comic book stores and then questioned about the Marvel shirt I have on. "Can you actually name all those characters," I will be asked. Why would I need the man's approval even if I couldn't. Gender roles are the limits and "check all that apply," to a person, dependent on whether or not they are a man or a woman. They are what society has formed to separate each gender from one another. They are what makes it okay

Our concepts of masculinity and femininity differ across cultures and history. Connell (2009) claimed that “Our concept of masculinity seems to be a fairly recent historical product, a few hundred years old at most”. Early family experiences for men in which gender is formed and reinforced were based on the emphasise of the importance of providing economic support for the family, their lives being overwhelmed by work, representing the

Scholars of Masculinity Studies analyse the emotional lives of men using various theories to show how masculinities are socially constructed and how men are expected even compelled, to behave in specific situations. Social conditioning, which encourages women to adopt certain codes of conduct, also compels men to behave in certain ways, such as, being the breadwinners of the family or accepting the taboo against emotional expressions of sorrow, love or tenderness. Male experiences of these taboos are not uniform but diverse and can produce different outcomes. The male characters as extensions of the broader social, political and cultural concerns of their particular context become sites for complex constructions of masculine identity especially

Experiences in life reveal a lot about ourselves and others. We have witnessed a dramatic shift in our world. Divorce is widespread and no longer shameful. Fathers are not fathers, and mothers have to act like fathers. When fathers are physically present, they have removed themselves mentally and emotionally. Boys in the armor of men are sleep walking through existence. Most men have been feminized, they are proudly confused. A deadly combination of self-importance and bewilderment, make for an overwhelming tirade of masculinity.

Although all males and females are educated and pushed to be masculine and feminine, these features don´t have the same value. Gender, as a “socially constructed” element is unequal, and it is based on the idea of male dominance, where women are, therefore, subordinates. Thus, rights and opportunities are unequal distributed depending on the gender (Risman, Lorber and Holden Sherwood, 2012). This gender inequality not only represents the man domination over the woman, but a set of social processes by which the expression of masculinities dominates on the expression of feminities, no matter who express them (Carmichael - Aitchison, 2007).

Men and Masculinity (2001) is a collection of works that demonstrates how men’s actions and traits are constructed and influenced by cultural perceptions of masculinity and structures of gender. The selections are able to enumerate on the various roles and that men are given and the relationships that they partake in.

According to Anthony Clare the heart of the masculinity crisis lies within the understanding of “the private and public sphere, the intimate and the impersonal, the emotional and the irrational” (Clare, 2000:212). Both men and women are both confined to their spaces and the line between the two has somewhat been blurred, thus resulting in a crisis. The way in which this line is blurred is by masculinity becoming more feminized. There have been two major shifts in masculinity over

What makes us who we are? Is it the clothes we wear or the toys we played with while we were children? Maybe? Or maybe it's the people and the environment we grew up around? Most people would say that all these characterists would be true, and I'd agree. But if you really think hard about what makes you, YOU, then you'd realize that there is so much more than what meets the eye. Let's take a look into my life to see what made me the "masculine" person I am today.