Men And Masculinities: A Social, Cultural, And Historical Encyclopedia

According to Connell, masculinity is closely connected to gender relations and these patterns among masculinities are “hegemonic”, by which he means it’s ‘subordinate’ and ‘dominant’. The description of “hegemonic masculinity” is the currently accepted and culturally dominant successful form by the public. Drawing on Webster, “hegemonic masculinity is defined as the current configuration of practice that legitimizes men's dominant position in society and justifies the subordination of women, and other marginalized ways of being a man.” Consequentially,

To read Babio without recognizing the gender politics at work in the play would disregard much of how the play itself creates meaning. So much of the play’s plot and character dynamics are related to the way gender functions in this play. One major theme of Babio is the idea of masculinity and how masculinity is defined. Through the portrayal of Babio as an effeminate character, Babio is able to define masculinity through absences in Babio’s Character. Consequently, Babio makes the additional point that lovesickness is not an intrinsic aspect of medieval masculinity, despite the fact that love sickness is often attributed to men.

Three main terms will be used in this essay and require a definition as to avoid confusion. Masculinity is defined by Merriam-Webster as,

In Michael Kimmel’s “Manhood in America: A Cultural History”, he provides a broad, heavily researched cultural history of the development of manhood and the definition of masculinity throughout American history. Beginning in the 19th century and ending in the present day administration of Barack Obama, Kimmel identifies that over time society has demanded more and more that the common man be “self-made”. Kimmel’s overall goal in writing this book is to introduce a new concept of masculinity that eliminates the battle that every man faces when trying to achieve so-called “manhood”. He explores the natural instincts that men have and how these instincts are affected by self-control, the surrounding environment, and overall levels of happiness.

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. In this paper I will explore the many facets of masculinity and demonstrate how certain beliefs pertaining to it are perpetuated in our society. I will also uncover many of the contradictions between society's assigned definition of

In this paper I will explore the many facets of masculinity and demonstrate how certain beliefs pertaining to it are perpetuated in our society. I will also uncover many of the contradictions between society's assigned definition of

The idea that manhood represents a fixed, inevitable; some natural state of being is a myth. It is a twist in its origin: Men created the concept of “masculinity” in order to cage himself in it. What became a norm for “masculinity” in a society is largely a made cultural frame, not something a male’s shared trait. One way to understand the

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.

Kimmel(1996) claims that men have no history throughout America. There are many books, according to Kimmel(1996), that do not explore: the experience of being a man, manhood, structured lives of men who are their subjects, organizations and institutions they

Hegemonic masculinity represent a structure of dominance and oppression in the gender order. This masculinity is socially and culturally endorsed by the society (as noted by Robyn and Wendy) and its granted men benefit in terms of public status and privileges. A fundamental elements of hegemonic masculinity is that women are subordinate to men. Though it is not all men that practice this, but they all benefit from it.

Showing your humanity through raw emotions used to be seen as proof of a person’s sincerity, honesty, and integrity. Something happened in the 20th century, women became the picture of teary-eyed fragility and the tearless, aggressive male became the ideal of masculinity. Media messages, commercials, and television shows stopped portraying men as responsible, competent, and compassionate husbands, sons, and fathers, instead they consist of idiotic or misogynistic archetypes. When men are portrayed as sensitive humans, it is largely under the caveat of being gay. As stated in A New Vision of Masculinity, there is still little worse than being mistaken for a homosexual (Cooper, 2016).

Masculinity can range drastically in the level, shape, and or form it takes in each individual’s mind, but this phenomenon is formed as a complex experience through social construction. Masculinity has never been an ideal or a code I found myself reflecting on growing up, but my subconscious was constantly battling the juxtaposition of my experience at home, school, and on basketball teams. These factors would eventually shape my idea of masculinity surrounding home, particularly through the communicative aspects of athletics and academics.

Everyone who does not fit the idea of masculinity has been placed in the other category. Kids have a hard time to self-identify themselves because of all the masculine role moles that present themselves in the media. Masculinity has created a structured binary that makes their role the ideal role for society to be. That ideal role is traced back to a long history of old traditions, that society cannot look past. This ideal of masculinity has created complications within gender and sexuality that have made people hold onto heteronormative ideals. The heteronormative ideals have created a privilege society where the white males dominate the world and place everyone who does not fit in their binary into the other people category.

The expectations that have been placed on men have caused a fragile idea of masculinity that is plaguing the world. Its forcing men to conform to some idea that isn’t even fully established. Toxic masculinity is also causing a variety of issues, starting with the LGBTQ community. The biggest issue straight men find with gay men, is surprisingly not the fact that they are attracted to the same sex but more on the stereotype that is attached with gay men. Gay men are attached with a more feminine, flamboyant characteristic, this idea and stereotype challenges the masculinity that has been imposed on men for centuries. With this conflict, straight men find gay men to be inferior, causing a rift in the way everyone treats the LGBTQ community. Furthermore, with this

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