The Social Construction Of Hegemonic Masculinity And 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

Next, the paper will analyze and critique rape myths within the Ewanchuk case and will be related, compared and contrasted with several other scholarly articles proving the strength and presence of rape myths. Finally, this paper will discuss the advantages and limitations of litigation on sexual assault followed by a final conclusion to the paper.

Any involuntary, unwelcome, and nonconsensual sexual interaction or activity, including touching, kissing, and any type of sexual intercourse would be defined as sexual assault. It is not likely for one to be aware of the law governing sexual assault, until one is placed in a position that requires knowledge of it. (Constance Backhouse, 2016). Rape myths and stereotypes in the Canadian Court system and legislature will be ascertained in the following paper. First, rape myths will be discussed, moreover, it will be shown that regardless of the fluctuations in the Canadian law, sexual assault rates remain high, reporting and conviction rates remain low, and rape myths continue to operate. These rape myths are existing in Canadian universities and in the Canadian Court Houses. Many social constructions that are present in the Ewanchuk case are a result outcome because of the judiciary system and the university system. Furthermore, the rape myth and stereotypes in law and universities can relate to the social constructions of gender, race, masculinity/femininity, and heterosexuality. In this essay the focus will be directed to the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in R. v. Ewanchuk case, [199] 1 S.C.R. 330, and argue how the rape myths then are still present in today’s society despite feminist attempts to amend criminal laws to be more unbiased in resolving conflicts.

This national best seller can relate to the opinions expressed by Peggy Reeves Sanday in The Socio-Cultural Context of Rape. Sandy investigates the characteristics of a rape-prone, and rape-free society. Jon Krakauer was interviewed by NPR books, where he stated, “The upshot was most rapists walked away without any punishment, any accountability” (NPR 1). The response from Krakauer correlates to Sanday’s research in The Socio-Cultural Context of Rape. Reeves Sanday writings examine, “When men discovered that they could rape, they proceeded to do it” (Reeves Sanday

Society’s current structure of masculinity is unforgiving in form. It cuts out other forms of masculinity, it physically and mentally demanding, and its ill effects extend far beyond the men it infuses itself in. Yet what would we do if we were given other options for masculinity, ones that allowed for unique blends of attitudes and perceptions? Looking in to the lives of homeless men we can see the forced strategies which create new masculine codes created for the adaption against patriarchal pressures. They are made out of survival need to circumnavigate the painful mental and physical reality that is only made worse by harsh masculine standards. Yet these new masculinities hold out a form of hopefulness for society. They offer up new discussion to what it means to be a man, the potential for change, and what we can expect from changes in male identity over time. Using what we learn from the disadvantaged, we can hope to improve the lives of people, although the process will take time, effort, and careful mediation.

Disgrace speaks of how rape is validated through mythic images of criminality that displaces the responsibility and preventing resolution in violence and victimization.

Jean Kilbourne’s Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt divulges the multifaceted social watering hole we call the media. Topics in this short essay include the cultural abuse, sexual objectification of women, and the role men play in this stacked deck. There are multiple instances in which the media shames women for being sexual beings or for simply standing up against injustice. A large portion of our society believes it is solely up to the woman to protect herself from the poor choices of men, but it is important to note that a woman cannot rape herself.

The acceptance of rape myths and sexual scripts are also major contributors to the thriving rape culture. Rape myths are the false but commonly-held beliefs about rape, and they are closely related to sexual scripts, the culturally established prototypes for how sexual encounters should proceed. Both of these elements support the act of rape and promote the victim blaming and normalization that rape culture entails. Key rape myths include: 1. Husbands can’t rape their wives, 2. Men must engage in sex once sexually aroused 3.Women ask to be raped 4. Rapist are different from most other men 5. Women enjoy rape 6. Women lie about being raped. These incorrect principles can be traced to the patriarchal system that accepts and fosters rape as an

Women have always struggled in the fight to gain equality with men, despite the many advances, society still has a long way to go in addressing the issue of gender inequality. One major factor that keeps women from achieving gender equality is the many rape myths that are associated with sexual assaults. The rape myths that are deeply embedded within the Canadian legal system and society continues to have a detrimental effect on women. Using the R. v. Ewanchuck case I argue that the rape myths embedded within society prevent women from gaining justice within the legal system.

The notion of hegemonic masculinity has altered the field of gender studies and many academic arenas. An idea popularized by R.W. Connell, hegemonic masculinity has played an integral role in the emotional development of American men, articulating the impact that this societal construction has had on the concept of American masculinity. It is a contested topic, yet the impacts that it has in terms of sexuality, struggles for power and political leadership, and gender identities are valid (Connell 830). Although difficult to fully achieve, it acts as a guiding force for the stereotypically masculine. Hegemonic masculinity assumes the subordination of all other forms of masculinity, placing it at the top of the social hierarchy. At the same time, the idea of hegemonic masculinity has served as a bridge between the growing field of men’s’ studies and female studies (Connell 829). Several authors share the premise that men in American society conform to the standards of the social construct of hegemonic masculinity.

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

Feminist scholarship has argued that rape ideology encourages and justifies sexual coercion, trivializes sexual violence and demeans and devalues women who have experienced sexual assault. The foundation of this argument is based on women's experiences in patriarchal societies. Due to the fact that

Throughout Canada’s history, we have seen some very deviant and high profile crimes. A series of crimes that struck me as exceedingly nauseating are the crimes committed by Paul Bernardo and his wife and, accomplish Karla Homolka in the nineteen nineties. Although the act of rape is considered to be extremely deviant, a prevalent ‘rape culture’, and within it victim blaming, has caused the characteristic of being a rape victim to also be deviant. A similar budding societal view is that women somehow ask or deserve to be raped by the way they dress or behave. After looking at various sociological perspectives, it tells us that cultural myths and economic and gender inequality help lead

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’.

Masculinity and femininity are unescapeable. We are taught how to be masculine or feminine from birth but for men, the highest form of masculinity achievable is hegemonic masculinity. In this essay, I will define hegemonic masculinity, discuss how it perpetuates homophobia by restricting the way men interact with one another and by the use of the word fag, and how it perpetuates gender inequality through the expectations of violence, no emotions, and being breadwinners.