Masculinity, similarly to other aspects of one’s identity, is being intensively discussed in contemporary society. It has undergone significant development in the last few decades which has been reflected in and accelerated by the media. This essay explores the reasons for this - it refers to historical development where appropriate and discusses the consequences of the fragmentation of male identitities.
The essay starts with a brief discussion of masculinity as a term. It will draw on theories and show how the understanding of the concept changed over time. It then moves to describing...
define terms masculinity, masculinities
If it has been believed that in the past, only one version of masculinity existed, it has theoretical background in the philosophical view of essentialism. Essentialist philosophers argued that every (material) thing has its own (abstract) essence. Essence represented the fixed, unchanging qualities of the object.
When this thinking is applied to the discussion about men, it helps us to understand where the ideas about a “natural” masculinity that is same for all men comes from. If “man” is the physical representation, “masculinity” is the essence that defines him. So for example, if “masculinity” is defined by the society as behaviour that is sexually and physically aggressive, dominant, confident and avoiding the show if emotions, men that do not conform to these qualities are arguably less manly.
John Beynon, Professor in the Cardiff School of Creative & Cultural Industries, argues that this still reflects in “commonsensical assumption that masculinity is a standardized container, fixed by biology, in which all “normal” men are placed, something natural that can be measured in terms of ps...
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...n of Males in Teenage Girls' Magazines, Men and Masculinities 08(3), 298-308.
Masterson, A. (2010) "How I Met Your Mother" - Ted Mosby and Barney Stinson - The Leaders of the Show [Online] Available from:
http://ezinearticles.com/?How-I-Met-Your-Mother---Ted-Mosby-and-Barney-Stinson---The-Leaders-of-the-Show&id=3080535 Date Accessed: 19/01/2011
Benwell, B., 2003. Masculinity and Men’s Lifestyle Magazines. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing
Braddock, K. (2010) From Lad to 4D man: The ever-changing face of modern masculinity [Online] Available from:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/2010/nov/11/4d-man-modern-masculinity Date Accessed: 22/01/2011
Porter, Ch., 2010. Mr. David Williams, Fanstastic Man, 03 (12), p. 83
Flynn, P., 2010. The Legendary Mr. Bryan Ferry, Fanstastic Man, 03 (12), p. 117
Barnes, J., 2010. The Super Show, Fanstastic Man, 03 (12), p. 160
The movie, Tough Guise: Violence, Media and the Crisis in Masculinity produced by Jackson Katz and Jeremy Earp, deconstructs the concepts that create the social constructs of masculinity. Masculinity, a set of behaviors, roles, and attributes correlating to men, is earned, not given (Conley 190). Starting from television shows to children’s toys, the idea of masculinity has infiltrated their minds starting at a young age. Moreover, the concept of masculinity has physical attributes, such as muscles, a deep voice, and be able to protect themselves. Masculinity, for boys of any races, socioeconomic classes, or ethnicity, has grown up with the same stereotypical image of what a man should entail. Since many media outlets show that a form of masculinity
In the essay, “The High Cost of Manliness,” writer Robert Jensen discusses the harmful effects of having male specific characteristics, such as masculinity. Jensen realizes that men’s actions and ways of living are judged based upon the characteristic of being manly. He argues that there is no valid reason to have characteristics associated with being male. Society has created the notion that masculinity is the characteristic that defines males as males.
The concept of masculinity is considered as the qualities and characteristics of a man, typical what is appropriate to a man. In this article, A Community Psychology of Men and Masculinity: Historical and Conceptual Review, The author Eric S. Mankowski and Kenneth I. Maton, analyze four main themes: "Men as gendered beings, the privilege and damage of being a masculine man, men as a privileged group, and men’s power and subjective powerlessness. The second and fourth themes are described as
In Kimmel’s essay “’Bros Before Hos’: The Guy Code” he argues that the influence of society on masculinity is equal to or greater than biological influences on masculinity. In the essay, Kimmel uses various surveys and interviews to validate his argument. He points to peers, coaches, and family members as the people most likely to influence the development of a man’s masculinity. When a man has his manliness questioned, he immediately makes the decision never to say or do whatever caused him to be called a wimp, or unmanly. Kimmel’s argument is somewhat effective because the readers get firsthand accounts from the interviewees but the author does not provide any statistics to support his argument.
She taught at universities both in Australia and the United States. Connell highly disagreed that the ideas about what established masculinity are ethically definite. In other words, masculinity is important to whom is referred to. For example, “if women are seen as weak, passive and emotional, then men are supposed to be strong, aggressive, and rational” (Seidman, 221). Additionally, masculinity is based on how people interact with each other in which correlates with their race, class, and sexuality. With this said, Connell said, “to recognize diversity in masculinity: relations of alliance, dominance and subordination… This is a gender politics within masculinity” (Seidman, 223). To point out Connell’s theorizing masculinity, she believes that diversity defines masculinity has its own relationships with authorities. In our text, Seidman gave a brief example of how the roles carry out to the social authority such as President, Senator, CEO, General, media executive, or surgeon. It is stated that while there are many senators, executives, or CEOs who are women, it is definite identify as masculinity because people think those high authorities is only for a male role. In our text, Connell has mentioned that “every society has a dominant or a “hegemonic” type of masculinity” (223). This means that she believes men has the power or control type of their masculinity in the
Kimmel, Michael S. "Masculinity as Homophobia: Fear, Shame, and Silence in the Construction of Gender Identity." Theorizing Masculinities. Ed. Harry Brod, and Michael Kaufman. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc., 1994. 119-42. SAGE knowledge. Web. Research on Men and Masculinities Series. 5 May 2014.
Mosse, L George. The Image of Man: The Creation of Modern Masculinity. New York: Macmillan publishers, 1996.
MacKinnon, Kenneth. Representing Men : Maleness and Masculinity in the Media. Edward Arnold Ltd., 2003. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). EBSCO. Web. 24 Sept. 2011.
Jensen provides evidence throughout the text for three assumptions on why masculinity must be terminated from pertaining to just males. It is proposed that masculinity is harmful for both men and women, that men are surrendering their humanity by conforming with masculinity, and
The topics that Joe Ehrmann uses as framework for his Building Men for Others program are quite intriguing and make you really question masculinity. The first topic, rejecting false masculinity, can be interpreted a few different ways. In the book, it states: “As young boys, we’re told to be men, or to act like men” soon followed with “we’ve got all these parents say ‘be a man’ to boys that have no concept of what that means. I completely agree with the statement of Joe Ehrmann and often question the definition of ‘being a man’. Many boys and men will reject the idea of a man being anything other than being big and strong or having power.
Stets, Jan E., and Peter J. Burke. "Femininity/Masculinity." Encyclopedia of Sociology. New York: Macmillan, n.d. 1-21. Web. 8 Apr. 2014.
Over time, the image of men has changed. This is due mostly to the relaxation of rigid stereotypical roles of the two genders. In different pieces of literature, however, men have been presented as the traditional dominate figure, the provider and rule maker or non-traditional figure that is almost useless and unimportant unless needed for sexual intercourse. This dramatic difference can either perpetuate the already existing stereotype or challenge it. Regardless of the differences, both seem to put men into a negative connotation.
In the views of Micheal Kimmel “hegemonic masculinity” is a socially constructed process where men are pressured by social norms of masculine ideals to perform behaviors of a “true man” and its influence on young male’s growth. It is the ideology that being a man with power and expressing control over women is a dominant factor of being a biological male. The structure of masculinity was developed within the 18th to 19th century, as men who owned property and provided for his family with strength related work environments was the perfect example of being a generic “American man.” Kimmel introduces Marketplace Manhood and its relation to American men. He states, “Marketplace Masculinity describes the normative definition of American masculinity.
Manhood had not always existed; it was created through culture. Depending on the era, masculinity claimed a different meaning. But in all of its wandering definitions, it consistently contains opposition to a set of “others,” meaning racial and sexual minorities. (pp.45) One of the first definitions was the Marketplace Man, where capitalism revolved around his success in power, wealth, and status. A man devoted himself to his work and family came second. Although this is one of the first standing definitions, it still finds its spot in today’s definition, where masculinity consists of having a high paying job, an attractive young wife, and
Masculinity and femininity are two terms, which have been interpreted differently throughout history. Both the males and the females have responsibilities and duties but these duties differ based on one’s gender. Gender has played a prodigious role in the economy, politics, and the society. Everyone starts making interpretations of the strengths and weaknesses based on one’s gender. These interpretations are not always based on his or her ability but is usually based on his or her gender. Males tend to be judged as extremely strong and unfashionable in terms of appearance. Whereas, females are judged as expensive and very fashionable. Males and females both differ in their abilities and their enjoyments. Fashion, entertainment, and strength are three topics, which are used to define masculinity and femininity in the 21st century.