Hegemonic Masculinity Essay

The notion ‘hegemonic masculinity’ was formulated during the 1980s and questionably has been a common term through gender studies over the last two decades (Connell & Messerschmidt 2005: 829). Hegemonic masculinity can be determined as established male power through character traits as outlined earlier and through consensual negotiation of achievement. All other forms like the female gender, homosexuals and native people (Roper and Tosh, 1991) are determined through submissive and subordinated identities that subvert to the hegemonic masculine male. A hegemonic masculine concept has been aided through recognition of ‘social struggles in which subordinated masculinities influence dominant forms’ (Connell and Messerschmidt, 2005). During the

The rise of the superwomen myth, justified the fundamental changes and growth of professional women, which gave them a viable economic option of independence from men ‘female breadwinners though largely invisible, are more common than people anticipate and are on the rise’ (Doyle-Morris, 2011) writes Dr Suzanne Doyle-Morris, men’s achievement have declined she claims while women’s have improved. Ultimately, gender role deconstruction through the 1990’s onwards gave way to the breakdown of men’s role as a breadwinner, whereas women no long relied on men to provide for them. For many reasons, the redefining of gender roles in society, especially emphasis on masculinity, has led to questions as to whether masculinity, in particular white masculinity, is in fact in crisis. None the less, ‘the celebrity driven consumer culture today where success is measured in very narrow terms’ (Beynon, 2002: 163), works in parallel with the preoccupation of what society deems is necessary characteristics for men. ‘Society 's unwillingness to let go of the tired old "breadwinner" model of masculinity contributes to that distress’

They are groups of males who believe feminism has gone too far, in addition to men’s concerns are not being heard or met. Male activist groups are concerned about issues of male disadvantage, discrimination and oppression with association to male suicide, false rape accusations and masculinity crisis. ‘MGTOW’ movement is an extremist group against feminism and believe men are alpha to women and continue to strive for post modernism times. The growing phenomena, claims to be spread across Canada, America and the UK (MGTOW, 2016). They believe that men are forced to take personal responsibility for mistakes that are not theirs, even extreme as claiming marriage/divorce and children are not their responsibility and the responsibility of women. Due to western ideologies MGTOW movement has claimed that women have too much control over gender equality and men’s issues are not treated fairly; but in fact are continuing to pay for women’s mistakes in modern society (Ranch, 2016). Barbara Risman offers a concept called ‘gender vertigo’ that deals with gender expectation, and how many do not know what it means to be masculine anymore, she outlines that after times of hardship, such as the recession and high rise in unemployment, ‘men are feeling their position of privilege as challenged and this is a cultural reaction that takes place after that happens’ (Lamoureux, 2015).