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Hegemonic Masculinity And Men's Social Identity

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Research claims that the term ‘masculinity’ can offer insight into men’s social identity as it “consist of those behaviors, languages and practices, existing in specific cultural and organizational locations which are commonly associated with males…” (Itulua-Abumere, 2013 pg.1). Despite this, there are societal and personal definitions of what it means to be masculine and how masculinities can be performed, however, most men aspire towards ‘hegemonic masculinity’ (Carrigan et al., 2004; Connell and Messerschmidt, 2005). The concept hegemonic masculinity explains society’s ideology of what it is to be a real man (i.e. being a breadwinner, tough, dominant and violent), and advises against behaviours that would make males appear unmanly and feminine …show more content…

However, in reality, this is not always the case as some young black males struggle for identity, power, status, respect, and acceptance of who they are as an individual, rather than how they are projected (i.e. a nigger or thug) (Nedhari, 2009). The stress to follow Caucasian male patriarchal ideals of manliness as being the breadwinner and protector are can be seen as a problem for most young black males. Even with the unconscious imitation and social acceptance of the patriarchal ideals, inequalities and limited access to educational and employment opportunities deemed necessary to accomplish maleness, prevents them from expressing these behavioural expectations (Harris, 1995, p. 279). As a result, they have relied on their toughness, aggression and violence in order to demonstrate their masculinity (Connell and Messerschmidt, 2005). In his movie, ‘Tough Guise: Violence, Manhood, and American Culture’, Katz (2013) argues, men are taught masculine behaviours that are socially acceptable to the Caucasian patriarchal

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The author observed that most criminals and or police officers are men. He associates this with the importance for a man to prove his masculinity to others. “Violent acts committed by men, whether these acts break the law or are designed to uphold it, are often a way of demonstrating the perpetrator’s manhood” (pg.135). This gendered violence is often experienced by boys in poor neighborhoods at a young age. This form of masculinity is described by Rios to be the center of police youth interactions, which has influences many young men to live lives of defiance and

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Society tends to ignore the struggle of masculine norms men face everyday. In the film, “The Mask You Live In”, various ages of men discuss what it is like to live in a society filled with sexism and masculine norms. In the film, it is shown the impact of these norms society puts forth for men is catastrophic and negatively impacts their mental health. A few masculine norms that are found within the film are, self-reliance, violence, power over women, winning and risk-taking. Self-reliance is a big topic to cover in regards to masculine norms.

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The author of this article is Robert Jensen. He is a journalist professor at the University of Texas at Austin. Jensen’s writing and teaching focus on interrogating power structures of race and gender. He also wrote and published The End of Masculinity; therefore this is a topic that he feels really strongly about. Jensen first published the article “The High Cost of Manliness” to argue for an end to the conception of manliness.

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In the video clip Tough Guise 2, masculinity is a pose to male identities because of how the media is portraying them as violent, tough, strong, independent, and aggressive. These characterization of masculinity can be harmful to male because of what they have to act like in order to be seen as masculine. For instance, violence is portrayed as a masculine factor for males in the media with guns, fighting, or crime related actions. So, when younger boys see violence in video games and social media, they are going to think that it is okay to imitate that behavior in order to be seen as masculine. This can impact young boys to start violent behaviors at a very young age and get involved with illegal crimes.

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967 Words | 4 Pages

History has repeatedly given men privilege due to their physical advantages; yet it is these same advantages that have developed into “rules” or expectations that all men should conform to in order to prove their manhood. Michael Kimmel’s essay, “‘Bros Before Hos': The Guy Code” outlines the “rules” where men are expected to never show any emotions, be brave, act knowledgeable, be risk takers, be in control, act reliable, and be competitive, otherwise they would be showing weakness which is analogous to women. It is humiliating that men associate weakness with women; they should focus on the potential of the individual rather than their gender. Most insults toward men attack their masculinity because society finds it shameful for men to be

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Rampage school shootings are happening in rural and suburban areas, young male adolescents are the ones turning to violence to show “becoming a man” (124). The reason is to show that they are masculine and that they aren’t going to be put down or made fun of, for example being bullied is something that throws them over the edge. Gender discrimination is always present, because it is said that men can separate the emotions, while women can’t; that’s why they aren’t right for some jobs. According to Barak, 51 percent of the population are “women”, yet they are still the minority, because it is said that they won’t try to work long hours, instead they want to have a family and take care of them (126). Women have a higher education and yet are

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The majority of black men are not able to achieve traditional and hegemonic masculinity because instructional racism (Hatfield, E. F. 2010). The effect of the instructional racism on black man has product hyper-masculinity in black men. Black men are more willing to prove their manliness through the use of physical dominance and creativity. Black men are more likely to fight, display a lack of emotions and aggression. Addiction display of black men’s masculinity is through creativity such as speech, fashion, hairstyles and greeting (Majors, 1987).

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I noticed that all of these boys and men tend to pose in pictures the way that they view is the most masculine. They often hold up the middle finger, or throw up gang signs, or make belief signs in pictures to appear manly and more like thugs despite the fact that none of these boys are in any type of affiliation with local gangs. I also noticed when showing affection these men do not hug often instead to show friendship they do them in funny elaborate handshakes or daps which only happen in the black community. I know all of them very well and not any one of these male figures can be called actual “thugs”, in disregard to the pictures they are all extremely normal, kind, and good hearted people. And I found it very interesting that their ideas of masculinity differ far more greatly than that of a white male around their age.

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There is a lot of pressure on men in society to be manly; however, what exactly does it mean to be manly? Though many people have different opinions, a lot of them conclude that a man has to be strong and somewhat emotionless to be considered a man. This assumption can lead to Toxic Masculinity, which is “A false idea that men are expected to be as manly as possible” (The Hard, Adrenaline-Soaked Truth About 'Toxic Masculinity, 2017). Men are forced to face these assumptions not only from those around him, but also from people he might see in Media. Media reinforces Toxic Masculinity which in turn causes men to belittle women.

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Pascoe claims that “masculinizing discourses and practices extend beyond male bodies,” and that the fluid practices, rituals, and discourses that make up masculinity can be enacted by and affect males and females, and a multiplicity of institutions (9). Masculinity and compulsive heterosexuality are immutably linked, creating a reciprocal situation in which boys will assert their masculinity to prove their heterosexual and dominant identity, as well as prove their heterosexual dominance in order to affirm their

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Although Bethel University structures its virtual classroom around the model of a traditional classroom there are some differences between the two that are important for students to understand in order to succeed. Bethel’s online program requires each student to attend a lecture, read the course material, participate in a classroom discussion, and submit assignments as in any other classroom setting. The difference is that the online program is flexible; students do not have to be in one place at the same time. If a student wants to complete the coursework on Friday afternoon that is acceptable.

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Despite combating the issues surrounding guns, the editor focuses on a wider issue that’s been a common problem throughout generations, which is the definition to be a man, masculinity. Whenever a mass shooting occurs, the media focuses on the obvious point regarding guns yet they never emphasize on why it’s always majority boys. Somehow, it’s video games,

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Messner’s theory, “The Politics of Masculinity”, provides feasible clarification and explanations regarding gender differences. With its main focus as masculinity, the theory is used to understand how socialization effects the behavior of men, and how “…Black identity influences risky sexual behaviors among African American men” (Oparonozie et al. 35). With that, the dominant race (white men) is deemed to hold immense advantages of masculinity. Unfortunately, Black men are forced to continuously find stability in masculinity between their own culture and the dominant’s culture. Constantly facing challenges within their lives, such as incarceration and unemployment, African American men cannot properly take care of their families in relation

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The accepted social authority of men and a structural endorsement of masculinity in all socio-cultural spheres are perpetuated and kept in place through an appropriation of male-dominated ways of seeing. Consequently, doing gender is based on 'deeply rooted gendered social norms that reinforce existing understandings of appropriate roles for women and men ' (LSE, 2015, p.

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Masculinity (also called boyhood, manliness or manhood) is a set of attributes, behaviors and roles generally associated with boys and men. But the culture doesn’t end at the definition, it starts from there. The first thing to come to mind when the word masculinity is heard is usually a man flexing his gigantic muscles, as the word might sound to suggest, and that right there is the current culture of masculinity because sadly, in the world we live in, not everyone has a “muscular body”. So far we know the concept of masculinity, but the culture is what is truly hampering.

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