Masculinity In Great Britain Essay

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Role of men in Britain 18th century and onwards
As we can see men were clearly viewed and upheld as a superiority in the household, however, a male role, in addition to being the breadwinner there were deeper expectations to a men’s role in the household. Yes, they were expected to provide for the family however that accompanied many supplementary burdens put upon them especially psychologically. The masculinity of the patriarch was contingent on how well the husband was able to provide for his family and it was dependent on his family requires him. (Barclay) The whole concept of the masculinity was the mans success in control of his work and household which could quickly be undermined by a disorderly or sexually dissatisfied wife or disobedient children. Consequently, for many men, their masculinity was undermined as they could not fulfil their obligations as the sole provider or protector feasibly due to the fact they had poor credit or unemployment or even a mental or physical disability.
Hence at a more personal level, the adult male became depended on the women of the households, not in the way women were but a psychological dependence on the wife who would not only take care of any domestic chores in the household but …show more content…

(Barclay)The ability of women to try to divert from the “natural” authority of men in the household was still outweighed by the fact that “social custom and cultural discourse vested in the patriarch. Therefore from this perspective, the patriarch in the household was not as vulnerable as it has a strong institutional patriarchy that supports or the “patriarchal dividend”