Masculinity Masculinity And Masculinity Essay - 1623 Words

The following phrase are a string of words that no heterosexual man wants to hear, â€Å"You’re acting like a girl!† To a straight or heterosexual man those words would be a shot to his manhood. To most men and boys in western society, masculinity is what separate the men from the women and the boys from the girls. However, what is masculinity and why do most men and boys’ try so hard to guard theirs? My understanding of masculinity, and as technically defined, is having customary qualities attributed to or usually applicable to a male. My position is that society encourages hegemonic masculinity thus forming basis for males to exhibit traditional masculine qualities to fit in, most women prefer men with these traditional masculine characteristics or qualities, and men try to assert their masculinity so they are not considered feminine. In the next few paragraphs, I will to take you on a journey on why masculinity is important to the communication of gender ident ity from a heterosexual point of view. Origin To understand the masculinity you must know of its etymology. As etymonline.com explains it, the term masculinity or more specifically â€Å"masculine† an adjective originated from the mid-14th century defined as â€Å"belonging to the male grammatical gender.† In the late 14th century meaning of men, male, from Old French term masculin of the male sex (12th century), from Latin masculinus male, of masculine gender, from masculus male, masculine; worthy of a man, diminutive ofShow MoreRelatedMasculinity : Masculinity And Masculinity1850 Words   |  8 Pagesin which femininity and masculinity play a role in society. At the end of World War II, there were many interpretations on what it meant to be a man† most notably for soldiers returning home from the war whom were either unemployed, handicap and/or suffering from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). Film and television acted as pivotal agents that influenced a change in the way masculinity was defined. They explored social values as they refer to the ideas of masculinity and femininity by reflectingRead MoreMasculinity : Masculinity And Masculinity851 Words   |  4 Pages Masculinity At its Manliest In both Douglas Schrock and Michael Schwalbe’s Men, Masculinity, and Manhood Acts and Sharon Bird’s Welcome to the Mens’s Club, we see compelling arguments for the treatments on the categories of â€Å"masculinity.† By comparing both articles, the significant similarities and differences between the two variations can be identified. In doing so, the function of â€Å"masculinity† in society, according to each author, can also beRead MoreMasculinity : Masculinity And Masculinity1769 Words   |  8 Pages Masculinity There are different ways for men become masculine, people can teach them or let them figure it out when growing up. Masculinity is usually described as being strong, manly, or dominate. It is also used when someone is describing men and how masculine they are. Many people use the word â€Å"masculine† to describe a man and put them into a category if they see that he fits. Many people believe that boys should not be brought up by punishing them if they did not do something masculine. TheyRead MoreHegemonic Masculinity : Masculinity And Masculinity926 Words   |  4 PagesMultiple Masculinities The certain qualities a man processes plays into how masculine he is rated to be. The way he portrays himself in his looks, actions and everyday life paints a bigger picture for the type of male he is. Connell argues that hegemonic masculinity is the ultimate goal that men strive for. Hegemonic masculinity is the idea of men being powerful, strong and dominant. Not many people actually live up to this theory, but nearly all men strive to achieve it. Marginalized masculinity andRead MoreMasculinity : Masculinity And Violence Essay2278 Words   |  10 PagesMasculinity and violence Violence is a mechanism of coercive control that is used to maintain and reinforce gender difference and hierarchy. Building on Lynch s (2009) claim that hegemonic masculinity is toxic to both the men and women left in its wake this essay aims to explore the relationship between hegemonic masculinity and violence. Placing a specific focus on acts of intimate partner violence and mass shootings, and exploring the works of Lynch (2009), Keith (2011), Baugher, GazmararianRead MoreHegemonic Masculinity : Masculinity And Masculinity1092 Words   |  5 Pages‘hegemonic masculinity’ and ‘the field of masculinity’ depicted in this film. ‘Hegemonic masculinity’, which is proposed by Connell (1987), is assumed to ‘the pattern of practice (i.e., things done, not just a set of role expectations or an identity) that allowed men’s dominance over women to continue.’ (Connell and Messerschmidt 2005, p.832) However, hegemonic masculinity h as strong influence not only over women, but also over other men as Demetriou (2001, p.341) states. Hegemonic masculinity dominatesRead MoreMasculinity And Masculinity, By Michael Kimmel Essay1976 Words   |  8 Pagesmen are often subject to extreme methods of proving their masculinity, and to reinforce what it truly means to be a man. Michael Kimmel, famous sociologist said, â€Å"Masculinity is the relentless repudiation of the feminine† (Kimmel, 2015), which not only reflects how men think about themselves but how North Americans as an entire culture think about masculinity and manhood. The following pages will be centered on issues of the lens of masculinity in contexts such as the sphere of education, the predominanceRead MoreToxic Masculinity : Substance Masculinity1921 Words   |  8 PagesAs a boy grows into a man he faces the ever-raising mountain of masculinity. In regards to the occurrence, he finally reaches maturity he has no choice but in order to fight to re tain his measly sense of manhood. He is not allowed to act feminine or else he’s not man enough, he can’t show his emotions, he has to hide that he can do anything a woman can do sans give birth. Boys grow up being told they are not allowed to cry and that they are supposed to be tough, that they are not able to be likeRead MoreHegemonic Masculinity : Masculinity And Masculinity2351 Words   |  10 PagesWhat is hegemonic masculinity? What are the merits and shortcomings of this concept? In Connell’s original conception, hegemonic masculinity can be understood as ‘the pattern of practice that allowed men’s dominance over women’ (1987). Hegemonic masculinity is the exclusive masculinity of which only a few exhibit. The majority of men in fact experience complicit masculinity, allowing them to dominate in the patriarchal system in which it created. Connell (1987) believed it was this that createdRead MoreMasculinity And Social Construction Of Masculinity1461 Words   |  6 Pagesuninterested in sexual conquest, and so forth† (Itulua-Abumere 42). The presented concept of masculinity presumes that one has to believe in individual difference and personal agency. So, it is based on the concept of individuality that emerged in early-modern Europe, together with the increase of capitalist economic relations and colonial empires. Further, the conception is also inherently relational. Masculinity only exists in coherence with femininity. If a culture does not treat men and women as carriers