Within this essay, what is meant by the concept ‘crisis of masculinity’ will be thoroughly explored, how it came to be and whether or not this is prevalent in contemporary society, as well as outlining any specific factors that have also arisen due to this notion Oct 24, · Free essay on Masculinity: Masculinity (from Lat. Masculinus, male) is a complex of physical, mental, and behavioral features (secondary sexual characteristics), considered as the male (that is outwardly distinguish male from female or male from female animals) Masculinity is a concept built based on a set of characteristics and behaviors, which are generally This essay cannot by any means address all the theoretical perspectives in masculinity however it will focus on three of them which are fatherhood, sexuality and men in the work place. This essay will reflect on the historical evidence which slavery has provided nevertheless this is not to say that slavery is the root from which all problems of black Caribbean men have originated
Essays on Masculinity. Free essay topics and examples about Masculinity
Men perform and reinforce masculinity informed by outside influences across diverse discourses. Hegemonic masculinity represents the culturally idealized forms of manhood that are socially and hierarchically exclusive. Masculinity represents the patterns of social practice linked to the position of men within a society. The cultural configuration of gender practice within the hegemonic masculinity is central to the production and reproduction of gendered violence. Masculinity literature traces the performance of masculinity; however, the literature largely neglects the interactions between the various spheres, especially the manner in which masculine performance differs across space and time.
The paper seeks to examine how men reinvent and make sense of their masculinity, as masculinity essay transit between competing paradigms. Hegemonic masculinity represents the ideal masculinity culturally idealized masculine character that most young men acknowledge, but do not necessarily masculinity essay. The concept of hegemonic masculinity differs across place and time and features multiple overlapping dimensions. Indeed, hegemonic masculinity can be qualified as a cultural representation, institutional structure and everyday practice.
Masculinity essay expressions of hegemonic masculinity are normative, but not necessarily customary. As such, there exists a collection of potential masculinities in operation at any moment in time. Connell infers masculinity as a performance that fluctuates over the life course and that details the arrangement and reorganization of psychic and bodily resources in complex rituals of identification and positioning Connell and Messerschmidt Various studies examine the means in which diverse configurations of masculinity are fostered, challenged or reinforced in given social situations, masculinity essay.
In their study, Robinson and Hockey document the varied masculinities that a single man can manifest or undertake in different spheres of his life and at diverse times over the life course Robinson and Hockey Indeed, men navigate masculine identities in transitional periods both temporally and spatially between domestic life and employment. Hegemony represents a term employed by Antonio Gramsci to delineate the prevalent ideas that have become naturalized, embraced and utilized to validate the status quo of a cultural practice or institution Connell and Messerschmidt The concept of hegemonic masculinity emerged partially in reaction to sex role theory, which received criticism for being rigid, negligent of the power differences that exist between genders and failure to explain social change.
Hegemony, masculinity essay, complicity and subordination outline relations central to the gender order, masculinity essay. Hegemony, complicity and subordination elucidate relations internal to the gender order via the interplay of gender with other structures of inequality, including class and race. Robinson and Hockey provide a rich empirical data that challenges understandings of hegemonic masculinity as masculinity essay and static Robinson and Hockey Robison and Hockey demonstrate that masculinity is an agential project, a phenomenon that is constituted and frequently altered, masculinity essay, as men adapt to or reject traditional types of masculine identity.
The manifestation of masculinity is relative to other masculinities, which implies that not all masculinities are similar owing to a hierarchy that privileges hegemonic masculinity as the most legitimate, safeguarded version.
Conceptually, hegemonic masculinity seeks to elaborate on how and why men preserve dominant social roles, and other gender identities considered as either masculine or masculinity essay Robinson and Hockeymasculinity essay, The concept of hegemonic masculinity results from the theory of cultural hegemony that examines the power relations between the social classes of a society.
As such, hegemony represents the cultural dynamics by ways of which a social group claims and preserves a leading and dominant position within a social hierarchy. For the purposes of current paper, hegemonic masculine behavior is delineated as physical, violent, patriarchal and aggressive.
Masculinity influences and shapes the lives of both men and women. Masculinity represents the behavior, relations and social roles of men in a particular society, as well masculinity essay the meanings attributed to them. The influence of masculinity is sometimes subtle, but in other times it can be evident. The beliefs, characteristics and attitudes stereotypically linked to masculinity permeate all social institutions, including work, masculinity essay, government, education, masculinity essay, religion, government, family, sports and the media.
Scholars of inequality argue that inequality can take the form of a privilege or disadvantage. Masculinity scholars examine the diverse ways in which men as a group are privileged, although, not all men enjoy similar access to the privileges Kimmel and Michael masculinity essay, 5. Masculinity, as a configuration of everyday practice, is essentially a social construction.
In recent years, social institutions have emerged, through which masculine identities are molded and shaped. The traits associated with masculinity differ according to the context and location and may be impacted by socio-cultural factors.
Social institutions celebrate practices linked to hegemonic masculinity detailing normative features of it Kimmel and Michael8. Social institutions, such as sports, construct and reinforce hegemonic masculine norms and provide a platform for men to exercise normative masculinity traits, such as aggression, dominance, assertiveness and courage.
The overriding concepts of masculinity are tied to socio-cultural contexts and impacted by several factors, such as ethnicity, social class and sexuality.
For instance, a group manifesting one version of masculinity in an ethnic group or social class may wield greater power over another in the same way that a heterosexual masculinity is occasionally dominant over bisexual and masculinity essay masculinity.
Gender stereotypes are widely utilized by the society in the construction of characteristics considered to be typical for both men and women. As such, people are encouraged to align masculinity essay the stereotypical beliefs and behaviors and conform to and embrace dominant norms of either masculinity or femininity. The societal constructions entrench heteronormative notions of what idea male-type behaviors should be.
The discourses relating to work, sport, family and popular culture offer a platform on which the typical model of manliness is presented and performed by males throughout the life-stage development Josselson and Harwaymasculinity essay, Save your time for something pleasant! School and home are the strongest social spaces shaping masculinity. In the social spaces, parents and siblings, at home, masculinity essay, and friends and peer groups, at school, indoctrinate young on what to do or not to do.
Home can be regarded as one of the strongest social spaces that shape the development of social constructs of masculinity. Schools are a concrete site of interaction between young men and teachers and girls.
Schools can also perform a function of risky and vulnerable social spaces owing to the masculinity essay behaviors, such as substance abuse and bullying. From childhood, children learn what it pertains to be a man based on hegemonic masculine behaviors and attitudes, such as violence, physicality and aggressiveness and persistently try to meet such masculinity essay Josselson masculinity essay Harway Studies have shown that expressing masculine behaviors and characteristics, especially in the presence of other men or peers, serves to reinforce hegemonic masculinity.
Religion and tradition also plays a powerful role in constructing masculine identity. Traditionally, organized religion reinforced ideas of masculine and feminine ideology. Masculinity among diverse ethnic groups differs significantly in line with culture. However, the identities embraced by the various ethnic masculinity essay closely mirror some elements of conventional masculinity, masculinity essay.
In addition, Asian-American men embrace hegemonic masculinity in order to avert being labeled as effeminate. Young men construct and reinforce gendered performances in vibrant and intricate cultures of media, including social media.
The messages carried by the mass media perpetuate and reinforce the ideals of hegemonic masculinity. The media role centers masculinity essay making, shaping and recycling certain attitudes connected with hegemonic masculinity, masculinity essay, which deal with distinctions of ethnicity, race and socioeconomic class.
As such, it is unsurprising that a majority of villains masculinity essay heroes in the movies are men who wield significant power and exhibit hegemonic masculine identities. Sports also play a central role in shaping masculinity, especially in terms of social, intellectual and physical development. Sports give young men an opportunity to develop valuable skills, especially how to be team players. Although, masculinity essay, sports foster cooperative values, the dominant message within sports aligns with conventional perceptions of hegemonic masculinity Grindstaff and West Sports act as an example of how to learn archetypal masculine norms.
Sports function as an acceptable space for the expression of masculinity in literal ways. Grindstaff and West observe that sport players become more socialized into the norms of the team through interactions with other team players The socialization helps players learn how to appropriately perform the function of elite team player given that those who internalize the notion of masculinity physical aggression and hard-hitting are highly likely to be rewarded by having more play time Ford For instance, in sports, such as hockey, players are expected to portray their courage via physical confrontations, masculinity essay.
Similarly, the NFL football has preserved a hegemonic model of masculinity that stresses competitiveness, masculinity essay, success, violence, aggression, obedience to and compliance with male identity and dominance over women. Sport provides a platform where a spectator or a player can affirm the masculinity essay and status of a heterosexual male Fordmasculinity essay, As a result, cheerleading can be utilized as a means for examining the circumstances and the level to which sport remains essential to the enactment of hegemonic masculinity.
A social construct seems natural and apparent to people who embrace it, but may or may not be representative of the reality, which renders a social construct as an artifice or invention of a society.
Masculinity ideology constitutes a social construct detailing the processes by which men internalize socio-cultural definitions of how to be a man. According to Robinson and Hockey, identity should be treated in process, as an end product of internal-external dialectic 5.
The construction of gender identities remains distinct to every individual, since not all boys and young men subscribe to hegemonic masculinity essay or related male norms. Biological sex represents the physical characteristics that make people male or female, masculinity essay gender represents the social characteristics awarded to every sex. The differences in male and female identities do not derive naturally from biological differences. As a result, gender identities are learned and relative and vary cross-culturally and historically.
The cultural contexts of gender are plural, rather than merely binary Ford The persistent negotiation of gender differences occurs throughout the life course, within a process that can be both active and passive. Gender is a complicated construct in the sense that it captures identity, power structure and delineates a set of social pressures that inform how people act. Gender is created and recreated via interaction; the manner in which people categorize themselves, work or parentage form a part of social construction of gender.
The notion of multiple identities has rendered the idea of patriarchy suspect, since the society is structured by an intricate set of differences racial, ethnic, masculinity essay, class, gendered Robinson and Hockey Consequently, both men and women occupy and negotiate a wide range of diverse positions in the complex matrix.
Although, people learn from the shared cultural conceptions of what it means to be male or female as transmitted by society, people may diverge from the proposed masculine cultural model. People are not merely passive subjects of socialization; indeed, socialization constitutes an invitation to the person to engage in society on certain terms that the subject can actively negotiate. According to Ford, masculinity is physically, behaviorally and materially constructed from idealized images emanating from a contextually adaptive sense of self According to Ford, masculinity essay, the sustenance of masculinity essay of African American masculinity fosters masculinity essay self-doubt or insecurity, masculinity essay.
The idealized idea of being men enables African Americans to project a future development of self, which resolves the feelings of inauthenticity or insecurity. Some of the theories on gendered violence emphasize personal explanations, including substance abuse, mental illness, frustration and violent family background.
The sociological explanation of gendered violence highlights that violence against women is systemic to the social condition of women and men across culture and time Grindstaff and Westmasculinity essay, Consequently, in order to understand gendered violence, it may be necessary to examine the pattern of the gender order.
Masculinity essay view of women masculinity essay potential sexual objects for men is a deeply entrenched element of hegemonic masculinity. Consequently, masculinity essay, men presume, as an masculinity essay masculine matter, the responsibility of controlling women so that not to appear cowards.
For instance, in the Middle East, female sexuality is widely denied and excluded as a potential origin masculinity essay chaos. Hence, control over female sexuality remains necessary, leading to public sex-segregation. Men and boys internalize the demands to live masculinity essay to the ideas that dictate how they should behave and feel like men. The masculine expectations may encompass notions that men should be independent, risk-taking masculinity essay have multiple sexual partners in order to assert their manhood.
Violence is largely a gendered phenomenon, which implies that any attempt to understand violence should take into account the relationship between violence and masculinity and manhood Ford
The King Archetype of Mature Masculinity [Video Essay]
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Masculinity Argumentative Essays Samples For Students 10 samples of this type blogger.com proudly presents to you a free database of Masculinity Argumentative Essays meant to help struggling students tackle their writing challenges Hegemonic Masculinity in American Society Essay Words | 6 Pages. Masculinity is described as possession of attributes considered typical of a man. Hegemonic masculinity is a form of masculine character with cultural idealism and emphasis that connects masculinity to competitiveness, toughness, and women subordination Nov 12, · Essay On Masculinity. Topics: Hip hop music, Hip hop, Rapping Pages: 3 ( words) Published: November 12, “Masculinity has been taken to the extreme. And taken to the extreme it creates anxiety, homicide, rape, war and suicide” (Farrell ) Warren Farrell, a founder of the men’s pro-feminist movement, goes into further explanation of how hyper
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