module 6 gender society

• Since 1970s, studies on different aspects of manhood (from men in the labor market to men in the family and violent men, etc.) were made. By the 20th century, the number of these studies increased dramatically.
• A growing body of literature theorizing men and masculinities focuses on a variety of topics including men's violence, fatherhood, pornography, men's crimes, female masculinity, male femininity, etc. These studies arose despite the clear dominance of men over global economic and political power.
• Essentialist views of gender are still popular and are constantly reinforced in the media. However, they are increasingly under challenge, not only in biology (Fausto-Sterling 1992), but also in everyday life. The rise of the women's liberation movement, and many feminisms that have followed on from it, produced a massive disturbance in the gender system and people's assumptions about gender.
• Large numbers of men now acknowledge that their position is under challenge, that what they once took for granted about must be re-thought, making men's studies and masculinity became popular.
• Men's Rights Lobby


  One of the main founding texts of this lobby is by Warren Farrell, in his work, The Myth of Male Power: Why are Men the Disposable Sex? (1994).
• According to Warren Farrell, "Men are now the gender victims as a result of feminism having gone too far, with men having increased responsibilities but few rights around issues of marriage, divorce, child custody and access to children."
• Modern legislation is seen to be overprotective of women's interests, resulting in discrimination against men at a time when they are under increasing threat within a rapidly changing society.
• Some researchers argue that these pro-male movements were only a reaction to feminism as an attempt to accuse women and feminists for creating problems that men encounter in society
• Masculinity


  A social, cultural, and historical construct dependent on and related to other factors such as class, ethnicity, sexuality, age, and disability.
• There is no one pattern of masculinity that is found everywhere. Different cultures and different periods of history, construct masculinity differently.
• The meaning, of masculinity in working-class life is different from the meaning in middle-class life and same goes among the very rich and the very poor. It is even possible that more than one kind of masculinity can be found within a given cultural setting and within a specific class.
• Hegemonic masculinity


  The form of masculinity which is culturally dominant in a given setting. It embodies popular heroes, role models, and fictional characters.
• Hegemonic masculinity


  Contains within it the image of the 'man' in power, a man with power and a man of power. It maintains the power that some men have over other men and that men have over women.
• Hegemonic masculinity was understood as the pattern of practice that allowed men's dominance over women to continue. It ideologically legitimated the global subordination of women to men.
• Hegemonic masculinity in Western society hinges on heterosexuality, economic autonomy, being able to provide for one's family, being rational, being successful, keeping one's emotions in check; and above all, not doing anything considered feminine.
• Hegemonic masculinity is hegemonic not just in relation to other masculinities, but in relation to the gender order. It is an expression of the privilege men collectively have over women.
• The hierarchy of masculinities is an expression of the unequal shares in that privilege held by different groups of men. Thus, some masculinities are deemed as higher than the others, as well as higher than other forms of gender.
• Gender structures of a society define patterns of conduct of individuals as either "masculine" or "feminine". These patterns also exist at the collective level-in institutions, such as corporations, armies, governments, and even schools.
• Masculinity also exists impersonally in culture. Video games, for example, circulate stereotyped images of violent masculinity. Cinema and TV Shows portray stereotypes of masculinity such as abandoning father, disgruntled student, abusive partner, and the drug convict
• In sports, an aggressive kind of masculinity is created organizationally by its structure, pattern of competition, system of training, and hierarchy of levels and rewards.
• Research confirms a strong association between rigid norms about what it means to be a man and men's negative health practices and vulnerabilities.
• Men are unlikely to talk about their worries and more likely to drink and engage in other destructive behaviors when stressed. These findings echo the evidence in the literature that conforming to stoic and rigid notions of masculinity contributes to suicidal behavior and depression.
• Culturally dominant forms of masculinity, which often urge men to practice strict emotional control, serve as barriers to health- and help-seeking behavior, or encourage some men to engage in practices detrimental to their own health and that of their families.
• Evidence confirms that death and disability rates related to alcohol and substance abuse are considerably higher for men than for women, making substance abuse and addiction predominantly male phenomena worldwide.
• The requirement of physical strength appears to be a nearly universal component of a dominant masculinity. The physical version of hegemonic masculinity has been promoted by globalization via film, toys, and other goods.
• Domestic roles are closely associated with women as carrying them out can involve a loss of face for men. Great deal was heard about increases in women's labor force participation in recent decades but less about men's caregiving and domestic roles.
• Research shows that men are, on average, not greatly increasing their role in household work and unpaid care. However, it was said that men may contribute to the "domestic enterprise" in other important ways, including through providing financial support, accompanying children to activities outside of school or home.
• Better-educated men are more likely to put more time into domestic roles and caregiving. Men's schooling may have expanded their sense of norms and weakened stereotypes through their exposure to broader ideas and more diverse people.
• More men drink than women; and men drink more than women. Studies show that men were more likely to drink than women, drank alcohol in greater quantity and more frequently than women, and were more likely to face alcohol-related, health and social problems than women.
• In many settings, men's drinking encourages solidarity and stimulates courage. It is a key peer group ritual as well as being a recreational activity. When men become drunk, fights and homicides are rationalized, and women are encouraged to tolerate men's drunkenness as a natural part of their being men.
• Drug use and drug dealing can serve as ways of constructing a powerfully masculine identity.
• Protest Masculinity


  A form of marginalized masculinity which picks up themes of hegemonic masculinity in the society at large but reworks them in a context of poverty. It is akin to hegemonic masculinity but in socially deprived contexts.
• Protest Masculinity


  Refers to describe instances of extreme forms of sex-typed behavior on the part of some males, including high levels of physical aggression, destructiveness, low tolerance for delay of gratification, crime, drinking, and similar dispositions.
• Protest masculinity is often a product of narcissism built from deep feelings of powerlessness and insecurity.
• Caring Masculinity


  The emergence of caring masculinities in many parts of the world, where men adopt traditionally feminine characteristics (i.e. emotional expression, sensitivity, domestication, interdependence, caring, etc.) without departing from or rejecting masculinity.
• Caring masculinities arise as a strong ally against hegemonic masculinity, as men engage in gender equality by doing care work and resisting hegemonic masculinity and its privileges, domination, and power.
• Men who approximate this form of masculinity are viewed as a form of "new man".
• Masculinity and men's studies have been continuously developing from its inception and up to present. These studies covered common themes of masculinities, different kinds of masculinities such as hegemonic, protest, and caring masculinities and the relationship of these masculinities to various aspects of life and the environment.