Hegemonic Masculinity

“People with disabilities are looked upon, identified, judged and represented primarily through their bodies, which are perceived in popular consciousness to be imperfect, incomplete and inadequate.” (Hargreves, 2000)

In many ways the idea that people are defined by their bodies can be seen through the use of the body in terms of gender identity, but to what extent does the disabled body override and nullify gender identity formed through behavior? In this essay I will explore the importance of the body in performing gender and the contradiction that can arise when the body cannot exhibit typical embodiments of masculinity. There are many ways in which physically disabled men use their bodies and actions to challenge dominant discourse of
Butler (2006) argues that gender is a performance, and there is a constant pressure to be performing correctly. This argument suggests the centrality of the body to the construction of both internal and external masculinity. It also realises a conflict for disabled men in terms of successfully expressing their gender identity to a standard that embodies the archetype of masculine behavior. Connell’s (2005) discussion of the concept of hegemonic masculinity is central to the discussion of gender performance in this context. This idea points to one way of being a man as a standard to aim for, which is very limited and often unattainable. Goffman describes this limited view of the requirements to ‘accomplish’ hegemonic masculinity as “a young, married, white, urban, northern heterosexual, Protestant father of college education, fully employed, of good complexion, weight and height, and a recent record in sports. (Goffman, 1963, p.
She argues that within the constraints of hegemonic masculinity, “the body becomes the focus of the self” (p. 79). She considers the views of Steve Donoghue, as an able-bodied athlete who places extreme value on his successful portrayal of masculine behavior with reference to his body. His views of the world are circumscribed and constricted by his intense focus on his body (Connell, 2000). This notion can be examined in terms of disabled men, as the expression of hegemonic masculinity relies on a focus on the body in ways that are not often available to physically disabled men. In a similar way to Steve Donoghue within hegemonic masculinity, the world view and subsequently the view of masculinity is limited and shaped by disabled body. The conventions of hegemonic masculinity rely on the assumption that everyone has the opportunity to use their body in the same way. This can also be seen through the glorification of able bodied male athletes as the epitome of masculine role models in dominant discourse as compared to disabled athletes. Both in spite of and as a result of the standards of physicality constructed in hegemonic masculinity, men with physical disabilities often assert their masculine identities in alternative