Hegemonic Masculinity Essay

The rise of Hegemonic masculinity as a concept in social and gender studies has been widely criticised by psychologists because many believe there is a singular view to masculinity, while Connell believes there are several views to masculinity. This essay will define Connell’s concept of Hegemonic masculinity and explain Connell’s ideas in relation to gender violence in society. Also, with the use of two theoretical approaches namely; the Psycho-Discursive or Social Constructionist and the Feminist Poststructuralist approaches, the writer will seek to find understanding to gender violence in society in relation to hegemonic masculinity. Finally, the composition will compare and contrast the chosen theories and the concept of hegemonic masculinity
in our understanding of gender violence.
According to Boonzaier and de la Rey (Boonzaier F.
d., 2008)psychology has always been criticised for being baised against women by focusing on the experience of men to explain all humanity. Sex difference research has contributed in correcting this wrong in the study of gender. However, the concept of Hegemonic masculinity by sociologist Robert William Connell (now Raewyn Connell) evolved from his/her studies about sex roles to become very popular in gender studies. Connell has since become transwoman, which may have influenced her research and work around sex roles and hegemonic masculinity.
The rise of this concept is from the differing views of what constitutes masculinity. Connell believes that masculinity is a social construct, layered and made up of race, sexuality and culture; while other theorists believe masculinity is biological and natural. Many other theorists credit masculinity to general feelings and thoughts and for Connell masculinity is attributed to gender identity specific to males. Connell this raises the issue of identity for men. She believes that male identities are fluid and not dictated solely by biology (Carton,
2012).
This identity is also relational in that society informs how we understand the opposite of masculinity, which is femininity.
For In a video by Jackson Katz, men are ‘produced’ by society and how they view themselves in view of the opposite identity; femininity (Katz, 2012). Different cultures have different stereotypes and ideas about what makes a ‘real’ man. Some of these tags include adjectives such as: bold, tough, respected, independent, and dominant. These tags come from their groups namely; friends, family and the community (Katz, 2012). In South Africa, Zulu men are groomed into manhood through initiations which included stick fighting. This practise was initially a pastime activity which got engraved in the Zulu culture. This ability to carry out and win a stick fight has been adopted as an identity of a ‘warrior’.
In dealing with gender based violence also, there is a prevalence of violent behaviour by men against women (Boonzaier F. , 2006). Hegemonic masculinity is also characterised by domination over women and other men or subordinate masculinities. The more subordinate masculinities include homosexual men and men who don’t demonstrate the stereotypical traits or ideas of being a ‘real’ man (Demetriou,
2001.)
As with many theorists, Connell received criticism for the concept of hegemonic masculinity. The critics found that Connell was too rigid in the approach and found the concept ignored the fact that “many men have embraced aspects of the self that are not hegemonic in form and do not represent a desire to control or dominate and behave violently. The theorists believe that pressures on men to identify and conform to society’s ideal manhood have resulted in diverse forms of psychological responses in men that is damaging (Peer, 2001).
One perspective in the study of gender is the Social Constructionist, which describes gender as ‘a system of relations operating at the individual and interpersonal and societal levels. This theory suggests that gender differences are formed by the society and the people that individuals interact with (Boonzaier F. d., 2008). These definitions of descriptions ‘label and describe’ the masculinity or femininity of individuals conforming them to how they present themselves when interacting with others and in their societies. The theory suggests that men will generally present themselves as tough, or act from a position of power in their interpersonal relations in turn being put at the top of the gender hierarchy in the broader community. The feminine sex is presented as fairer sex and the roles they occupy in their communities will always be on the softer and nurturing side.