Masculinity(ities) and Femininity(ities)

T/F?: The traits we assign to masculinity or femininity in our society are socially and culturally produced, thus there can’t be one monolithic, universal, ahistorical (essential/natural) masculinity or femininity

True

Prescriptions

Widely shared beliefs about what men and women SHOULD do

Proscriptions

Widely shared beliefs on what men and women SHOULDN’T do

Understanding our gender system: Gender stereotype of Masculinity vs Masculinities 

1. (Dominant) Gender Stereotype of Masculinity

2. Expect different societies to have different dominant stereotypes of masculinity. There is no single version of masculinity in the world but in a SOCIETY there is usually 1 dominant form

3. Masculinities: For individuals, multiple masculinities, multiple ways of doing masculinity exist in a society. If you identify as masculine, your version of masculinity could be very different than your neighbours, but as a gender identity they are correct and reflective of who you are

4. Being male doesn’t make someone automatically masculine; traits that define masculinity are NOT an essential quality of someone but constructed through society/government

5. your definition of masculinity may be different from society’s dominant definition of masculinity (this is the difference between gender stereotype and gender identity)

Gender Norm Violations

• people who go against gender norms are often sanctioned by society

• or at the very least feel shame about not being able to live up to these ideals, which can be very damaging

The Theory of Hegemonic Masculinity

• Claims that although there are multiple forms of masculinity/multiple ways of “doing masculinity” in a given society, only ONE FORM of masculinity is dominant and culturally “idealized”

• “In most situations that have been closely studied, there is some hegemonic form of masculinity— the most honored or desired” (Connell 2000)

• There is a hierarchy of different forms of masculinity

• dominant form becomes the ‘ideal’ image of the male against which all other men are judged

• Dominant form of masculinity is dominant to (1) marginalized masculinities and (2) femininities 

Agentic Masculinity

• The Hegemonic Masculinity in North America

Agentic Prescriptions:

• leadership and workplace achievement

• competitiveness

• power seeking

• assertiveness

This is how you’re ‘supposed’ to act

Violations/transgressions of gender prescriptions can result in PENALTIES such as devaluation, punishment, discrimination

Communal

The ‘Emphasized Femininity’ in North America

Prescriptions and Proscriptions of Agentic Masculinity

PRE:

• aggressive

• athletic

• self-reliant

• dependable

• strong

PRO:

• emotions

• approval seeking

• shy

• weak

• moody

2 of the main prescriptions of Agentic Masculinity in North America

1. “Tough Guy Masculinity”: Projection of physical toughness & emotional stoicism

2. "Breadwinner”

Tough guy masculinity: Emotional Stoicism

• “Be a man”

• men are supposed to be unaffected by their emotions

• the independent, ‘invulnerable’ man

Tough guy masculinity: Physical Toughness

• physical toughness is important to the presentation/performance of the hegemonic masculinity

• “This gender performance [of the hegemonic masculinity] must be constantly validated by ‘proving’ itself as dominant and in control of itself an others” (cheng 1999)

The “Embodied Masculinity” of Agentic Masculinity

• trend in media/pop culture towards images of male bodies that demonstrate muscularily and strength

• “Adonis Complex”

Male body image & Action figures

• looked at chest and bicep circumference

• “modern action figures display physiques of advances body builders & levels of muscularity far exceeding levels of human attainment”

• bombardment by such images, as well as the emergent “body-as-self” paradigm, may be fueling the rise in body dissatisfaction among north american men

An evolving male body ‘ideal’

• the image of the ideal male body continues to evolve

• usually constructed and difficult to achieve 

• “Nowadays, men are faced with sociocultural influences giving rise to the desire for a muscular and lean body, resulting in men facing body dissatisfaction, which is associated with… depression, and eating pathology… men face a standard emphasizing muscularity and leanness in both traditional and social media.”

“Body-as-self” Paradigm

promotes the idea of the body “as the vehicle through which individuals display the self”. And linked to this idea, that is “you look good, you feel good” — that one’s self worth is tried to one’s appearance

CONSEQUENCES

• The body is on display like never before

• We are encouraged to buy things to fix/transform our bodies like never before

Repudiation of the Feminine

• is a KEY dimension of masculinity in North America/main proscription of agentic masculinity

• = No sissy stuff

• but repudiation of the masculinity is NOT a key dimension of femininity in North America

Take home points of Hegemonic Masculinity

1. Only a very small number of men (if any) live up to the hegemonic “ideal”

2. Not all men, perhaps few men, desire/want to live up to the hegemonic “ideal” — but they feel immense pressure to

3. The idea that there is only one right way to do masculinity is very pervasive, in reality, there are MANY WAYS to do masculinity. There is no one way to be masculine

What are the dominant gender stereotypes in north america?

• Men are expected to be Agentic

• Women are expected to be Communal

What are Communal prescriptions?

• nurturing and helpless behaviour

• warmth

• empathy

• selflessness

These are thought of as how you are ‘supposed’ to behave. Deviations result in penalties (devaluation, punishment, discrimination)

R.W. Connell & Femininities

1. According to Hegemonic Masculinities, all versions of femininity is subordinate to hegemonic masculinity

2. Emphasized Femininity: the femininity that is least challenging to/best accommodates the Hegemonic masculinity

3. He suggests we won’t see traits that challenge the dominant stereotype of masculinity in the dominant stereotype of femininity

Prescriptions of Communal Femininity?

• warm and kind

• interest in children

• loyal

• sensitive

• cheerful

• attention to appearance

Proscriptions of Communal Femininity?

• Rebellious

• Stubborn

• Controlling

• Cynical

• Promiscuous

• Arrogant

What is the ‘Backlash Effect’?

The negative characterization of women who violate communal prescriptions 

What is a ‘Double Bind’?

“… a dilemma in communication in which an individual (or group) receives two or more conflicting messages, with one negating the other… This creates a situation in which a successful response to one message results in a failed response to the other (and vice versa), so that the person will automatically be wrong regardless of response.”

The ‘Double-Bind’ for Women

• Women can succeed in jobs stereotyped as ‘masculine’, but then they are assumed to lack ‘Communal qualities’

• The DB: The problem is not that women can have ‘agentic’ skills, but that they are presumed to lack ‘communal’ qualities if they have ‘agentic’ skills

Results from a study showed

1. The female power-seeking politician had the lowest voter preference

2. For female politicians, power-seeking information increased feelings of ‘moral outrage’

What is ‘Moral Outrage’?

A response to behavioural transgressions: “An emotional response to what other people do [that is wrong], not what we do ourselves. — — is a response to the behaviour of others.”

Theory of Constructed Emotions (123)

1. This theory suggests that our brains use emotions to help us respond to our (ever-changing) environment

2. proposes that emotions are part of the process of allostasis (how the body restores/maintains balance); emotions are predictions the brain makes about situations and then the body uses these predictions to make decisions about what actions to take/behaviours to engage in/etc. We all have this ability.

3. This theory challenges the traditional view that emotions are like fingerprints (inherited/hardwired into our brains)

Background info on the Theory of Constructed Emotions

• Affects: Sensations, simple feelings that come from the body (ex. unpleasantness or arousal); our brain seeks to make affects meaningful so that we know how to respond > enter emotions

• Emotions: the way our brains make affects meaningful (and then we know how to respond)

Take home points: Why would the sexes be more similar than they are different?

1. Evolutionary theory predicts relatively few sex differences — both males and females need similar traits to survive

2. Sexual selection theory / parental investment theory predicts relative, not absolute differences btw the sexes

3. If men are/have been active care-givers in our species’ evolutionary history; then it suggests both men and women have high levels of parental investment; “smoothing” out/reducing even further any differences between the sexes

4. Multi-morphic brains rather than male brains vs female brains

5. Theory of Constructed Emotions

What is the most important component of ‘embodied femininity’ in North America?

Focus on Appearance

• While the waist size of the average north american woman has increased over the last 20 years, VS models have gotten thinner, standard/ideal for women is unrealistic