Overview
While the social construction of femininity has been widely examined, the dominant role of masculinity has until recently remained largely invisible. Hegemonic masculinity refers to the normative model of masculinity that society holds up as the most honored way of being a man. It also refers to the social practices and messages that legitimate men's dominance over women. Historically in Western societies, the dominant (hegemonic) form of masculinity was primarily reflective of white, heterosexual, and largely upper/middle class males. Some of the characteristics embodied in hegemonic masculinity include violence and aggression, stoicism/emotional restraint, courage, toughness, risk-taking, and competitiveness among others. Although, as you will see in the readings for this discussion, people are increasingly beginning to question and challenge this traditional conception of “manhood.”
For this discussion, review the a short video clip about the documentary Tough Guise: Violence, Media, & the Crisis in Masculinity read the Tough Guise: Violence, Media & Crisis in Masculinityarticle about the documentary, view the slideshow Hegemonic Masculinity in Television Advertisementsand read the Lumbersexuals and White Heteromasculine Pageantry short article about a new category of urban masculinity: lumbersexuals. If you need extra help for this discussion, be sure to check out the many resources listed under “Recommended Resources" in the Week 3 Resources page.
Next, answer the following questions:
What is hegemonic masculinity? Describe an example of hegemonic masculinity that you have seen in the last week, either in your personal interactions or in the media. How do these media messages impact your own sense of your gender presentation? Do you feel that tend to follow the gender norms of our culture? How or how not?
How does the traditional version of hegemonic masculinity harm boys and men? Women and girls?
In recent years, new categories to describe (mainly young, urban, white) males have grown increasingly popular -- such as metrosexual, hipster, emos, lumbersexuals, etc. Using at least two examples from the readings for this week, explain how these modern representations of masculinity differ from (challenge) traditional notions of hegemonic masculinity?