KAW

LESSON 14 MEN AND MASCULINITIES

Lesson
Objectives:
This module discusses the many faces of men and masculinities. It
also discusses themes of masculinity and its relationship with well-being,
fathering, domestic roles, and drug and alcohol use. This module finally deals
with hegemonic, protest, and caring masculinities. At the end of this
module, you are expected to:
1.. understand fully men's studies and the constructs of
masculinity; 2. know fully the themes of masculinity and its
relationship with well-being,
fathering, domestic roles, and drug and
alcohol use; and 3. comprehend hegemonic,
protest, and caring masculinities.

Definition of
Terms:

Masculinities - a social, cultural, and historical construction of men

dependent on and related to other factors such as class,
ethnicity, sexuality, age, and disability Hegemonic masculinity
- form of masculinity which is culturally dominant in a
given setting. Protest
masculinity - form of masculinity
which is culturally dominant in marginalized setting.
Caring masculinity - proposes that men are able to adopt what
is viewed as traditionally feminine characteristics.
S
SSSSSS
Introductio
n

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. Men make up a large
majority of corporate executives, top professionals, and holders
of public office. Worldwide, men held 93% of cabinet-level posts in
1996 and most top positions in international agencies (Gierycz
1999).

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and Sexuality
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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 feminismo that have followed
on fiom 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 him:
"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.

Still, some researchers argue that these pro-male

movements were only a reaction to feminism-an attempt to accuse
women and feminists for creating problems that men encounter in
society.

COMMUNICATE: Group yourselves. As a group, do the

following: L. Discuss among the group how being a man or
being masculine is defined by our
 society using the variables below. Provide your answers
on the spaces provided:

Male
Variable
s Roles (Tungkulin)

Characteristics
(Katangian)

Attitudes
(Saloobin)

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Behaviors
(Kilos)

Expectations
(Inaasahan)
 Values
(Kaugalian)
_

Present your output in

class.

MASCULINITY
THEMES
Masculinity is a social, cultural, and historical construct
dependent on and related to other factors such as class,
ethnicity, sexuality, age, and disability. Researches on men's studies
and masculinity established common themes which
strengthened and developed this evolving concepts.

: 1. Multiple
Masculinity
Accordingly, there is no one pattern of masculinity
that is found everywhere.
Different cultures and different periods of history, construct
masculinity differently. Some cultures make heroes of soldiers and
regard violence as the ultimate test of masculinity. Others cultures
look at soldiering with disdain and regard violence as
contemptible.
Some countries regard homosexual sex as incompatible with
true masculinity, Others countries think that no person can be a real man
without having had homosexual relationships.
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.
This only shows that masculinities cannot be delimited to a sole
definition or description as various countries, culture, and levels in life
view this concept differently,

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oes.

IUS

2. Hierarchy and
hegemony
han others, Others may be dishonored.
Typically, some masculinities are more revered than others.
culture. Others are even
socially i.e., homosexual masculinities in modern Western culture. marginalized,
i.e., the masculinities of disempowered ethnic minorities. Others are even
exemplary, taken as symbolizing admired traits, i.e., the masculin
The form of masculinity which is culturally dominant in a given setting is
called "hegemonic masculinity". "Hegemonic" signifies a position of cultural authority and
leadership but not total dominance as other forms of masculinity persist
alongside.
Hegemonic masculinity embodies popular heroes, role models, and
fictional characters. According to Kimmel (1997), hegemonic masculinity:
"contains within it the image of the 'man' in power, a man with power and
a man of power. We equate manhood with being strong, successful,
capable, reliable, in control. The very definitions of manhood we have
developed in our culture maintain 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.
Hegemonic masculinity embodied the currently most honored way of
being a man as it required all other men to position themselves in
relation to it and it ideologically legitimated the global
subordination of women to men.
Men who received the benefits of patriarchy without
enacting a strong version of masculine dominance could be
regarded as showing a complicit masculinity. Hegemony did
not mean violence, although it could be supported by force; it
meant ascendancy achieved through culture, institutions, and
persuasion.
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 male norms stress values such as courage,
aggression, autonomy, mastery, technological skill, adventure,
toughness in mind and body.
Moreover, hegemonic masculinity is hegemonic not just in relation to other
masculinities, but in relation to the gender order as a whole. 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,

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2.
COLLABORATE. Group yourselves. As a
group, do the following:
Name a TV show with a male protagonist as the main actor. Identify
the characteristics/traits of this male protagonist exemplifying his
hegemonic masculinity. Enumerate scenarios/circumstances in
the TV show wherein these characteristics/
traits were shown by this male protagonist. u Explain how
these traits and circumstances contribute to the effectiveness of his
role as a male protagonist and as the main actor of the TV show. Provide
 all your answers in the table below.;
protagonist.
more

TV Show:
MW

Characteristics/Traits
:

Scenarios/Circumstan
ces

Explanation:
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3. Collective
Masculinities
Gender structures of a society define particular 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. Masculinities are also defined collectively in the workplace
and in informal groups like street gangs.
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.
 COLLABORATE. Using the same group, do the following:
1. Provide instances wherein masculinity exists on the
following collective groups.
Write your answers in the matrix
provided:
W
is

Instances

- Collective Group
Corporations
Military

Government

Workplace
Sports
Profession
s Schools
Video Games

Internet

Social Media

Present your output

in class.

Masculinities and
well-being
Research confirms a strong association between rigid norms
man and men's negative health
about what it means to be a
practices and vulnerabilities (Barker et al. 2011).
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
(Möller-Leimkühler 2003; Emslie et al. 2006).

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Culturally dominant forms of masculinity, which often urge men to
practice su motional 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 (Pyne et al. 2002; WHO 2004).
The requirement of physical strength appears to be a nearly
universal component or a dominant masculinity (Katz 1999). The physical
version of hegemonic masculinity has beenpromoted by globalization
via film, toys, and other goods (Katz 2003).
Katz points out the unrealistic evolution of action figures'
biceps, in many cases depicted as larger than the dolls' heads. Katz even
notes that these toys reinforce the association of masculinity with
violence, even if this violence is sometimes heroic.

Family formation, fathering, caregiving, and

domestic roles
 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, however, shows that men are, on average, not
greatly increasing their role in household work and unpaid care
(Barker and Pawlak 2011). Lest do they know, men are missing
out in not engaging more in their domestic and family roles. It has been shown
thatbeing involved in the lives of their children brings
psychological and health benefits to men (Dykstra and Keizer
2009). Research on child development demonstrates lasting benefits
to children of their fathers' involvement, in terms of their confidence
and school performance (Ruhm 2000; Sarkadi et al. Bremberg 2008).
However, it was said that men may contribute to the domestic
enterprise" in important ways, including through
other
providing financial support, accompanying children to
activities outside of school or home (National Center on
Fathers and Families 2002; Brown and Chevannes 1998).
Better-educated men are more likely to put more time into
domestic roles and caregiving (Hernandez 1996; Garcia and Oliveira
2004; Barker and Verani 2008), Men's schooling may have expanded their
sense of norms and weakened stereotypes through their exposure to
broader ideas and more diverse people.
08).
The
Masculinities and alcohol and
drug use
More men drink than women; and men drink more than women
(Room et al. 2002).
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
(Wilsack et al. 2000).
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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 (Coombs & Globetti, 1986). When men become drunk,
fights and homicides are rationalized (Pange, 1998), and women are
encouraged to tolerate men's drunkenness as a natural part of their being
men (Caetano, 1984).
Drug use and drug dealing can serve as ways of constructing a
powerfully masculine identity (Collision 1996).

Protest
Masculinity
Protest Masculinity is 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 (Connel 2005). In other
words, 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.
Key to the concept of protest masculinity are high levels of physical
aggression. The protest masculinity profile is also proposed as including
destructiveness, low tolerance for delay of gratification, crime,
drinking, and similar dispositions (Braude 1990).
· Protest masculinity is often a product of narcissism built
from deep feelings of powerlessness and insecurity. Connell
compares it to a “tense, freaky façade, making a claim to power
where there are no real resources for power” (Connell 1995).

Caring
Masculinity
The emergence of caring masculinities in many parts
of the world has been assessed in several reports since the
early 2000s, all of them highlighting the virtuous impact of this
reshape in male identities and practices for gender equality
improvements in societies (Connell 2003; Norwegian Ministry for
Children and Equality 2009; Scambor et al. 2013; Levtov et al.
2015; Heilman et al. 2017; Santos et al. 2016; Wall et al. 2017).
After decades of women demanding equal rights and
opportunities and for the end of male domination and its
harmful costs in their lives, caring masculinities arise as a
strong ally against hegemonic masculinity.
The conceptofa caring masculinity proposes that men are
able to adopt what is viewed as traditionally feminine
characteristics (i.e, emotional expression, sensitivity, domestication,
interdependence, caring, etc.) without departing from or rejecting
masculinity (Elliott 2015; Miller 2011).

Caring masculinities can be seen as masculine identities

that exclude domination and embrace the affective, relational,
emotional, and interdependent qualities of care; a critical form of men's
engagement in gender equality because doing care work requires men to
resist hegemonic masculinity and to adopt values and characteristics of
care that are antithetical to hegemonic masculinity (Elliot 2016).

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So, besides the commitment to care work and gender

equality, caring masa entail a mindful refusal of
hegemonic masculinity and inherent prerogatives
(princess domination, power), as well as of the plural
manifestations of “complicit masculinity na assumes
(Aboim 2010).

Men who approximate this form of masculinity are

viewed as a form of “new man (Edley and Wetherell
1999; Smith 2016; Singleton and Maher 2004).

Summary

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.

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