Connell, R. (2005). Masculinities. Cambridge: Polity Press.
‘Hegemonic Masculinity’ = still appropriate as a phrase today, important to consistently understand, question and theorise masculinity and gender if it is to have an impact on change, particularly on “practical issues such as the prevention of violence.” (p. xviii)
Discursive approach to masculinity suggests men do not consistently follow specific patterns of masculinity, and instead make choices that are specific to the situation from a cultural collection of masculine behaviours (Wetherell and Edley 1999).
= Limitations of this approach = no significant understanding concerning inequalities within state and economy, which are essential in relation to how they affect masculinity and why it changes (Segal, 1997)
= Freud = masculine and feminine are concepts that “are among the most confused that occur in science” (1953, Three essays on the Theory of Sexuality. Complete psychological works, standard edition, vol 7, London: Hogarth)
= Difficult to define as gender itself is constantly changing with the politics of time.
= Oedipus Complex is the first attempt at creating a scientific understanding around masculinity.
= Understood that adult sexuality and gender were not fixed by nature but constructed through a long, conflict-ridden process. The ‘Oedipus Complex’ of having the desire for one parent and hatred for the other from childhood played a key role in this development. (p. 9)
= Karen Horney = ‘The dread of women’ (1932) = Boys feel inadequate and so “withdraw emotional energy from the mother and focus it on themselves and their genitals”, creating the foundations for castration anxiety. These boys develop into men whose actions are determined by these emotions, such as the undermining of women’s self-respect to reinforce ‘the ever-precarious self-respect of the “average man”’. (Horney, Karen. 1932. ‘The dread of women: observations on a specific difference in the dread felt by men and women respectively for the opposite sex’ International Journal of Psycho-analysis 13: 348 – 60)
= Important critique of masculinity in two points by Horney =
1.
Adult masculinity is built on over-reactions to
femininity
2.
Masculinity creation strongly connected to the subordination
of women
= first attempt at creating a social science of masculinity centred on the notion of a male sex role: originated in late 19th century during sex difference debates, when resistance to female emancipation triggered new research into innate sex difference.
= eg. Women were excluded from universities because it was believed their delicate minds would not be able to handle the strenuous mental work of academia, and that doing this would also negatively impact their ability to fulfil their roles as housewives and mothers.
= 1930s ‘sex role’ became appropriate term replacing sex difference as it explains how women and men are enacting within the expectations of the gender roles given to them by society.
= Gender is not a fixed concept but is constructed upon social interaction. This can be seen in sport, which constructs masculinity. This also illustrates the importance of an institutional setting in its construction. Messner comments that when boys enter a sport, they are also entering this institutional setting (Messner, Michael A. 1992. Power at Play: Sports and the Problem of Masculinity. Boston: Beacon Press) The competitive nature of these organisations produce masculinity at a large scale, despite the fact that only a small minority of men make it to the top as professional athletes.
= The internalisation of masculinity on an institutional level equally applies to workplaces. Mike Donaldson = ‘Time of Our Lives’ = the act of working in coal mines and factories breaks down men’s bodies, and that level of destruction is proof of the level of hard work and therefore is a means of demonstrating masculinity. This occurs not because the work is “necessarily destructive, but because it is done in a destructive way under economic pressure and management control” (Donaldson, Mike. 1991. Time of Our Lives: Labour and Love in the Working Class. Sydney: Allen and Unwin)
= School studies show hegemony patterns significantly: eg. Some schools the masculinity created and shown through competitive sport is hegemonic: despite being a boy who hates sport, they will attempt to make their mark in this field as the sporting prowess lends itself to being a test for masculinity.
= These children have to “fight or negotiate
their way out” (p. 37), either by committing to it or finding power and respect
through other means, eg. Taking over the school newspaper (Walker, 1988)
= Masculinity in relation to homophobia:
= Despite a man being a dedicated body builder and therefore fulfilling a stereotypical masculine role, if he were to sell sexual or other services to gay men, homophobic culture means this masculinity is immediately discredited. (p. 37)
= There is a fascination from straight men towards gay men which can be expressed as a secret desire, which is kept subconscious and turned consciously into hatred. (p. 40)
= Gay Liberation noted homophobia being greatly connected with the oppression of women, as straight men’s hostility, from job discrimination to murder, not only abuses individuals but “draws social boundaries” to define ‘real’ masculinity.
= Homophobic ideology presents straight men as
masculine and gay men and women as the representation of femininity.
= Writings from Early Women’s Liberation present the family as the source of women’s oppression: the unpaid labour she does for the husband, the imprisonment of mothers in the home and the control of men in daily life. (p. 41)
= Feminists can often perceive Men’s Liberation as a way for men to benefit from feminism without giving up their male privileges, creating a modernisation of patriarchy rather than positive change.
Men’s Bodies
= Three arguments, two of which have dominated the discussion concerning whether masculinity is inherent is ‘Nature vs Nurture’
1.
‘Nature’ Body acts as a machine churning out
gender differences: hormonal differences, roles of the reproductive organs and
genetics.
2.
‘Nurture’ Body is a neutral entity on which society
imprints on with its stereotypes and assumptions.
3.
“Common-sense compromise” (p. 46) Both nature and
nurture interlap equally together in combination to comprise the gender
differences.
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= Book seems to heavily discuss the different research methods and theories surrounding masculinity rather than presenting simple understanding around the topic
= This could be a potential element of discussion within the essay to show an awareness around the different perspectives on the topic?
= Presenting these would be a good insight into how this topic is realised, understood and analysed
= Heavy themes of the history, which could also be a way of structuring the essay
= WHAT IS MASCULINITY
= DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES ON MASCULINITY
(including the nature vs nurture theories)
= HOW MASCULINITY IS CREATED
= THE EFFECT OF MASCULINITY ON WOMEN AND GAY MEN
= HOW IT CAN BE ALTERED = CHANGES
