Masculinity

"Manliness" and "Masculine" redirect here. For the book by Harvey Mansfield, see Manliness (book). For other uses, see Masculine (disambiguation).

In Roman mythology, Mars was the god of war, an activity associated with masculinity. His female counterpart was Minerva.

Masculinity (also called manhood or manliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles associated with men and boys. Masculinity can be theoretically understood as socially constructed,[1] and there is also evidence that some behaviors considered masculine are influenced by both cultural factors and biological factors.[1][2][3][4] To what extent masculinity is biologically or socially influenced is subject to debate.[2][3][4] It is distinct from the definition of the biological male sex,[5][6] as anyone can exhibit masculine traits.[7] Standards of masculinity vary across different cultures and historical periods. It is traditionally contrasted with femininity.

  1. ^ a b Shehan, Constance L. (2018). Gale Researcher Guide for: The Continuing Significance of Gender. Gale, Cengage Learning. pp. 1–5. ISBN 9781535861175. Archived from the original on 19 January 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference MartinFinn was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Lippa was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Wharton was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Ferrante, Joan (January 2010). Sociology: A Global Perspective (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth. pp. 269–272. ISBN 978-0-8400-3204-1.
  6. ^ "What do we mean by 'sex' and 'gender'?". World Health Organization. Archived from the original on 8 September 2014.
  7. ^ Halberstam, Judith (2004). "'Female masculinity'". In Kimmel, Michael S.; Aronson, Amy (eds.). Men and Masculinities: A Social, Cultural, and Historical Encyclopedia, Volume 1. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO. pp. 294–5. ISBN 978-1-57-607774-0. Archived from the original on 19 January 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2018.