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In gender studies, hegemonic masculinity is part of R. W. Connell's gender order theory, which recognizes multiple masculinities that vary across time, society, culture, and the individual.[1][2][3] Hegemonic masculinity is defined as a practice that legitimizes men's dominant position in society and justifies the subordination of the common male population and women, and other marginalized ways of being a man.[1][4] Conceptually, hegemonic masculinity proposes to explain how and why men maintain dominant social roles over women, and other gender identities, which are perceived as "feminine" in a given society.[1]
The conceptual beginnings of hegemonic masculinity represented the culturally idealized form of manhood that was socially and hierarchically exclusive and concerned with bread-winning; that was anxiety-provoking and differentiated (internally and hierarchically); that was brutal and violent, pseudo-natural and tough, psychologically contradictory, and thus crisis-prone; economically rich and socially sustained.[5] However, many sociologists criticized that definition of hegemonic masculinity as a fixed character-type, which is analytically limited, because it excludes the complexity of different, and competing, forms of masculinity.[1][3] Consequently, hegemonic masculinity was reformulated to include gender hierarchy, the geography of masculine configurations, the processes of social embodiment, and the psycho-social dynamics of the varieties of masculinity.
Proponents of the concept of hegemonic masculinity argue that it is conceptually useful for understanding gender relations, and is applicable to life-span development, education, criminology, the representations of masculinity in the mass communications media, the health of men and women, and the functional structure of organizations.[3] Critics argue that hegemonic masculinity is heteronormative, is not self-reproducing, ignores positive aspects of masculinity, relies on a flawed underlying concept of masculinity, or is too ambiguous to have practical application.
- ^ a b c d Scott, John, ed. (2015) [1994]. "Hegemonic masculinity". A Dictionary of Sociology (4th ed.). Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. p. 302. doi:10.1093/acref/9780199683581.001.0001. ISBN 9780191763052. LCCN 2014942679.
- ^ French, Henry; Rothery, Mark (2011). "Hegemonic Masculinities? Assessing Change and Processes of Change in Elite Masculinity, 1700–1900". In Arnold, John H.; Brady, Sean (eds.). What is Masculinity?: Historical Dynamics from Antiquity to the Contemporary World. Genders and Sexualities in History. London and New York: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 139–166. doi:10.1057/9780230307254_8. ISBN 978-0-230-30725-4.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c Connell, R. W.; Messerschmidt, James W. (December 2005). Risman, Barbara (ed.). "Hegemonic Masculinity: Rethinking the Concept" (PDF). Gender & Society. 19 (6). SAGE Publications in association with Sociologists for Women in Society: 829–859. doi:10.1177/0891243205278639. ISSN 1552-3977. JSTOR 7640853. S2CID 5804166. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 May 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Connell 2005awas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Donaldson, Mike (October 1993). "What is hegemonic masculinity?". Theory and Society. 22 (5): 643–657. doi:10.1007/BF00993540. JSTOR 657988. S2CID 143756006.