Gender, sexuality and power

Question 1

what is hegemonic masculinity from Connell and Messerschmidt point of view?

Answer 1

• The concept of hegemonic masculinity came to prominence through the work of Connell (1987, 1995) and Connell and Messerschmidt (2005). Drawing on work across a number of disciplines, Connell developed the concept as a reflection of the interests of a range of scholars that sought to prioritize the study of masculinity within a system of gender relations.
• Largely influenced by Gramsci’s (1971) notion of hegemony as an ideological practice that sustains and legitimizes the interests of the powerful in society within particular historical periods, hegemonic masculinity in Connell’s terms has come to constitute the most dominant and most socially prized form of masculinity available to men.
• The status of hegemonic masculinity distinguishes it from and sets it above other forms of gender identities that do not match up to this dominant ideal. For example, an alternative form of masculinity is one that does not meet the expectations of the hegemonic form as norms that shape accepted social practices but which does not present any challenge to that identity; it is thereby viewed as complicit in the maintenance of hegemonic masculinity and as benefitting from that complicity.
• Other forms of masculinities, however, differ markedly from the hegemonic ideal and are either marginalized or subordinated to the hegemonic version.
• Hegemonic masculinity thus symbolizes and enacts power over other masculine identities as well as over women. It constitutes the most socially valued form of masculinity to which individual men can aspire, notwithstanding that it does not necessarily reflect the lived identities of many, or indeed of any, individual men.

Question 2

what is hegemonic masculinity in western societies?

Answer 2

• In Western and Westernized societies the ideal hegemonic masculinity is treated as synonymous with an identity that is broadly considered to be “macho,” ie, being (to at least some extent) assertive and aggressive, courageous, almost invulnerable to threats and problems, and stoic in the face of adversity.
• It is thereby viewed as associated with behaviors that display courage and strength and that include refusal to acknowledge weakness or to be overcome by adverse events, while discouraging other behaviors such as the expression of emotions or the need to seek the help of others.
• As Connell acknowledges, such a form of identity is not easily performed or necessarily desirable in itself; indeed it is a prescribed and idealized set of norms rather than reflecting the lived reality of men’s lives.
• Nonetheless, hegemonic masculinity provides a normative standard to which men can aspire and against which individual men can assess their own identities.

Question 3

what is Connell and Messerschmidt’s formulation of hegemonic masculinity?

Answer 3

• Hegemonic masculinity was understood as the pattern of practice that allowed men’s dominance over women to continue.
• Hegemonic masculinity was distinguished from other masculinities, especially subordinated masculinities.
• Hegemony did not mean violence, although it could be supported by force; it meant ascendency achieved through culture, institutions, and persuasion.
• There could be a struggle for hegemony, and older forms of masculinity might be displaced by new ones.

Question 4

what is the application of hegemony?

Answer 4

• Documenting the consequences and costs of hegemony
• Uncovering mechanisms of hegemony
• Showing greater diversity in masculinities
• Tracing changes in hegemonic masculinities

Question 5

what are the critiques of hegemony?

Answer 5

• The Underlying Concept of Masculinity
• ambiguity and Overlap
• The Problem of Reification
• The Masculine Subject
• The Pattern of Gender Relations

Question 6

what should be retained about hegemony?

Answer 6

• The combination of the plurality of masculinities and the hierarchy of masculinities
• The hierarchy of masculinities is a pattern of hegemony
• Change

Question 7

what should be rejected about hegemony?

Answer 7

• A too-simple model of the social relations surrounding hegemonic masculinities
• The notion of masculinity as an assemblage of traits opened the path to the treatment of hegemonic masculinity as a fixed character type

Question 8

what should be reformulated about hegemony?

Answer 8

• Gender Hierarchy
• The Geography of Masculinities
• Social Embodiment
• The Dynamic of Masculinities

Question 9

what is patriarchal bargain?

Answer 9

• Patriarchal bargain—a deal in which an individual or group accepts or legitimates some of the costs of patriarchy in exchange for receiving some of its rewards.
• “trading power for patronage”–Risman

Question 10

what is hybrid masculinities?

Answer 10

versions of masculinity that selectively incorporate symbols, performances, and identities that society associates with women or low-status men.

Question 11

what are the problems of hybrid masculinities?

Answer 11

• Some hybrid masculinities are largely symbolic.
• Men who adopt hybrid masculinities sometimes ask for “extra credit” for being “good” men.
• There is a tendency for men who adopt hybrid masculinities to use them to claim status.

Question 12

what are sexual aesthetics?

Answer 12

• Sexual aesthetics refer to cultural and stylistic distinctions used to delineate symbolic boundaries between straight cultures and individuals.
• A variety of things can “count” as sexual aesthetics: interests, material objects, styles of bodily comportment, language, opinions, clothing, and behaviours.

Question 13

what is strategic ambiguity?

Answer 13

• The concept of “strategic ambiguity” is by Currier to explore the intentionality and usefulness of the vagueness of the term “hookup.”
• Specific to hookups, strategic ambiguity is when individuals use the term “hookup” to describe their sexual activities rather than give details about their sexual activities as an impression management strategy to their sexual and social identities.

Question 14

Hookups and satisfaction complications

Answer 14

• Young people in America tend to think that performing oral sex on women is “a bigger deal” than performing oral sex on men. Men are less likely to perform oral sex than women. And they are less likely to persist until their partner has achieved orgasm.
• In first-time hookups, women hooking up report 35% fewer orgasms as their partners.
• When a man and a women hook up together repeatedly, the orgasm gap shrinks. It shrinks further id they decide to become a couple.