Topic > Analysis of Connells theory on hegemonic masculinity

In today's society it takes a long time to grasp the change in what masculinity is "supposed" to be. To be able to truly understand the kind of expectations society has for men, you need a detailed look at what RW Connell calls "hegemonic masculinity" (Connell), which justifies men's position in society as the head of society and places women second, saying women should submit to men. The impact it has on men in today's society is, more than less, changing, but it still has a significant place in male masculinity and many of the "norms" we have, such as that the man must be the "breadwinner" of the company. the house and women should only take care of the house. We often hold these beliefs to be true by nature, as soon as a boy becomes a “man” he must go out and become the boss of something or prove himself to be a man by gaining power (Being the head of his family, owning doing business, getting rich, etc .). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In the text Connell states that hegemonic masculinity is “a social ascent achieved in an interplay of social forces that extends beyond contests of brute power to the organization of private life and cultural processes.” The only thing that will always be prevalent in the relationship between men and women throughout the world is the fact that men will always dominate women. This structural belief that men dominate over women is the foundation of the term “hegemonic masculinity”. among men: no femininity is hegemonic.” This does not mean any kind of violence, it means hegemony in every area of ​​life, especially when talking about religious practices. For example, in wedding vows, we mainly talk about how men will take care of their newly married wives, as if they are too incompetent to take care of themselves because they are women “The man takes control as the head of the household and responsible for a heterosexual relationship.” (Connell). Hegemonic masculinity is highly publicized in society, especially in the media, you may see advertisements showing muscular men as the goal of what a man should look like. She tells him that if his mindset isn't that he wants to look like that, then he's not a man, and then gives him the instructions he needs to become the muscle guy on television. “The way a man throws the ball is different from the way a woman throws it. I didn't want to throw a ball in front of my father because I knew it wouldn't feel right, it wouldn't feel like a good, strong boy should throw it. Here Connell tries to interpret the boy's fear of disappointing his father and the combined sense that his body is not suited to a man as a learned social experience. The boy is young but is already fully aware that he is not what a man should be, he does not live up to his father's expectations in his head. For this reason, Connell is aware that hegemonic masculinity is a learned behavior. In movies, another form of media, you see superheroes, mostly men, as big, virile guys who save the world from ruin, giving the message that men are supposed to imitate these big, strong macho men and get through the troubles unscathed. harsh realities of life, when in reality life will hit them and that's okay, you don't have to be like these men on the big screens. “Masculinities in Western societies are typically defined by a specific reflexive practice of the body: sport, violence, heterosexual performance and bodybuilding” (Connell p. 86). One of the biggestsocial problems is the fact that women want to be paid the same as men and this is simply not the case in today's society. “Hegemonic masculinity can also be seen in our salary structures where men earn more than women and traditionally men reach top positions as managers or leaders.” (Connell).Women tirelessly seek equal pay in today's society, but much of the big tax and welfare policies still support the belief that men are more important and should be compensated more than women. “Hegemonic masculinity is evident in all aspects of life, including in housing, where men have designed the house in which women clean and in which they traditionally spend much more time than men.” (Connell). According to Connell, most men in today's society often take advantage of women's submission to them and the home. Taking care of the house is not a concern for the man because his wife is the only one who has to take care of the house, household tasks such as ironing, cooking and washing clothes, these tasks have an unwritten gender rule and separate the men and women when it comes to marriage. It is evident that the role of men is slowly but surely changing, that the actions of men are very different from how they behaved 30 years ago, many things that men of the past did would not be tolerated in today's society. “Traditionally, l The man of the family was seen as the head of the family and the woman took care of the children and all the tasks related to the house”. (Connell). Due to the many financial challenges in today's society, the concept of masculinity has failed as women now take higher paying jobs and take care of themselves, which was not accepted in the past. Some men today even have trouble finding work and staying at home because of it. Women are more educated than men even in today's society and this has a great influence on this phenomenon. To conclude, the topic of hegemonic masculinity is yet to be stable and has much more research to do before it becomes concrete. There are many different aspects to masculinity, gender roles, and the simple fact that if women weren't there we wouldn't even be studying masculinity. According to Connell, there are many different masculinities, although hegemonic masculinity is the prevalent one. Hegemonic masculinity influences the behavioral aspects of men in today's society and still drives most men to try to maintain control over society. The result of this is that men still have to prove to the world and to other men that they are just as manly. How humans deal with changes in the world is something that many future sociologists will study. In today's society it takes a lot to grasp the change in what masculinity is "supposed" to be. To be able to truly understand the kind of expectations society has for men, you need a detailed look at what RW Connell calls "hegemonic masculinity" (Connell), which justifies men's position in society as the head of society and places women second, saying women should submit to men. The impact it has on men in today's society is, more than less, changing, but it still has a significant place in male masculinity and many of the "norms" we have, such as that the man must be the "breadwinner" of the company. the house and women should only take care of the house. We often hold these beliefs to be true by nature, as soon as a boy becomes a “man” he must go out and become thehead of something or demonstrate that he is a man by gaining power (Being the head of his family, owning a business, getting rich, etc.). In the text Connell states that hegemonic masculinity is “a social ascent achieved in an interplay of social forces that extends beyond brute power conflicts in the organization of private life and cultural processes.” The one thing that will always be prevalent in the relationship between men and women around the world is the fact that men will always dominate women. This structural belief that men dominate women is the foundation of the term “hegemonic masculinity.” “Masculinity is hegemonic only among men: no femininity is hegemonic.” This does not mean any kind of violence, it means hegemony in every area of ​​life, especially when talking about religious practices. For example, wedding vows mostly talk about how men will take care of their newlywed wives as if they are too incompetent to take care of themselves because they are women. “The man takes control as the head of the household and responsible for a heterosexual relationship.” (Connell). Hegemonic masculinity is highly publicized in society, especially in the media, you may see advertisements showing muscular men as the goal of what a man should look like. She tells him that if his mindset isn't that he wants to look like that, then he's not a man, and then gives him the instructions he needs to become the muscle guy on television. “The way a man throws the ball is different from the way a woman throws it. I didn't want to throw a ball in front of my father because I knew it wouldn't feel right, it wouldn't feel like a good, strong boy should throw it. Here Connell tries to interpret the boy's fear of disappointing his father and the combined sense that his body is not suited to a man as a learned social experience. The boy is young but is already fully aware that he is not what a man should be, he does not live up to his father's expectations in his head. For this reason, Connell is aware that hegemonic masculinity is a learned behavior. In movies, another form of media, you see superheroes, mostly men, as big, virile guys who save the world from ruin, giving the message that men are supposed to imitate these big, strong macho men and get through the troubles unscathed. harsh realities of life, when in reality life will hit them and that's okay, you don't have to be like these men on the big screens. “Masculinities in Western societies are typically defined by a specific reflexive practice of the body: sport, violence, heterosexual performance and bodybuilding” (Connell p. 86). One of the biggest social problems is the fact that women want to be paid the same as men and this is simply not the case in today's society. “Hegemonic masculinity can also be seen in our salary structures where men earn more than women and traditionally men reach top positions as managers or leaders.” (Connell). Women tirelessly seek equal pay in today's society, but many major tax and welfare policies still support the belief that men are more important and should be compensated more than women. “Hegemonic masculinity is evident in all aspects of life, including in housing, where men designed the house in which women clean and in which they traditionally spend much more time than men.” (Connell). According to Connell, most men in today's society often take advantage of women's submission to them and the home. Taking care of the house is not a concern for the man because his wife is the only one who has to take care of it.