Double Standard Of Masculinity In Gender Role

Socialization Essay, Research Paper

Masculinity is a topic that has been debated

in our society extensively, through research as well as in informal settings.

Many wonder what it means to be masculine, and if we can really assign

a definition to such a subjective term. After all, shouldn’t one’s own

perception be the determinant of what constitutes masculinity. This self-construction

would be the ideal in our society, but unfortunately, it represents a false

belief. Masculinity has certain characteristics assigned to it by our culture.

In this paper I will explore the many facets of masculinity and demonstrate

how certain beliefs pertaining to it are perpetuated in our society. I

will also uncover many of the contradictions between society’s assigned

definition of masculinity and the expectation that males will somehow learn

how to act contrary to that assigned and learned meaning.

Definition of Masculinity

Men are primarily and secondarily socialized

into believing certain characteristics are definitive in determining their

manliness and masculinity. These characteristics range from not crying

when they get hurt to being and playing violently. The socialization of

masculinity in our society begins as early as the first stages of infancy.

A child’s burgeoning sense of self or self-concept is a result of the multitude

of ideas, attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs to which he is exposed (Witt

1997). Later in this paper the question of whether there are genetic factors

will be discussed. However, to further my argument at this point, I will

discuss masculinity as it is socially defined. From the outset of a boy’s

life he is socialized into the belief that he should be ‘tough’. Often

when boys get hurt, ’scrape their knee’, or come whimpering to their mother

or father, the fated words, “Little boys don’t cry”, issue forth. Children

internalize parental messages regarding gender at an early age, with awareness

of adult sex role differences being found in two-year-old children. One

study found that children at two and a half years of age use gender stereotypes

in negotiating their world and are likely to generalize gender stereotypes

to a variety of activities, objects, and occupations (Witt 1997). This

legitimization teaches males that boys and men are not allowed to cry.

There also exists the belief that boys are often required to do ‘men’s

work’ outside of the home such as mowing the lawn, cleaning the garage,

etc., and not ’sissy women’s work’ such as cooking and cleaning, etc. Other

factors help to perpetuate certain standards expected of men and boys (Stearns

1990).

The violence boy’s witness on television

further legitimates this belief. Katz explains that advertising imagery

equates masculinity with violence. For boys this means aggression is instrumental

in that it enables them to establish their masculinity (Katz 1995). Lee

Bowker researched the influence advertisements have on youth. He asserts

that toy advertisements featuring only boys depict aggressive behavior.

Strangely, the aggressive behavior generally results in positive consequences

more often than negative. Bowker also looked at commercials with boys that

contain references to domination. The results of all the commercials indicate

that 68.6% of the commercials positioned toward boys contain incidents

of verbal and physical aggression. There was no cross.gender display of

aggressive behavior. Interestingly, not one single-sex commercial featuring

girls shows any act of aggression (Bowker 1998). This research helps explain

that it is not just the reinforcement of close caretakers to the child

that legitimate masculinity but society as a whole (using the television

as a symbol of society and it’s desires).

Another example of how this can be reinforced

even by women who may or may not be trying to promulgate such a belief

is with an experience I had growing up:

When I would get a cut or a bruise, I

would muster up all the strength I had to not cry. I feared that if I cried

I wouldn’t be worthy of being a tough kid. On one occasion I had a severe

cut in my knee that required several stitches. When I took a look at the

wound after rolling up my pant leg, my first inclination was to break out

crying. However, at that moment my teacher told me what a brave boy I was

and how amazed she was that I was not crying. She probably did not realize

that she was sending a message to me that if I cried I would not be tough

enough, and therefore I would not become a real man.

Athletics is another type of legitimation

that reinforces society’s definition of masculinity. Boys watch how their

fathers dote and fawn over ‘the game’, whether it is football, basketball,

or any other sport that epitomizes masculinity. Children notice that the

‘men’ on TV impress dad and

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