Masculinity And Social Construction Of Masculinity

of person someone is. This means that one who is un-masculine would behave differently. For example, â€Å"being peaceable rather than violent, conciliatory rather than dominant, hardly able to kick a football, uninterested in sexual conquest, and so forth† (Itulua-Abumere 42). The presented concept of masculinity presumes that one has to believe in individual difference and personal agency. So, it is based on the concept of individuality that emerged in early-modern Europe, together with the increase of capitalist economic relations and colonial empires. Further, the conception is also inherently relational. Masculinity only exists in coherence with femininity. If a culture does not treat men and women as carriers of polarized character types,†¦show more content†¦If there was a role model for masculinity or femininity, it would state men and women not as free people, but as puppets that are determined to follow a pre-scripted role. Being a man means, then, to play a certain masculine role. Furthermore, one could even argue that masculinity is a performance, or a script that men know by heart. Socializing institutions like school, family, or the media implant boys gender appropriate behavior and so they learn to adapt the male role through observation, feedback (You kicked the football like a real man!), and initiation (43). These gender appropriate behaviors continue throughout a man’s whole life and change, depending on the different life stages. 2.3 Hegemonic Masculinity Theoretical insights from gender studies shed light on hegemonic masculinity and help to understand certain male behaviors seen in Dracula and The Vampire Diaries. Hegemonic masculinity includes a certain method to subordinate women. It represents a cultural idealized form of breadwinning and manhood and can be a personal as well as collective undertaking. Moreover, hegemonic masculinity is â€Å"exclusive, anxiety-provoking, internally and hierarchically differentiated, brutal, and violent. It is pseudo-natural, tough, contradictory, crisis-prone, rich, and socially sustained† (Donaldson 645). Based on male dominance, it resembles â€Å"an economic and cultural force, and [is]Show MoreRelatedThe Social Construction Of Hegemonic Masculinity And Masculinity1668 Words   |  7 Pagesinjustices? This essay will focus on how the social construction of hegemonic masculinity and emphasized femininity establishes rape myths and stereotypes within the society that are aimed to hurt women. I will also focus on how these concepts are integrated within the legal sphere making the law partial and unfair. 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