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<p>Masculinity is male character. The adjective "masculine" means "manly." As such it describes more than male which can describe animals. Cicero wrote that "a man's chief quality is courage."[1] Virile (from Latin vir, man) is a near-synonym for masculine. The complement of masculinity is femininity: like husband is to wife, or food is to beverage.</p>
Janet Saltzman Chafetz (1974, 35-36) describes seven areas of masculinity in general culture:
<p>Masculinity has its roots in genetics (see Biology of gender).[2] Therefore while masculinity looks different in different cultures, there are common aspects to its definition across cultures.[3] Sometimes gender scholars will use the phrase "hegemonic masculinity" to distinguish the most dominant form of masculinity from other variants. In the mid-twentieth century United States, for example, John Wayne might embody one form of masculinity, while Albert Einstein might be seen as masculine, but not in the same "hegemonic" fashion.</p> <p>Machismo, is a form of masculine culture in Spanish speaking countries. It includes assertiveness or standing up for one's rights, responsibility/selflessness, general code of ethics, and sincerity and/or respect.[4] <p>In some cultures masculinity may be an indicator of social status as much as wealth, race or social class. In western culture, for example, greater masculinity usually brings greater social status for males among their peers. Many English words such as virtue and virile (all from the Latin vir meaning man) reflect this. An association with physical and/or moral strength is implied. Masculinity is associated more commonly with men than with boys.</p>
There is an extensive debate about how children develop gender identities. See Gender identity and Gender role for a full discussion of the subject.
In many cultures non-standard characteristics of the "other" gender may become a social problem. Among sexually mature individuals, non-standard behaviors may be considered a sign of homosexuality, while a girl who exhibits masculine behavior is sometimes called a "tomboy". Within sociology such labeling and conditioning is known as peer pressure, and is a part of socialization to better match a culture's mores. The corresponding social condemnation of excessive masculinity may be expressed in terms such as "machismo" or "testosterone poisoning."
The relative importance of the roles of socialization and genetics in the development of masculinity continues to be debated. While social conditioning obviously plays a role, it can also be observed that certain aspects of the masculine identity exist in almost all human cultures.
The historical development of gender role is addressed by such fields as behavioral genetics, evolutionary psychology, human ecology and sociobiology. All human cultures seem to encourage the development of gender roles, through literature, costume and song. Some examples of this might include the epics of Homer, the King Arthur tales in English, the normative commentaries of Confucius or biographical studies of Muhammad. More specialized treatments of masculinity may be found in works such as the Bhagavad Gita or bushido's Hagakure.
Most men feel pressured to act masculine. These men feel that they have to prevail in situations that require physical strength and fitness. To appear weak, emotional, or sexually inefficient is a major threat to their self-esteem. To be content, these men must feel that they are decisive and self-assured, and rational. Masculine gender role stress may develop if a man feels that he has acted 'unmanly'. Conversely, acting 'manly' among peers will often result in increased social validation or general competitive advantage.
In 1987, Eisler and Skidmore did studies on masculinity and created the idea of 'masculine stress'. They found four mechanisms of masculinity that accompany masculine gender role often result in emotional stress. They include:<BR>
a) the emphasis on prevailing in situations requiring fitness and strength <BR> b) being perceived as emotional and thereby feminine <BR> c) the need to feel conquering in regard to sexual matters and work <BR> d) the need to repress tender emotions such as showing emotions restricted according to traditional masculine customs<BR>
Men and women have different ways that they appraise stressful situations and cope with them. Standards of masculinity cannot only create stress in themselves for some men; they can also limit these men's abilities to relieve stress. Some men appraise situations using the schema of what is an acceptable masculine response rather than what is objectively the best response. As a result men often feel limited to a certain range of “approved” responses and coping strategies.
Men are significantly more likely than women to drink and drive, not to wear seatbelts, and to drive fast. Men are also more likely to be involved in a homicide. The driver fatality rate for young males (24 and under) per vehicle miles driven is approximately three times the driver fatality rate for young women of the same age per vehicle miles driven. In every age category after that, from age 25 to age 65, the driver fatality rate per vehicle miles driven is higher for men than for women.[5] Men are more likely to be involved in a motor vehicle accident and other accidents generally. And even in the narrow category of young (16-20) driver fatalities with a high blood alcohol content (BAC), a male's risk of dying is higher than a female's risk at the same BAC level.[6] That is, young women drivers need to be drunker to have the same risk of dying in a fatal accident as young men drivers. Men are in fact three times more likely to die in all kinds of accidents than women. Men make up 93% of workplace deaths, indicating a greater willingness to perform dangerous work.
Men generally take more risks with their health than women. Men are twice as likely to die from cancer than women are. Men are more likely to not wear sunscreen, to eat unhealthily, and to forgo cardiovascular exercise. Men are historically also more likely to smoke (although now more women start smoking than men.)
The reasons for this willingness to take risks are widely debated. There is evidence to show that this is largely due to genetic predispositions of the male sex, though perhaps greatly exaggerated and supported by social constructs and related pressure. Some believe that men, especially young men, are genetically predisposed to be less risk-averse than women because, in terms of a group's reproductive capacity, the loss of a young man is much less risky in terms of evolution than the loss of a young woman, which would seem to present evolutionary pressures towards men being more predisposed to risk and danger (see handicap principle). Some also cite how widespread and culture-independent certain aspects of masculine identity are, implying that if masculinity was purely learned, different societies in different times would have completely different ideas about the masculine gender role, which has historically remained relatively consistent.
In addition to taking more risks, men appear to be more capable of managing risk and performing under stress than women.
Men are significantly less likely to visit their physicians to receive preventive health care examinations. Men make 134.5 million fewer physician visits than American women each year. In fact, men make only 40.8% of all physician visits. A quarter of the men who are 45 to 60 do not have a personal physician. Men should go to annual heart checkups with physicians but many do not, increasing their risk of death from heart disease. In fact, men between the ages of 25 and 65 are four times more likely to die from cardiovascular disease than women. Men are more likely to be diagnosed in a later stage of a terminal illness because of their reluctance to go to the doctor. This may also be due to the fact that men tend to not notice symptoms as quickly as women do. Jerry Kaiser, a health-care consultant believes that, "Men… [are] still basically hunters and warriors… They tend to not pay attention to things that are invisible and internal. If there is no clear external stimulus, there's no response."
Reasons men give for not having annual physicals and not visiting their physician include fear, denial, embarrassment, and a dislike of situations out of their control. These are feelings that result from their ideas of masculinity, specifically independence, control, and invulnerability.
According to Arran Stibbe (2004), men's health problems and behaviors can be linked to the socialized gender role of men in our culture. In exploring magazines, he found that they promote traditional masculinity and claims that, among other things, men's magazines tend to celebrate “male” activities and behavior such as admiring guns, fast cars, sexually libertine women, and reading or viewing pornography regularly. In men's magazines, several “ideal” images of men are promoted, and that these images may even entail certain health risks.
Research on beer commercials by Strate (Postman, Nystrom, Strate, And Weingartner 1987; Strate 1989, 1990) and by Wenner (1991) show some results relevant to studies of masculinity. In beer commercials, the ideas of masculinity (especially risk-taking) are presented and encouraged. The commercials often focus on situations where a man is overcoming an obstacle in a group. The men will either be working hard or playing hard. For instance the commercial will show men who do physical labor such as construction workers, or farm work, or men who are cowboys. Beer is shown as a reward for a job well done. Beer is also associated with the end of the day as a transition from work to leisure. Beer commercials that involve playing hard have a central theme of mastery (over nature or over each other), risk, and adventure. For instance, the men will be outdoors fishing, camping, playing sports, or hanging out in bars. There is usually an element of danger as well as a focus on movement and speed. This appeals to and emphasizes the idea that real men overcome danger and enjoy speed (i.e. fast cars/driving fast). The bar serves as a setting for test of masculinity (skills like pool, strength and drinking ability) and serves as a center for male socializing. Beer is also associated with nature. The idea that beer is natural and pure, not harmful, perhaps even healthy is strongly suggested.
Men drink more alcohol than women, often engaging in risky behavior such as binge drinking.[7] According to a study done by Rorabaugh, college men are among the heaviest drinkers in American society. In exchange for taking the risk presented, college men receive acceptance from their peers. Not only is alcohol in itself a risk in these men’s lives, but some college rituals and traditions expect men to mix danger while they have consumed alcohol. In American colleges, young men view their manhood as developing in a moment that is socially dominated by alcohol.
The following roles are frequently associated with masculinity.[8][9]
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