- 10 May 2021, 01:00
#20647
Sociology and Hegemonic Masculinity
Sociology is defined as, “a social science that studies human societies, their interactions, and the processes that preserve and change them” (Britannica, 2020). It does this by examining diverse issues relating to gender and identity. Gender is usually defined as a social construct which is an idea created by a narrow-minded society which varies across diverse religious backgrounds and cultures where masculinity and femininity are viewed differently (McCauley, T. September, Slide 2). The society has simply defined a person’s gender by simply assuming it from biological birth, also known as cisgender (McCauley, T. September, Slide 4). Therefore, the following essay will consider the different types of gender expressions as well as how gender is not always defined or assumed by physical sex.
Given the argument regarding social construction above, an example can be shown where most societies perceive men the financial pillar of the home where the “bread” is bought and them leaving home to work while their women stay home to cook the food for their families (McCauley, T. September, Slide 21). This creates discrimination to females, especially in this generation, they are well educated and have equal number of rights as males. In terms of a man’s perspective, men are usually the one who must be strong and courageous in any given difficulty to protect his family, this gives an overloading stress to a man but must achieve it to be more “masculine”, this brings us to a theory known as “Hegemonic Masculinity” where a male is seen more dominant over other males in a society (Connell, 2015). If a woman handles the decision making in the house and brings in the financial support, it is either looked like a disgrace towards a man or it makes a man look less masculine.
However, gender is more diverse than simply assigning yourself as male or female after birth, it is expressed in many ways due to many people not being comfortable with themselves as well as their gender. Sociology brings us a new range of binary categories by male and female by different gender expressions, such as transgender. This is where gender is different from biological sex of a person, meaning a person denotes his personal identity and gender that does not correspond to their birth sex and they assume a range of gender characteristics in which they feel most comfortable (McCauley, T. September, Slide 6). Transgendered people have a wide range of behaviours regarding their gender thus, identifying their pronouns usually as “they/them” from time to time due to being gender diverse and having a gender identity that they are neither man nor woman (McCauley, T. September, Slide 10).
Another gender category is the intersex community. This is a term used for people who have diverse variations in their biological/physical sex (McCauley, T. September, Slide 10) An example can be either a difference in sex hormones, or genitals (a girl born with male reproductive organs), however there are many states of intersex people such as a variation in chromosomes, gonads and many more. Though, this is never obvious to others upfront. The last gender category is the queer community, a term “for people of marginalized gender identities and sexual orientations who are not cisgendered” (McCauley, T. September, Slide 9). This is the most complicated category in Sociology history as to how different they define their genders, a queer person is a person who considers themselves as all of the above sexualities in the LGBTI community (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, intersex).
Intersex and queer people are usually told to be a disgrace or worse, a “mistake” towards society and most people are quite confused with identifying their gender. However, societies need to change their perspective and accept this binary category and let the intersex community assume their own gender, or if they wish to undergo surgeries to change their appearance.
In conclusion, Sociology diversifies binary categories between male and female to develop better, open minded societies that accept their gender categorization and identities.
Bibliography
Faris, R. E.L. and Form. William (2020, May 6). Sociology. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/sociology
Connell. (2015) Gender & Power, Hegemonic Masculinity. In M. S. Kimmel, A. Aronson, & A. Kaler, The Gendered Society Reader. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
McCauley, T. (2015) ‘Gender Categories’ Male Female Relationships (PowerPoint Slides) Retrieved from URL: https://eclass.yorku.ca/eclass/course/view.php?id=1954
McCauley, T. (2015) ‘Male Female Relationships’ (PowerPoint Slides) Retrieved from URL: https://eclass.yorku.ca/eclass/course/view.php?id=1954
McCauley, T. (2015) ‘Male Female Relations’ (PowerPoint Slides) Retrieved from URL: https://eclass.yorku.ca/eclass/course/view.php?id=1954
Sociology is defined as, “a social science that studies human societies, their interactions, and the processes that preserve and change them” (Britannica, 2020). It does this by examining diverse issues relating to gender and identity. Gender is usually defined as a social construct which is an idea created by a narrow-minded society which varies across diverse religious backgrounds and cultures where masculinity and femininity are viewed differently (McCauley, T. September, Slide 2). The society has simply defined a person’s gender by simply assuming it from biological birth, also known as cisgender (McCauley, T. September, Slide 4). Therefore, the following essay will consider the different types of gender expressions as well as how gender is not always defined or assumed by physical sex.
Given the argument regarding social construction above, an example can be shown where most societies perceive men the financial pillar of the home where the “bread” is bought and them leaving home to work while their women stay home to cook the food for their families (McCauley, T. September, Slide 21). This creates discrimination to females, especially in this generation, they are well educated and have equal number of rights as males. In terms of a man’s perspective, men are usually the one who must be strong and courageous in any given difficulty to protect his family, this gives an overloading stress to a man but must achieve it to be more “masculine”, this brings us to a theory known as “Hegemonic Masculinity” where a male is seen more dominant over other males in a society (Connell, 2015). If a woman handles the decision making in the house and brings in the financial support, it is either looked like a disgrace towards a man or it makes a man look less masculine.
However, gender is more diverse than simply assigning yourself as male or female after birth, it is expressed in many ways due to many people not being comfortable with themselves as well as their gender. Sociology brings us a new range of binary categories by male and female by different gender expressions, such as transgender. This is where gender is different from biological sex of a person, meaning a person denotes his personal identity and gender that does not correspond to their birth sex and they assume a range of gender characteristics in which they feel most comfortable (McCauley, T. September, Slide 6). Transgendered people have a wide range of behaviours regarding their gender thus, identifying their pronouns usually as “they/them” from time to time due to being gender diverse and having a gender identity that they are neither man nor woman (McCauley, T. September, Slide 10).
Another gender category is the intersex community. This is a term used for people who have diverse variations in their biological/physical sex (McCauley, T. September, Slide 10) An example can be either a difference in sex hormones, or genitals (a girl born with male reproductive organs), however there are many states of intersex people such as a variation in chromosomes, gonads and many more. Though, this is never obvious to others upfront. The last gender category is the queer community, a term “for people of marginalized gender identities and sexual orientations who are not cisgendered” (McCauley, T. September, Slide 9). This is the most complicated category in Sociology history as to how different they define their genders, a queer person is a person who considers themselves as all of the above sexualities in the LGBTI community (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, intersex).
Intersex and queer people are usually told to be a disgrace or worse, a “mistake” towards society and most people are quite confused with identifying their gender. However, societies need to change their perspective and accept this binary category and let the intersex community assume their own gender, or if they wish to undergo surgeries to change their appearance.
In conclusion, Sociology diversifies binary categories between male and female to develop better, open minded societies that accept their gender categorization and identities.
Bibliography
Faris, R. E.L. and Form. William (2020, May 6). Sociology. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/sociology
Connell. (2015) Gender & Power, Hegemonic Masculinity. In M. S. Kimmel, A. Aronson, & A. Kaler, The Gendered Society Reader. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
McCauley, T. (2015) ‘Gender Categories’ Male Female Relationships (PowerPoint Slides) Retrieved from URL: https://eclass.yorku.ca/eclass/course/view.php?id=1954
McCauley, T. (2015) ‘Male Female Relationships’ (PowerPoint Slides) Retrieved from URL: https://eclass.yorku.ca/eclass/course/view.php?id=1954
McCauley, T. (2015) ‘Male Female Relations’ (PowerPoint Slides) Retrieved from URL: https://eclass.yorku.ca/eclass/course/view.php?id=1954
