Gender has consistently affected society for decades. For example, in the past one hundred years, women have changed drastically from how women are supposed to dress and men have changed their personalities for how they should be portrayed. In modern times, it is more common for gender roles of women to be more publicized since women had to and are currently fighting for equal rights. Yet, men face gender discrimination as much as females. Men face this discrimination by one simple ideology, hypermasculinity. Hypermasculinity, as defined by Planned Parenthood, is the exaggeration of stereotyped behavior that is believed to be masculine (Planned Parenthood). A common example that portrays hypermasculinity is that men should act dominant and insensitive. Society has placed this stereotype by saying men should not be able to cry, and that men should be the head of their household. When in reality, this is not true at all. The main problem with this ideology is how it can promote violence on women.
There is not a single country in the world today whose top political position is held by a woman (New York Times). This statistic is stating how powerful male dominance is. Until about 12,000 years ago, men were known for their strength to hunt and gather food for the household (Britannica). Also, after the Industrial Revolution, jobs became more common for people to provide for their families. Men would typically get these jobs to provide financial support. Women would stay home to take care of children and the house (History). These two occasions are examples of many where the dominant trait of men began to evolve.
Another trait of hypermasculinity is that men should not be able to cry and show affection. Hypermasculinity describes that men should not be insensitive because it is a female tendency. When a man cries or show affection it is opinionized as a sign of weakness, but many women including myself actually prefer affection. It is common that men feel like they should verbally abuse or sometimes even physically abuse their partner to feel insensitive and dominant even when it is not their nature to do it at all. I vividly remember a time when my ex-boyfriend was with his friends, and he began to verbally abuse me by calling me some hateful names such as a bitch as well as making fun of my appearance to feel superior in front of friends. While he thought this made him seem like man, it did not and I left him. When a man is openly loving to his women it is not uncommon for his male friends to say “you’re soft,” or any saying similar to that. This falls into the same category as hypermasculinity because it makes men feel that they should not be loving to their women.
Men have the opinion that they should be sexually experienced which is false. This ideology is false because not all women care about how sexual their partner is. From what I experienced in high school, many high school boys are quick to lose their virginity, so they can brag to their friends and other females about how sexually experienced they are. Men also tend to love bragging about the size of their penis to gain more attention from females also. Another common thing I have seen us that young men are quick to gain infinite bodies but prefer girls just to have one sexual encounter if that at all. These scenarios go with hypermasculinity because of the aspect that men should be sexually experienced, aggressive, and dominant. What most men do not know is that being sexually experienced should not make them a man, it makes most men look like a hoe. Being sexually active comes with responsibility and if men do not know what they are doing, they should not be having sex.
The biggest controversy of hypermasculinity is how it promotes violence towards women. Women face violence by sexual, verbal, and physical abuse by a man’s ideology. In Eminem’s song Won’t Back Down featuring P!NK, he uses aggressive lyrics such as “Bitch, you listening?”, “Tryna turn me down, Slut, I’m talking to you, turn me back up!” “Are you insane tryna talk over mine in the car, shut the fuck up…” (Genius). to describe him verbally abusing a woman. This influences many male generations to be aggressive with their woman which is not okay. Advertisements also influence male violence on women. On the website, Genderads, there are many advertisements that displays gender stereotypes. The website shows ads that promote male violence as well as showing women being submissive. In one advertisement on the website it shows a male in bed while a woman is on her knees catering to his needs. Van Heusen, the company on the ad, uses the slogan “show her it’s a man’s world” also to promote their product, which is ties. Another advertisement on the website shows a male laying a woman across his laps with his hands on her butt to notion him in charge of her; this advertisement is for Gucci. Why are companies using negative concepts of male violence to women to promote their products? It is all a setup to boost a male’s ego, but it is not for a great purpose if it can potentially cause women abuse.
The aspect of how a certain gender is supposed to behave, perform, or even have appearance has shaped the mind frame of possibly millions. Stereotypes of men can be so negative. If not everyone. The phrases “be a man” and “suck it up,” are commonly told to young males when they are expressing hurt, grief, or any sad emotion. Males in American culture are often taught at a young age how a male is supposed to act and appear which can drastically change the identity and personality of a young male. In every day media, companies use harsh examples of the ideal man to sell their products. Hypermasculinity cannot be fully resolved, but it can be improved. It can drastically be improved by how a male is raised and how social media portrays males.