Stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination are challenges that guys encounter to show hegemonic masculinity. Society has a tremendous impact on how men should perceive their masculinity. Throughout “Guests” Chapter 7 on Gender, C.J Pascoe “Guys are just homophobic: rethinking adolescent homophobia and heterosexuality”, and the film Maridstaan, it is demonstrated in these sources the many ways society perceives what cultural sexuality means to them and what the surroundings they grew up in also influences them. Throughout these sources the authors of each source are having a similar constant theme of what does masculinity mean to you and the anecdotal evidence that has been provided gave various responses. Many challenges that people confront are due to religion, family, media, and school all in which changes a person’s perception. This affirms hegemonic masculinity by more people will tend to be less expressive in their emotions and it can lead to people defying what society has to say and go against their beliefs.
Boys from a young age are considered to be more “stronger and faster” than a girl and this stereotype leads up to many girls not believing in themselves and giving the boys an upper hand in the social hierarchy. A common phrase that is used to discriminate against girls or women is “ you throw like a girl”. This phrase is used against a boy if he’s not able to throw a ball as far as the other boys can. In chapter 7 “Gender”, Guest defines the cultural construction of gender as the way humans learn to behave as a man or woman and to recognize behaviors as
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masculine or feminine within a cultural context (Guest 181). In todays society we pay more attention to men’s sports more than women’s sports because of the fact that men are “superior” in strength and capability of bringing success to a team, family and community. It’s not only that boys are chosen over a girl, but in fact that the more advanced players are chosen over others too,
and are given special privileges by the team or family. These privileges can be high praises from people and getting more attention within the community and the school that they attend. In Guests chapter, gender performance is defined as the way gender identity is expressed through action (Guest 185). We give males the masculine role in society and women the feminine role. According to students from the textbook, when they define masculinity they use terms such as “physical, strong, and tough” while they define feminine as “gentle and loving”, the author then portrays a vivid image where the situation can be the same for both genders and it can turn the tide from a man being feminine while a woman being masculine, which would mean that The example Guest illustrates is “a man may drive a truck to make a living, but also gently changes his baby's diaper and take her for a stroll in the park. A woman may enjoy sewing dresses for her daughters, but also dominate boardroom discussions as a CEO”(Guest 186) From this example we can see that you don’t have to be superior male to take over companies and be fearless, women can be both masculine and feminine and so can men. Evidently from that scenario we can assume that we should not be prejudice of what we see with our eyes and what we assume what is a daily norm in society and that both men and women can be either masculine and feminine depending on who they’re with.
Teenagers use homophobic terms such as gay, queer, homo, and faggot are common slurs used throughout high schools across the United States. Students use these terms for many reasons and CJ Pascoe upon her research of young adolescent boys has came to many conclusions. “Fag discourse” a term used to show that someone is weak and is not masculine and leans towards the feminine side. This term is commonly used against weaker boys in schools
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who dress differently, sound differently, and appear weak. Pascoe finds that “boys defend against homophobic teasing and harassment by assuring others of their heterosexuality” (Pascoe 148). They use these common slurs against other students just so they can show that they’re more masculine among the social hierarchy. To rise to the top of the hierarchy they need to put down others. Three components to compulsive heterosexuality is having a girlfriend just so you can show others that you’re not gay and you deserved to be praised amongst the student body. The other is constraining and touching female bodies, again just to show that you’re not gay and the last one which also has the same repeating them which is sex talk about establishing dominance over girls’ bodies. What most of these boys are doing without knowing is hurting ones gender identity which is defined as ones internal, personal sense of being a man, a woman or a combination of genders. They are punishing those students who may want to identify themselves as a different identity. These acts of discrimination against homosexuals can deeply affect others while it maybe be all fun and games to students. The taunting and teasing can lead to ones demise and it all starts from being called a “fag”. The control over a girl’s body is the central definition as Pascoe states and she also refers to this as being not listed as a “fag “just so others can give them respect and status.
Hegemonic masculinity in India gives us an eye opener to a whole new concept. In the movie Mardistaan (2014) directed by Harjant Gil asks four people about how they perceive masculinity and how are the cultural norms influenced throughout the country. Feminist scholar Nivedita Menon states, “If you follow the rules as a woman you’ll survive but if you don’t you’ll be punished”. This direct quote from the film suggests that you have to be a woman who follows the traditional norms and
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values of Indian culture, which is wearing certain type of clothes and doing certain types of jobs. The difference in hegemonic masculinity that quickly arises is “ if a guy is raped it’s a bigger deal if a women was raped”. Why is it that after being given a masculine title and all those characteristics of having a bigger physique than a woman, yet they still get more attention even if both sides of the opposite gender is raped. One student who was being interviewed whose name is Tarun stated, “Some guys think women are being raped because they expose too much”. After being given more privileged than a woman can ever think of in India they still want women to not stay out at night and be a traditional Indian woman who stays home. All the anecdotal evidence gathered from the movie stated that hegemonic masculinity is to be human and to understand each other and live your life with honesty. Society in India does not accept homosexuals and a public health counselor Dhananjay is not accepted in society as a gay man. He’s playing the role of a husband with a wife whom he was arranged marriage with and she accepts him for who he is and they also have a daughter Gurpreet Singh who is a designer said “men have more moral and educational support from families and that women are looked down upon in society because men are considered masculine enough to raise a family after they are done with their education. He has two daughters and he loves them and gives them all the resources they need to succeed in life and he doesn’t let any negative influence go towards him or his daughters. Another hegemonic belief in the Indian college system is that “if you don’t lose your virginity you are looked upon as gay”. From this we can conclude that many young adults are under peer pressure. The stereotypes and discrimination throughout India happens on a daily basis where men are always playing the masculine role, while women are playing the feminine role.
Throughout the three sources we come to see a constant similar theme of gender discrimination, stereotypes, and prejudice amongst people. We see that in all three sources men and adolescent boys want to gain status with the perception of “successful masculinity”. Successful masculinity can be defined as true success found through power and physique. They
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want the feeling of accomplishment and all three of them showed it throughout the essay. They all also state the subjugation of femininity and how women are being victims of this hegemonic masculinity through abuse. After reading all three sources I believe it all goes back to “Man the Hunter, woman the gatherer”. We didn’t have this hegemonic belief system until the agriculture started where it was declared that the strong would hunt while the weak would do more labor work around the village. This all relates back to the pre historic era where there was no class system until farming began.