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| Masculinity codes: why women and girls accept unwanted sex (2010) |
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Boyfriends and husbands are using psychological forms of violence in order to coerce their girlfriends into sleeping with them, and girls go along with it. Girls are saying "yes” to sex when they want to say "no” because they fear what will happen if they don’t. Typical masculinity codes have taught boys that "no” means "try harder”, and girls simply want to avoid the physical and emotional violence they get from refusing sex. Since girls are taught to be passive in the bedroom, they take the path of least resistance and unwillingly commit to sex. This entitlement that boys feel they have to sex is emotionally crippling young girls and leading to the disembodiment of women’s sexuality.
TITLE: Going Along With It: Sexually Coercive Partner Behavior Predicts Dating Women’s Compliance With Unwanted Sex
AUTHOR: Jennifer Katz and Vanessa Tirone
JOURNAL: Violence Against Women YEAR: 2010
DIGITAL RIGHTS: available from SAGE journals for $25
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| Factors influencing masculinity ideology among Latino men (2009) |
Hyper-masculinity is an exaggerated form of traditional masculinity embraced by many Latino men. Buying into hyper-masculinity is linked to ethnic identification and exposure to gender stereotypes at home. That is, the more strongly a man identifies with his ethnic group, and the more he is repeatedly exposed to narrow ideas of manhood at home when he's growing up, the more likely he is to embrace hyper-masculinity as an adult.
TITLE: "Factors influencing masculinity ideology among Latino men."
AUTHOR: Pedro A. Saez, Adonaid Casado, and Jav C. Wade.
JOURNAL: Journal of Men's
YEAR: 2009
DIGITAL RIGHTS: available for free from BNet.com
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| Boys learn that being cool means being violent (2009) |
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Learning how to "be a man” from the media leads boys to question whether they are cool enough, funny enough, strong enough, or violent enough. Boys see images everywhere that encourage partying, pimping, slacking, and bullying. In order to be cool, boys must be the bullies, the narcissistic athletes, the "dogs,” and the "players”. If someone ever crosses them, boys learn to be violent and seek revenge. This teaches boys that being powerful men is more important than being respectable people. Parents need to have productive conversations with their sons that question what "being a man” is so that boys can just be who they are.
TITLE: "Packaging Boyhood: Saving our Sons from Superheroes, Slackers, and Other Media Stereotypes."
AUTHOR: Sharon Lamb, Lyn Mikel Brown, Mark Tappan.
YEAR: 2009 by St. Martin’s Press
DIGITAL RIGHTS: Available for $17.15 from Amazon.com.
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Amore sophisticated public debate is needed about masculinity issues, going beyond stereotypes of men either as oppressors or victims, "in control" or "in crisis". Though men as a group hold considerably more power than women and children, it is a relatively small group of highly-paid men who dominate politics, business, media, the public sector and the justice system. In contrast, men at the sharp end of economic and social change can face unemployment, ill health, and social isolation.
Public policy needs to respond urgently to the problems that men and boys create and the problems that they experience. Such problems include working long hours, improving men’s use of primary health care, encouraging services to engage more actively with fathers, and developing programs to educate men and boys about healthy relationships and violence against women.
TITLE: "Man Made: Men, masculinities and equality in public policy.”
AUTHOR: The Coalition on Men and Boys
JOURNAL: n/a YEAR: 2009
DIGITAL RIGHTS: Available from COMAB free online.
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| Masculinuity not enough-Boys must believe violence is ok to bully (2009) |
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Beliefs about masculinity as defined by strength and aggression as main factor behind bullying. Boys who participate in typically masculine behaviors (such as those involving physical strength and competition) are more likely to fight and participate in social aggression – such as homophobic taunting, rumor-spreading, and ostracism
But strong beliefs about masculinity aren’t enough. To bully boys also had to believe that that physical aggression and using violence to solve problems was okay. Very masculine boys who believed that physical aggression was wrong were not likely to bully.
TITLE: "The Moderating Effects of Support for Violence Beliefs on Masculine Norms, Aggression, and Homophobic Behavior During Adolescence.”
AUTHORS: Michael Kimmel, Paul Poteat, and Riki Wilchins
JOURNAL: (Manuscript under Review) YEAR: 2009
DIGITAL RIGHTS: N/A
URL: (Submitted Manuscript) |
| Boys use "fag” name-calling to prove manhood (2007) |
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Boys are so afraid of being perceived as gay or "girly” that they call each other ‘fag’ to prove and claim their masculinity. The slur is most often directed at straight boys who seem feminine or simply less aggressive. Being called ‘fag’ is not about one’s sexual identity, or even sexual experiences, but about being non-manly; ‘fag’ is quickly becoming synonymous with ‘feminine.’ As one high school boy put it, guys get called ‘fag’ for "anything . . . literally, anything.” This "fag discourse” within American high schools supports a valuing of masculine traits over feminine traits among boys so that "whatever they did, whatever they became, however they talked, they had to avoid becoming a faggot”. Such harassment is central to boys’ identity, but not to girls (you don’t see girls walking around calling each other "dykes”). Boys need to rethink ideals of masculinity so that their manhood is not constructed by homophobic bullying.
TITLE: "Dude, You’re a Fag: Masculinity and Sexuality in High School.”
AUTHOR: C.J. Pascoe
YEAR: 2007 by University of California Press
DIGITAL RIGHTS: Available for $14.93 from Amazon.com.
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| Adolescent boys and girls who describe themselves as courageous, strong and noisy tend to be bullies. These traits are considered more masculine than feminine. Boys and girls who describe themselves in a more feminine way such as being shy, sensitive, and a chatterer are picked on by bullies.
Children who bully are more likely to run into trouble with the law as teenagers, and can have problems socializing with peers in the future.
TITLE: "The Role of Masculinity in Children's Bullying."
AUTHORS: Gianluca Gini and Tiziana Pozzoli.
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| Stereotypically feminine girls more prone to social aggression (2005) |
Gossiping, exclusion, and other types of social aggression are a type of bullying that girls often prefer over physical aggression. Girls are more likely to participate in these activities if they are stereotypically feminine as measured by traits like "affectionate" and "gentle," and masculine, like "independent" and "forceful."
Interestingly, this is more common among white (non-Hispanic) girls than African-American girls even though both groups of girls have similar "feminine" identities.
TITLE: "Navigating Power, Control, and Being Nice: Aggression in Adolescent Girls' Friendships."
AUTHORS: Laura M. Crothers, Julaine E. Field, and Jered B. Kolbert.
JOURNAL: Journal of Counseling and Development.YEAR: 2005.
DIGITAL RIGHTS: Available from American Counseling Association, $20.
URL:http://aca.metapress.com/openurl.asp?genre=article&eissn=1556-6676&volume=83&issue=3&spage=349 |
| Ideas about masculinity shape body image (2004) |
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Negative body image in males can increase the use of anabolic steroids and lead to the development of an eating disorder. Over the past 10 to 20 years, the ideal size of a guy's muscles has increased to an almost impossible standard. Even the iconic action figure GI Joe's muscularity has increased to a point where his proportions can never be achieved in real life. Since guys now have to compare themselves to overly buffed-up supermen, they feel worse about their own body and as a result themselves.Guys also believe that the "ideal masculine body" relates to being a winner, being more respected, having lots of women around them, and being a solid worker. If they do not believe their body is ideal, guys tend to feel less masculine and feel the pressure to look like other, buffer guys they see in television and magazines.
TITLE: "Measuring Masculine Body Ideal Distress: Development of Measure."
AUTHORS: Sara B. Kimmel and James R. Mahalik.
JOURNAL: International Journal of Men's Health. YEAR: 2004.
DIGITAL RIGHTS: Available from Men’s Studies Press $14
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| Masculinity and femininity predict bullies and victims (2004) |
Boys and girls with high masculine characteristics and low feminine characteristics are more likely to be bullies. Kids who agreed with masculine statements such as "I stand up for myself,” "I am a leader,” and I am tough” and disagreed with feminine statements such as "I am kind,” "I care about others,” and "I am gentle,” were more likely to report bullying other kids. This study also found that boys who enjoyed stereotypically feminine activities were more likely to get bullied, have less male friends, have low self esteem, and be depressed.
TITLE: "Adolescent Bullying, Relationships, Psychological Well-Being, and Gender-Atypical Behavior: A Gender Diagnosticity Approach.”
AUTHORS: Robert Young and Helen Sweeting.
YEAR: 2004.
JOURNAL: Sex Roles.
DIGITAL RIGHTS: SpringerLink, $32.
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| "Random” school shootings --- Links to homophobia and manhood (2003) |
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Over 95% of major school shootings in the past 20 years have one thing in common: a clear link between masculinity and homophobia. Almost all were White kids from rural, "Red state” communities where codes of manliness were very harsh, bullying to enforce manhood was tolerated, and there was easy access to powerful guns – assault rifles, automatic weapons, etc. All the assailants were relentlessly teased, called "faggot” and attacked for not being manly enough. Because they were interested in music or theatre, uninterested in sports, or simply "dweeby” outsiders who lacked aggression they were harassed and attacked for not living up to masculine stereotypes. As a last resort, victims resort to severe risk taking and violence to prove their manhood. Assailants take other people’s lives to deal with feelings of shame, fear, humiliation and inadequacy. Attacks on masculinity and the use of violence to cope with constant homophobic humiliation is a consistent theme in each of two decades of school shootings, and therefore the (overlooked) key to stopping them.
TITLE: " Adolescent Masculinity, Homophobia, and Violence: Random School Shootings, 1982-2001."
AUTHOR: Michael Kimmel, Matthew Mahler
JOURNAL: American Behavioral Scientist. YEAR: 2003.
DIGITAL RIGHTS: Available from Sage Journals Online for $25.
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| Typically "masculine” boys abuse their girlfriends to prove manhood (2003) |
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Boys physically and emotionally abuse their girlfriends to prove how "manly” they are. Young men who believe that women are inferior to men tend to resort to physical violence because they feel that it is okay for men to hit women. Boys learn that they must publicly dominate women (and other men) and feel that they must "put women in their place”; one boy even admitted, "It really pisses me off when I see a girl who pretends that she doesn’t have to be in her place.” A girl’s job, according to violent boys, is "to take care of shit at home—cooking, cleaning, the kids.” In order to maintain their power, boys feel that it is their obligation to abuse women and keep them weak. Successful intervention programs in elementary schools can influence the way boys perceive women—allowing them to develop healthy masculine identities rather than become abusive boyfriends.
TITLE: "Girlfriend Abuse as a Form of Masculinity Construction among Violent, Marginal Male Youth."
AUTHOR: Mark Totten.
JOURNAL: Men and Masculinities. YEAR: 2003.
DIGITAL RIGHTS: Available from Sage Journals Online, $25.http://jmm.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/6/1/70
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| Masculinity and good grades don't mix: Boys work to avoid taunts, ridicule, bullying (2001) |
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Boys learn early on that being studious, working to get good grades, and being academically successful are not compatible with being masculine. Boys who are perceived as studious and concerned with good grades are often teased, ridiculed, ostracized by peer groups and publicly labeled "geeks," "nerds," and "dorks." Because being quiet, studious and grade-oriented is also seen as feminine or gay, they're likely to have their sexual orientation publicly questioned and called "sissy" or "fag."
Two-thirds of boys went to great lengths to avoid studious behaviors -- especially high achievers who used a number of different strategies, to hide or downplay their achievement, including being the class "joker," dramatically understating grades, or isolating themselves from potential bullies. Improving boys' academic achievement includes not only having better teachers and schools, but challenging the culture of masculinity that can hold them back. This culture must be addressed early on, when they first begin school, when children first begin forming firm ideas about boys' roles.
TITLE: Learning the 'Hard' Way: boys, hegemonic masculinity and the negotiation of learner identities in the primary school
AUTHOR: Emma Renold
JOURNAL: British Journal of Sociology of Education YEAR: 2001
DIGITAL RIGHTS: Available free online in PDF
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By the age of 18, U.S. children witness around 200,000 acts of violence on television alone. When children in elementary school receive a classroom intervention with a curriculum designed to reduce television, videotape, and video game use by, their levels of physical aggression on the playground are more significantly reduced than their peers who do not partake in the curriculum. As a result of the intervention, children also engage in less verbal aggression with their peers, and are less likely to believe the world to be a mean and scary place.
TITLE: "Effects of Reducing Children’s Television and Video Game Use on Aggressive Behavior.”
AUTHORS: Thomas N. Robinson, MD, MPH; Marta L. Wilde, MA; Lisa C. Navracruz, MD; K. Farish Haydel; and Ann Varady, MS
JOURNAL: Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine YEAR: 2001
DIGITAL RIGHTS: Available free from ArchPedi online.
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| Ethnic belonging leads to more masculinity (2000)* |
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Black adolescent and teenage boys express more conservative attitudes toward gender roles, like believing men should work and women should stay in the home. Black masculinity adopts distinct actions and attitudes known as "cool pose” that emphasize honor, virility and physical strength. On the other hand, Latino masculinity is linked to the idea that a boy should imitate his father, and a machismo code that emphasizes exaggerated public masculinity that includes heavy drinking, toughness, aggression, sexual prowess, and risk taking. On average, Black and Latino adolescent and teenage males both engage in exaggerated male behaviors twice as much as white males. However, white males who strongly identity with their ethnic background are almost twice as likely to endorse traditional male gender roles as Latino males.
TITLE: "Ethnic Belonging and Traditional Masculinity Ideology among African Americans, European Americans, and Latinos.”
AUTHORS: Jose M. Abreu, Rodney K. Goodyear, Alvaro Campos, and Michael D. Newcomb
JOURNAL: Psychology of Men and Masculinity YEAR: 2000
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| American academy of pediatrics: impact of entertainment violence on children (2000) |
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Children who see a lot of violence are more likely to view violence as an effective way of settling conflicts and are more likely to assume that acts of violence are acceptable behavior. Viewing violence can lead to an emotional disconnect towards violence in real life and decrease the likelihood that a person will help a victim of violence. Violence as entertainment feeds a perception that the world is a violent and mean place, and as a result increases fear of becoming a victim of violence. This causes people to mistrust others and want to protect themselves more. Children exposed to violent programming at a young age have a higher tendency for violent and aggressive behavior later in life than children who are not as exposed to violent media.
TITLE: "Joint Statement on the Impact of Entertainment Violence on Children: Congressional Public Health Summit.”
AUTHORS: Donald E. Cook, Clarice Kestenbaum, L. Michael Honaker, and Dr. E. Ratcliffe Anderson, Jr.
JOURNAL: American Academy of Pediatrics YEAR: 2000
DIGITAL RIGHTS: Available free from AAP online.
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| Gender in anti-violence programs: Breaking masculinity and violence Link (2000) |
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Men and boys are more likely than girls to bear weapons and resort to violence during a conflict because boys feel greater pressure to prove "manhood” with violence. Many anti-violence programs targeted at teens and young adults fail because they do not realize that manhood codes and the need to "be a man” increase the likelihood of violence. Programs like Men Against Violence (MAV) have succeeded, because they focus on changing cultural norms and supporting a non-violent definition of masculinity. MAV helps young men overcome homophobia by expanding the definition of manhood. MAV members learn to see women as equals, resolve conflicts without violence, and develop meaningful male friendships that don’t rely on dominance, aggression or shared contempt for girls. Boys who have expanded ideals of masculinity are less likely to have unprotected sex, engage in binge drinking, or resort to physical violence. The MAV programs have helped decrease violence and have had a lasting effect on their members.
TITLE: "Toward a Transformed Approach to Prevention: Breaking the Link between Masculinity and Violence”
AUTHORS: Luoluo Hong.
JOURNAL: Journal of American College Health YEAR: 2000.
DIGITAL RIGHTS: Available free from preventconnect.org
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| Female breadwinners threatens manhood (1999) |
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Boyfriends and husbands feel like their masculinity is threatened when their girlfriends or wives make more money than them. Boyfriends tend to hit, slap or beat their girlfriends in order to feel a sense of control over their breadwinning girlfriend. Making money (or rather, making more money than their girlfriends or wives) is one of the main ways men construct their masculinity. When that is taken away from them, they try to dominate them through various forms of abuse. Now that women have the opportunity of higher education and well paying jobs, they still need to worry about the bruised egos of their male counterparts. We need to reconsider how boys are learning gender roles so that they are rooting for women to succeed, not punishing them for it.
TITLE: "When She Brings Home the Bacon: Labor-Force Participation and the Risk of Spousal Violence against Women”
AUTHOR: Ross MacMillan and Rosemary Gartner
JOURNAL: Journal of Marriage and the Family YEAR: 1999
DIGITAL RIGHTS: Available from JSTOR with subscription
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| "Machos" and "sluts" justify violence in Latino community (1999) |
Violence prevention programs don’t work in Latino Communities unless they take into account the cultural beliefs surrounding gender roles and sexuality which allow for violence against women. The concept of the "machismo” supports male dominance and female subordination to the point where men assert their masculinity through physical and sexual violence. Many young Latinos believe it is okay for men to force sex on a woman because men are "biologically unable to control their sexual passions” and must use violence to keep women in their "natural role”. While it is important to have "culturally-sensitive” violence prevention programs, traditional beliefs about gender roles and sexuality in the Latino community need to be challenged.
TITLE: Machos and Sluts: Gender, Sexuality, and Violence among a Cohort of Puerto Rican Adolescents
AUTHOR: Marysol W. Asencio
JOURNAL: Medical Anthropology Quarterly YEAR: 1999
DIGITAL RIGHTS: available for $12 from JSTOR (free with subscription)
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| Stereotypes and violence targeted at women in video games (1998) |
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In video games that have characters, there are no women or girls in 41% of them. In 28% of the ones that do have female characters, they’re shown in traditional femme colors of pink and yellow and with long hair, thigh-high boots, gloves, revealing leotards, and similar femme-fatale apparel. Women are heroes or action figures in only 15 % of video games – about one in six. Nearly 80% of games include aggression or violence as part of the game’s strategy and goal, such as rescuing a kidnapped female victim. Nearly 21% of games depict violence towards women.
TITLE: "An Examination of Violence and Gender Role Portrayals in Video Games: Implications for Gender Socialization and Aggressive Behavior.”
AUTHOR: Tracy L. Dietz
JOURNAL: Sex Roles YEAR: 1998
DIGITAL RIGHTS: Available from Springerlink online by subscription.
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| Violence in sports validates boyhood (1992) |
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Boys turn to violence on the athletic fields as a way of claiming their masculinity and rejecting the "feminization” of the world around them. As women are gaining more rights and authority in their personal and professional lives, boys are finding fewer spaces that are strictly masculine and allow aggression. Many boys see the social advances for women as threatening, and take out their frustration by being excessively aggressive on the football or soccer field. If some young men feel that they are losing the power and privilege they want in the office or at home, they find comfort in the all-male teams which legalize aggression and violence. Violence in sports is a large part of the "triad of men’s violence” which consists of violence against women, violence against other men, and violence against one’s self. Breaking this "triad” is crucial for gender equality, and can only be done when boys are held morally accountable for their violence, even if it is "legal” on the playing field.
TITLE: When bodies are weapons: masculinity and violence in sport
AUTHOR: Michael A. Messner
JOURNAL: International Review for the Sociology of Sport
YEAR: 1992
DIGITAL RIGHTS: Available from Sage Journals Online for $25.00
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