LESSON 14: LGBT PSYCHOLOGY

LESSON OBJECTIVES:
This module discusses the many faces of men and masculinities. It also discusses themes
of masculinity and its relationship with well-being, fathering, domestic roles, and drug and
alcohol use. This module finally deals with hegemonic, protest, and caring masculinities. At the
end of this module, you are expected to:
1. understand fully men's studies and the constructs of masculinity;
2. know fully the themes of masculinity and its relationship with well-being, fathering,
domestic roles, and drug and alcohol use; and
3. comprehend hegemonic, protest, and caring masculinities.

DEFINITION OF TERMS:
 Masculinities - a social, cultural and historical construction of men dependent on and
related to other factors such as class, ethnicity, sexuality, age, and disability
 Hegemonic masculinity - form of masculinity which is culturally dominant in a given
setting
 Protest masculinity - form of masculinity which is culturally dominant in marginalized
setting
 Caring masculinity - proposes that men are able to adopt what is viewed as traditionally
feminine characteristics.

Introduction
Since 1970s, studies on different aspects of manhood (from men in the labor market to
men in the family and violent men, etc.) were made. By the 20th century, the number of these
studies increased dramatically.
A growing body of literature theorizing men and masculinities focuses on a variety of
topics including men's violence, fatherhood, pornography, men's crimes, female masculinity,
male femininity, etc. These studies arose despite the clear dominance of men over global
economic and political power. Men make up a large majority of corporate executives, top
professionals, and holders of public office. Worldwide, men held 93% of cabinet-level posts in
1996 and most top positions in international agencies (Gierycz 1999).
Essentialist views of gender are still popular and are constantly reinforced in the media.
However, they are increasingly under challenge, not only in biology (Fausto-Sterling 1902) but
also in everyday life. The rise of the women's liberation movement, and many feminisms that
have followed on from it, produced a massive disturbance in the gender system and people's
assumptions about gender.
 Large numbers of men now acknowledge that their position is under challenge, that
what they once took for granted about must be re-thought, making men’s studies, and
masculinity became popular.

MEN'S RIGHTS LOBBY

One of the main founding texts of this lobby is by Warren Farrell, in his work, The Myth
of Male Power: Why are Men the Disposable Sex? (1994). According to him
“Men are now the gender victims as a result of feminism having gone too far, with men
having increased responsibilities but few rights around issues of marriage, divorce, child
custody and access to children."
Modern legislation is seen to be overprotective of women's interests, resulting in
discrimination against men at a time when they are under increasing threat within a rapidly
changing society.
Still, some researchers argue that these pro-male movements were only a reaction to
feminism-an attempt to accuse women and feminists for creating problems that men
encounter in society.

MASCULINITY THEMES
Masculinity is a social, cultural, and historical construct dependent on and related to
other factors such as class, ethnicity, sexuality, age, and disability. Researches on men's
studies and masculinity established common themes which strengthened and developed this
evolving concepts.
1. Multiple Masculinity
Accordingly, there is no one pattern of masculinity that is found everywhere.
Different cultures and different periods of history, construct masculinity differently.
Some cultures make heroes of soldiers and regard violence as the ultimate test of masculinity.
Others cultures look at soldiering with disdain and regard violence as contemptible.
Some countries regard homosexual sex as incompatible with true masculinity. Others
countries think that no person can be a real man without having had homosexual
relationships.
The meaning of masculinity in working-class life is different from the meaning in middle-
class life and same goes among the very rich and the very poor. It is even possible that more
than one kind of masculinity can be found within a given cultural setting and within a specific
class.
 This only shows that masculinities cannot be delimited to a sole definition or description
as various countries, culture, and levels in life view this concept differently.

2. Hierarchy and hegemony

Typically, some masculinities are more revered than others. Others may be dishonored, i.e,
homosexual masculinities in modern Western marginalized, i.e, the masculinities of
disempowered ethnic minorities. Others are even exemplary, taken as symbolizing admired
traits, i.e., the masculinities of sporting heroes.
The form of masculinity which is culturally dominant in a given setting is called "hegemonic
masculinity". "Hegemonic" signifies a position of cultural authority and leadership but not
total dominance as other forms of masculinity persist alongside.
Hegemonic masculinity embodies popular heroes, role models, and fictional characters.
According to Kimmel (1997), hegemonic masculinity:
“contains within it the image of the 'man' in power, a man with power and a man of ver.
We equate manhood with being strong, successful, capable, reliable, in control, The very defi
The very definitions of manhood we have developed in our culture maintain the power that
some men have over other men and that men have over women.”
Hegemonic masculinity was understood as the pattern of practice that allowed men's
dominance over women to continue. Hegemonic masculinity embodied the currently most
honored way of being a man as it required all other men to position themselves in relation to
it and it ideologically legitimated the global subordination of women to men.
Men who received the benefits of patriarchy without enacting a strong version of
masculine dominance could be regarded as showing a complicit masculinity. Hegemony did
not mean violence, although it could be supported by force; it meant ascendancy achieved
through culture, institutions, and persuasion.
Hegemonic masculinity in Western society hinges on heterosexuality, economic autonomy,
being able to provide for one's family, being rational, being successful, keeping one's emotions
in check, and above all, not doing anything considered feminine. Hegemonic male norms
stress values such as courage, aggression, autonomy, mastery, technological skill, adventure,
toughness in mind and body.
Moreover, hegemonic masculinity is hegemonic not just in relation to other masculinities,
but in relation to the gender order as a whole. It is an expression of the privilege men
collectively have over women.
 The hierarchy of masculinities is an expression of the unequal shares in that privilege held
by different groups of men. Thus, some masculinities are deemed as higher than the others, as
well as higher than other forms of gender.

3. Collective Masculinities
Gender structures of a society define particular patterns of conduct of individuals as
either "masculine" or "feminine". These patterns also exist at the collective level-in
institutions, such as corporations, armies, governments, and even schools. Masculinities are
also defined collectively in the workplace and an informal groups like street gangs.
Masculinity also exists impersonally in culture. Video games, for example, circulate
typed images of violent masculinity. Cinema and TV Shows portray stereotypes of masculinity
such as abandoning father, disgruntled student, abusive partner, and the drug convict
In sports, an aggressive kind of masculinity is created organizationally by its structure,
pattern of competition, system of training, and hierarchy of levels and rewards.

Masculinities and well-being

Research confirms a strong association between rigid norms about what it means to be
a man and men’s negative health practices and vulnerabilities (Barker et al. 2011).
Men are unlikely to talk about their worries and more other destructive behaviors when
stressed. These findings echo the evidence in the literature that conforming to stoic and rigid
notions of masculinity contributes to suicidal behavior and depression (Möller-Leinkühler
2003; Emslie et al., 2006).
Culturally dominant forms of masculinity, which often urge men to practice strict
emotional control, serve as barriers to health- and help-seeking behavior, or encourage some
men to engage in practices detrimental to their own health and that of their families.
Evidence confirms that death and disability rates related to alcohol and substance abuse
are considerably higher for men than for women, making substance abuse predominantly
male phenomena worldwide (Pyne et al. 2002; WHO 2004).
The requirement of physical strength appears to be a nearly universal component of a
dominant masculinity (Katz 1999). The physical version of hegemonic masculinity has been
promoted by globalization via film. toys, and other goods (Katz 2003).
Katz points out the unrealistic evolution of action figures' biceps, in many cases
depicted as larger than the dolls’ heads. Katz even notes that these toys reinforce the
association of masculinity with violence, even if this violence is sometimes heroic.
Family formation, fathering, caregiving, and domestic roles
Domestic roles are closely associated with women as carrying them out can involve a
loss of face for men. Great deal was heard about increases in women's labor force
participation in recent decades but less about men's caregiving and domestic roles.
Research, however, shows that men are, on average, not greatly increasing their role in
household work and unpaid care (Barker and Pawlak 2011). Lest do they know, men are
missing out in not engaging more in their domestic and family roles. It has been shown that
being involved in the lives of their children brings psychological and health benefits to men
(Dykstra and Keizer 2009). Research on child development demonstrates lasting benefits to
children of their fathers' involvement, in terms of their confidence and school performance
(Ruhm 2000; Sarkadi et al. Bremberg 2008).
However, it was said that men may contribute to the “domestic enterprise" in other
important ways, including through providing financial support, accompanying children to
activities outside of school or home (National Center on Fathers and Families 2002; Brown and
Chevannes 1998).
Better-educated men are more likely to put more time into domestic roles and
caregiving (Hernandez 1996; Garcia and Oliveira 2004; Barker and Verani 2008). Men's
schooling may have expanded their sense of norms and weakened stereotypes through their
exposure to broader ideas and more diverse people.

MASCULINITIES AND ALCOHOL AND DRUG USE

More men drink than women; and men drink more than women (Room et al. 2002).
Studies show that men were more likely to drink than women, drank alcohol in greater
quantity and more frequently than women, and were more likely to face alcohol-related
health and social problems than women (Wilsack et al. 2000).
In many settings, men's drinking encourages solidarity and stimulates courage. It is a
key peer group ritual as well as being a recreational activity (Coombs & Globetti, 1986). When
men become drunk, fights and homicides are rationalized (Pange, 1998), and women are
encouraged to tolerate men's drunkenness as a natural part of their being men (Caetano,
1984).
Drug use and drug dealing can serve as ways of constructing a powerfully masculine
identity (Collision 1996).
PROTEST MASCULINITY
 Protest Masculinity is a form of marginalized masculinity which picks up themes of
hegemonic masculinity in the society at large but reworks them in a context of poverty (Connel
2005). In other words, it is akin to hegemonic masculinity but in socially-deprived contexts.
Protest masculinity refers to describe instances of extreme forms of sex-typed behavior
on the part of some males. Key to the concept of protest masculinity are high levels of physical
on the part of some aggression. The protest masculinity profile is also proposed as including
tolerance for delay of gratification, crime, drinking, and similar dispositions (Braude 1990).
Protest masculinity is often a product of narcissism built from deep feelings of
powerlessness and insecurity. Connell compares it to a "tense, freaky façade, making a claim
to power where there are no real resources for power" (Connell 1995).

CARING MASCULINITY
The emergence of caring masculinities in many parts of the world has been assessed in
several reports since the early 2000s, all of them highlighting the virtuous impact of this
reshape in male identities and practices for gender equality improvements in societies
(Connell 2003; Norwegian Ministry for Children and Equality 2009; Scambor et al. 2013; Levtov
et al. 2015; Heilman et al. 2017; Santos et al. 2016; Wall et al. 2017).
After decades of women demanding equal rights and opportunities and for the end of
male domination and its harmful costs in their lives, caring masculinities arise as a strong ally
against hegemonic masculinity.
The concept of a caring masculinity proposes that men are able to adopt what is viewed
as traditionally feminine characteristics (ie, emotional expression, sensitivity, domestication,
interdependence, caring, etc.) without departing from or rejecting masculinity (Elliott 2015;
Miller 2011).
Caring masculinities can be seen as masculine identities that exclude embrace the
affective, relational, emotional, and interdependent; a critical form of men's engagement in
gender equality because doing care work requires men to resist hegemonic masculinity and to
adopt values and characteristics of care that are antithetical to hegemonic masculinity (Elliot
2016).
So, besides the commitment to care work and gender equality, caring masculinities
entail a mindful refusal of hegemonic masculinity and inherent prerogatives (privileges,
domination, power), as well as of the plural manifestations of “complicit masculinity” that it
assumes (Aboim, 2010).
Men who approximate this form of masculinity are viewed as a form of “new man”
(Edley and Wetherell 1999; Smith 2016; Singleton and Maher 2004).
SUMMARY
Masculinity and men’s studies have been continuously developing from its inception
and up to present. These studies covered common themes of masculinities, different kinds of
masculinities such as hegemonic, protest, and caring masculinities and the relationship of
these masculinities to various aspects of life and the environment.