Hypermasculinity
Hypermasculinity is a socially based term that is used to give an exaggerated version of a man, depending on their physical structure, emotional connection and the common men's behaviour. Today's society views a man as a physically strong being who has no connection to his emotional status. Men have been trained to hide what they feel even in their hardest moments in lives and have been led to think that those who show their emotions have a strong incline towards feminine characteristics. Following this, they have continued to suffer from inside and developing mental health issues related to stress. The media has also taken over when it comes to this matter, especially in movies and music. For example, most of Clint Eastwood's films usually draw a man as a physically strong and emotionless being who is ready for anything that comes his way, while a woman is too delicate to handle the normal life struggles (Toole 2012). The question then arises, what is the difference between masculinity and hyper-masculinity?
Masculinity and Hyper-masculinity
Masculinity is basically the state of possessing manly qualities such as physical appearance and male sexuality; while hyper-masculinity is just an exaggerated explanation of masculinity. Consequently, hyper-masculinity has been attributed to physical violence, male dominance and male sexuality. This study is meant to find out the effects of hyper-masculinity in society and offer possible solutions to this vast problem.
History of Hypermasculinity
Dating back centuries ago, during slavery, those who were taken as slaves were treated with all forms of disrespect and disregard of their humanity. Women who were taken slaves were subjected to a lot of cruelty and their captors just treated them as tools to be used for pleasure and common house chores. On the other hand, those men taken were used for hard labour without any rights and also placed on war fronts. The picking was biased towards the physical appearance and structure. Apart from the slavery days, the society had given men specific duties that only them would handle and women their own. They were trained to remain hardy and seem inhuman. A man could not cry at any impacted amount of physical and emotional pain whatsoever. These events up to date lay the basis of what it takes to "be a man." It is against every society's norm for a man to show any form of weakness hence considered feminine. Since the day men are born, they expected to be as masculine as possible and follow the routines and cultures of their elder men. The widespread saying that goes "Boys will be boys" is a direct approach and exhibit of how boys behave; for ages, this has been considered acceptable even when they are behaving in a manner that is not so mature.
Impact of Hypermasculinity
Un-noticeably, the issue of 'being a man' leaves a dangerous effect, not only to men but also to the society at large. The toxicity of masculinity dictates that men are not allowed to dwell on what makes them weak but what their strengths are in order to properly fit in. Gender roles are most often bending towards women and men completely being overlooked. Nobody cares a lot about what men go through in the discovery of his or her sexuality because he or she feels intimidated to express what his or her challenges are. For instance, when it comes to picking colours, there are specific ones that are considered acceptable for men (Parrott et al 2003). Picking bright colours such as pink will make you feminine even though you just like it. People will easily mistake you for being a gay man and this is not something that all societies approve of.
The relationship between masculinity and violence remains a danger to both the society and men. Men are encouraged to handle their issues head on so that they can prove their masculinity, even if it means going to war with their peers. The ability to defending oneself, as being a man, is directly associated with violent behaviour. However, someone does not need to prove his or her masculinity through involving in violence. There are definitely other ways that someone can be respectable and yet keep the same standards of manliness (Parrott et al 2003).
Research shows that hyper-masculine men are easily intimidated by feminism. This results into a different level of aggression so that they can prove their worth in the competitive world. Aggression is a good attribute when done for the right reasons, but the downside of this is that the side effects that may arise include acute anxiety and stress. Following this, men are not allowed to act out when they become stressed (Parrott et al 2003). When they get stressed out, they just swallow their challenges and forge ahead pretending that things were just well with them. Talking to somebody about what they are going through has been considered a sign of weakness for the longest time possible.
Hyper-masculinity has been used quite often to regulate the behaviour of children while they are growing up. While this may be a good thing for the general upbringing, it affects them by limiting the kind of things they should do as children in order for them to grow into somebody on their own. Instead, most parents design their children into becoming someone they want them to and therefore limiting whom they should actually grow into. They become the result of their parent's modelling. Boys are not allowed to understand what a woman feels and this may end up affecting their relationship with women in future (Parrott et al 2003).
Conclusion
Generally, sexuality does not measure how much of a man one is. The point that people miss out is that there are women who behave more properly than men and this does not make them the man. What character one possesses is of paramount consideration as to what kind of a man you are. Being able to prove to oneself is more important than the effort you can use to affirm yourself to others (Clarkson 2006). The physical structure does not measure how much of a man one is either. Moreover, it does not make a man weak to talk about their problems but gives them a chance to avoid or minimize stress. Being feminine does not necessarily make you less of a man.
Works cited
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Clarkson, Jay R. Masculinity Means Never Having to Say You're Masculine: Homophobia, Hypermasculinity, and the Struggle Over Visibility in the Space of "straight-Acting" Gay Men. , 2006. Print.
Parrott, Dominic J., and Amos Zeichner. "Effects of hypermasculinity oh physical aggression against women." Psychology of Men " Masculinity 4.1 (2003): 70.
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Toole, F X. Million Dollar Baby: Stories from the Corner. New York: Open Road Integrated Media, 2012. Internet resource.
