Masculinity Ideology and Norms

Masculinity ideology and masculine norms are closely related concepts. Whereas masculinity ideology refers to a set of beliefs about how boys and men should or should not act, think, or feel, masculine norms, like other social norms, are the specific prescriptions and proscriptions for how boys and men should or should not act, think, or feel, as expressed in the commonly heard exhortation “Boys don’t cry.” Both traditional masculinity ideology and traditional masculine norms play a central role in the gender role strain paradigm, the dominant theory in the psychology of men and [Page 1114]masculinities. This entry reviews the social-scientific foundations of masculinity ideology and masculine norms, describes the relevance of differing ideologies and norms, and reviews current empirical literature related to the endorsement and ...