Hegemonic Masculinity

Hegemonic masculinity describes the creation and maintenance of a gendered hierarchical structure within a given sociopolitical context. R. W. Connell originally conceptualized hegemonic masculinity in the mid- to late 1980s as a sociological construct outlining the cultural, political, institutional, and interpersonal mechanisms underlying the social dominance of men within patriarchal systems. Building from this definition, this entry explains how the core dimensions within hegemonic masculinity influence the gendered aspects of human behavior, social structures, and their interactions.

Dimensions of Hegemonic Masculinity

The notion of a hegemonic masculinity implies that competing masculinities exist within a particular hierarchy, wherein one authoritative and multidimensional masculine gender ideology exists to which all other masculinities are subordinate. Two key defining features of hegemonic masculinity in most Western patriarchal cultures are (1) ...

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