Hypermasculinity

Hypermasculinity is all about men or boys being tough. When a male is tough they are hard to break, and when they are hard to break women flock to them and hang off them. Hypermasculinity is a view of men that males hold. If you are tough, a real “manly man” then you are cool; and when you are cool women want you. The ideas of being tough and hard to break only works for men, as women compete through fashionable looks and gossip.

 Males are taught to be Hypermasculine from an early age. Boys don’t play with dolls or show their emotions, they suck it up, if they are hurt or offended, and punch the other kid. It is seen as being weak for a male to express themselves in a way other than through violence and dominance.  Males compete through violent means, whether it be in a sport or out with friends. The winner is always the toughest. Throughout history males have always been taught the Hypermasculinity ways. The Roman Empire was full of males who were tough warriors unable to be defeated, the Germans were strong males brought up to show their dominance, and the Japanese males were taught they were the only individuals of true importance.

The demeaning nature of men towards women is also part of Hypermasculinity. Because males are “tough” they hold a superior power of women. Women were not seen as being people in Canada until 1931, because males believed that if women were considered as “nothing” they would live a life of passive obedience. Hasn’t the women’s job over history only been to serve and obey her husband? Although that idea has changed over time the theory has never changed in Hypermasculinity. If a male has power over and the obedience of a women he is seen as being tough. When he is tough he is also cool and is expected to have sex with multiple women, to show his social standing.

Males who commit sexual assaults fit into more than one element of Hypermasculinity. They believe in being tough and stating their social standing in a way that is obvious to others. Because they are “tough” they believe they can have any women they desire. And often along with that comes the need to establish their power and authority. Power and authority is not always established male to male, it can also be established male to female. When it is established in that form the male asserts dominance over the female which comes back to being Hypermasculine.