Revisiting Hypermasculinity: Shorthand for Marginalized Masculinities?

1. Revisiting Hypermasculinity: Shorthand for Marginalized Masculinities? Pitt, Richard N., and George Sanders. (forthcoming May 2010) “Revisiting Hypermasculinity: Shorthand for Marginalized Masculinities?” In What’s Up With The Brothers? Essays And Studies On African American Masculinities, edited by Whitney Harris and Ronald Ferguson. Harriman, TN: Men’s Studies Press.

2. Words Matter Elizabeth Loftus (1974) asked subjects to view video clips of car accidents. (click inside the box)

3. Words Matter How fast were the two cars traveling when they . . . smashed into collided into bumped into hit contacted . . . . each other 41 mph 32 mph

4. Words Matter • Sexual Subjugation Of Women • Cool and Aloof Self-Confidence With Men • A Ruthless Demeanor And A Ready Fist President o Machismo? Machismo? Originally a trait of Hispanic men . . “the Spanish word for the essence and spirit of masculinity.” Mosher and Sirkin 1984

5. The Histrionic History Of Hypermasculinity Hyper-masculine personality arises out of a desire to dominate men, women, and his environment Violent and aggressive Exploitative of women Enjoys Risk-taking The “Man’s Man” The “Ladies’ Man” Mosher and Sirkin’s (1984) Hypermasculinity Inventory Leonard Glass’ (1984) Motifs Of Hypermsasculinity

6. Hyper-masculine hyper-aggressive hyper-virile hyper-independent hyper-sexual hyper-adventuresome hyper-aggressive hyper-virile hyper-independent hyper-sexual hyper-adventuresome . . . you can imagine how bad “hyper” versions of it must be. If masculinity is generally perceived as “bad” . . .

7. Shorthand For Marginalized Masculinities? Hyper-masculine Working Class Men Non-Fem Gay Men Non-Anglo Men both non-Whites and White ethnics

8. Shorthand For Marginalized Masculinities? Hyper-masculine “Toward a Theoretical Understanding of Hypermasculine Coping Among Urban Black Adolescent Males.” “Hypervulnerable Youth in a Hypermasculine World: A Critical Analysis of Hypermasculinity in African American Adolescent Males “Hypermasculinity and Acculturation as Predictors of Mexican-American Males Perceived Justifiability of Rape” “Work, Nation and Hypermasculinity: The ‘Woman’ Question in the Economic Miracle and Crisis in South Korea” Non-Anglo Men both non-Whites and White ethnics

9. Shorthand For Marginalized Masculinities? Hyper-masculine “Masculinity Means Never Having To Say You’re Masculine: Homophobia, Hypermasculinity, and the Struggle Over Visibility in the Space of ‘Straight-Acting’ Gay Men” Gay men are usually described as hypo-masculine or hyper-feminine. When they display distinctly--but not necessarily exaggerated--masculine traits, they’re accused of displaying hypermasculinity. Gay men’s gender performance has two levels: effeminate “pissy bitchy queens” or hypermasculine, str8-acting “ordinary joes” and “gym-clones”. Non-Fem Gay Men

10. A Couple Of Things To Think About Hyper-masculine • While hegemonic masculinity often excludes marginalized men, hypermasculinity has almost come to define them. • Black men and gay men are both accused of being either hypo-masculine or hyper-masculine; there is no in-between. • We privilege White, middle-class masculinity by referring to marginalized masculinity as “hyper-masculine.” One masculinity becomes the ideal and the other just a flawed circus-mirror reflection of it.