Men are better than women There

Men are better than women!? ! • There are women’s roles • There are men’s roles

An introduction to the social construction of masculinity Gender refers to culturally specific patterns of behaviour, • attached to the sexes • culturally determined and highly variable • sexism and racism are reproduced and legitimized everyday through the process of collusion (Bilton et al 1992) We encourage what we permit (CFO Durham)

Learn from childhood Psychology – Boy child developed love for mother but when they recognise they are not like the mother they break away not only from their mother but from their emotions – rationality – Girls develop a love for mother and when they recognise they are like them they continue this emotional tie – irrational – do not develop minds and bodies outside society this occurs through interaction with our family, school, friends, peers, media and the list goes on

Socialisation Interactive process by which people learn some of the values attitudes skills and knowledge appropriate to their roles in society (Coser et. al. 1991) Girls are trained to be carers they have dolls, go baby sitting - this is all seen as appropriate to their role in society Boys seen as rational trained to be tough and this again prepares them for ‘their role’ in society

Women and Femininity Not sex difference but a gender difference our society defines characteristics appropriate to gender – Socialisation creates femininity as a caring passive characteristics learnt so that our female children fit in. – Female social role is nurturing so women learn to nurture is it the chicken or the egg? Question – Do female students avoid large parts of this process? – Is it in male students best interest to ‘accept’ equality?

Men and Masculinity We accept views appropriate to gender ---people are rewarded by following traditional roles. Male jobs Male roles Male behaviour Question Does this provide soomething to protect? And against who?

Policing genders • Foucault – the gaze of society • Mass-circulation women's magazines are shown as disciplining women into feeling the need to diet to obtain the new nymph like image of womanhood. – women were "terrified of getting fat "; • under eating - anorexia nervosa • over-exercising, • restricted clothing, – The perfect nymph • depilated body, • a blemish-free, painted face • Resculptured Question Does this apply to anyone you know?

Patriarchy Stockard and Johnson 1992 Male dominance does not mean that individual males in a society consciously conspire to keep women subordinate. Neither does it mean that women are helpless victims who have no way to prevail against men. Indeed, male dominances is hard to see unless one has become sensitized to it. The difficulty arises because male dominance is imbedded in our language and ways of thought. These built-in pre-suppositions can limit the potential of all people and have personal costs for both males and females. Question What is the cost?

Hierarchal Relations Kimmel “hegemonic masculinity is always constructed in relations to various subordinated masculinities as well as in relation to women” Hegemony exists when people believe something and it becomes true in its consequences Hegemonic relations only exist because they are believed to be true/exist Hegemony then becomes true in its consequences Not only a conscious but also an unconscious process Much of this underpinned by sexual relationships –men seek sex for intrinsic pleasure –women seek sex as a route to something Connell - hegemonic masculinity is key to the gender hierarchy Question What is hegemony?

Male Violence It became necessary to help women understand that their own experience of male violence was not just their individual bad luck or even their fault, but that there is an objective social basis for this private violence by men against women and children. This meant that they had to understand the sociological and historical dimensions of male violence if they were to get out of the masochistic tendency to attribute the failure of their marriage to their own failure as women (Mies 1993: 77) The male ideology of rape (is a) conscious process of intimidation by which all men keep all women in a state of fear (Brownmiller 1975: 14) “Pornography functions to perpetuate male supremacy …. because it conditions, trains, educates and inspires men to despise women, to use women, to hunt women” (Dworkin in Seidler 1992: 86) “Pornography intent is to humiliate, degrade and dehumanise the female body for the purpose of erotic stimulation and pleasure” (Brownmiller in Seidler 1992: 90) “Political media published by men and for men to perpetuate male authority and female submission” (Rowan in Seidler 1992: 85) Question Do you have a view on pornography?

• Make a list of points why we think that gender is genetic- in our essence when we are born-something that is natural • Now challenge these views

Masculinity and Public Service Question Why do firefighters and police officers run towards danger? Can women perform the same role?

Norms, Values and Rules

Religion challenged the power of Kings – Made power available to working class – But ruled by religious leaders (men) – Every believer is loved by God – Men must treat their women as they themselves want to be treated

Six structures to patriarchy (Walby, 1990, p. 20). • • • The patriarchal mode of production Patriarchal relations in paid work Patriarchal relations in the state Male violence Patriarchal relations in sexuality Patriarchal relations in cultural institutions

Aristotle et al ARISTOTLE • Politics is the central activity. Men meet to discuss politics because they have rationality • Women lack rationality and live on their emotions – they are the other HOBBS 1588 -1679 • 1600 a time of absolute monarchies • Church and state maintain absolute power together in a paternalistic manner LOCKE 1632 -1704 • In public sphere individuals are equals making contact with each other – rationality rules • Women excluded to the private an area of secondary importance women denied a public voice MILL • Society governed by reasoning human beings • Males dominate women because of a desire for power • Main obstacle to power is marriage • Men are depicted as having "the self-consciousness of conceptual thought and volition of the objective final end", this empowers them with the will to philosophise and reason. • The 'second sex' (women) are only able to relate to substantive facts "in the form of concrete individuality and feeling" they do not have the ability to philosophise.

State Power • • • Kings Parliament Laws Policing Rule of the father Physical barriers taken down by legislation but they women yet to fully overcome the common sense notions that remain – Glass walls and ceilings – Work

Capital • Feminist theory and in particular Walby (1990, p. 20) argues that patriarchy is a system of social structures and customs, through which men dominate, oppress and exploit women. • Hartmann (1979, p. 232) talks about patriarchy as a set of social relations between men that are hierarchal and create solidarity between them, which in turn allows men to control women. • Middleton, 1981, 1985) Patriarchy is not essentially capitalist, because patriarchal relations existed before capital