‘Manning up’ has its costs
Strived-for masculinity harmful to men and boys, Brock professor says
Independent. Unemotional. Strong. Aggressive. All are masculine traits that many men strive to embody.
But this strived-for masculinity is actually harmful to men and boys, says Brock University sociology professor Murray Knuttila, particularly for their social and emotional well-being.
In his new book Paying For Masculinity: Boys, Men and the
Patriarchal Dividend, Knuttila looks at the ways “manning up” negatively effects boys and works to suppress characteristics that are deemed “unmanly.”
Knuttila says this construction of masculinity is a by-product of western society’s patriarchal gender order, which is a way of organizing gender that benefits men.
“We happen to come from a historical, religious and philosophical tradition that is patriarchal,” he says. “That notion of male superiority and male dominance as natural is really woven through our culture, our belief systems and our social institutions.”
While masculine traits are held up, feminine traits are devalued. Knuttila says that although young boys are not any less sensitive, emotional or considerate than young girls, boys begin to be scrutinized for showing these assumed feminine qualities at about the age of 10.
At this point the process of “manning up” begins, he says.
Boys begin to be held to a standard of masculinity by family, friends, institutions, and media outlets in both subtle and overt ways. Knuttila says this scrutiny stems from a traditional fear that boys will not be able to become successful men that are able to support themselves and their family.
The pressure of this fear pushes boys to suppress their more feminine characteristics in favour of their more masculine traits to gain access to the perks of patriarchy, which Knuttila refers to as “cashing in on the patriarchal dividend.” Although men are more likely to hold political office, become a chair of a corporation, and make more money than their peers of the opposite gender, men do “pay the price of patriarchy,” he says.
“One of the tragedies of manhood in western society is many men are lonely,” says Knuttlia. Because men are encouraged to toughen up, bottle up their emotions and lie about any pain they experience, they are less likely to confide in friends as a result.
Boys also tend to have lower selfesteem and are more unhappy than girls as a result of this manning-up process.
“There are a lot of benefits (to being a man), but every dividend comes at a cost,” says Knuttlia.
Knuttila hopes his work encourages men to think about how they “do” gender.
“My agenda is to get men to think: Is it, (the benefits of a patriarchal society), worth it? And to me the answer is no,” he says. “I want to get people to simply think critically on how we can create a more egalitarian world in which women and men are valued equally and afforded the same opportunities.”
Knuttila will be continuing his research on masculinity. He will be travelling to University of Helsinki in Finland from May to June of this year, where he has been appointed as a visiting scholar. During his stay, he will be collaborating on research that looks at the relationship between masculinity in rural areas and rural men’s health.