THE MASCULINITY THEORY: MASCULINISM & ANTI_FEMINIST

COUNTERMOVEMENT

RAEWYN CONNELL
- he is an Australian Sociologist.
-his theory of MASCULINITY is the most influential in the fields of men and
masculinity.
In his theory of masculinity, he promotes equalityb for both men and women,not
only for women but also considering the men and boys.

MASCULINITY- Qualities or attributes regardedas characteristics of men.

In CONNELL’s book of MASCULINITIES, She introduce his concept of

“Hierarchy of Masculinity” which has FOUR CATEGORIES OF
MASCULINITY:

 HEGEMONIC - dominant form of MAsculinity that is expected in our

society.
 COMPLICIT - is a kind of masculinity in which a man may not fit into all
the characteristics of hegemonic masculinity but do not do much to challenge
it either.
 MARGINALIZED-is a form of masculinity in which man does not have
access of the Hegemonic Masculinity because of certain characteristics he has
such as his race. Men of colour and disabled men are the examples of men
that are experiencing it.
 SABORDINATE-men in subordinate masculinity exhibits that are opposite
to those that are valued in hegemonic masculinity such as physical weakness
and exhibition of emotions like sadness. Effiminate and gay men are
examples of men who exhibits subordinates masculinity.

MASCULINISM- is a countermovement to feminism that has functioned in

Western Countries in 1980’s.
-it is a range of political movement that shares common goal:to define,establish
and achieve political,economic,personal and social rights for men and boys.
 Maculinist also worked to proote bodily anatomy and integrity, and protect
men and boys from any forms of harassments and violence.
 Some masculinist movement were mainly focused on men’s right but there
are some, including BELL HOOKS who argued for inclusion of womens
liberation within it’s aims.

ANTIFEMINIST- A person who is rational, logical and believes in the equality of

sexes.
 Unlike feminist , Anti-feminist based their conclusions off of inaccurate
statistics rather they based it in solid facts.
 Anti-Feminist oppose to Feminist cause it focused in promoting equal rights
for both men and women.
Feminist Theories and Intersectionality

Feminist- is someone who supports equal rights for women.

Liberal Feminism- is simply women and men being treated as equals. Some of
the main issues of liberal feminism include reproductive and abortions rights,
sexual harassment, voting rights, education, affordable childcare and affordable
health care. Women should have the same legal rights, job opportunities and
education as men. Liberal feminists try to promote a nonsexist socialization to
children.

Marxist Feminism- they believe that women play an incredibly important role as
they are one of the most affected victims of the capitalist system. For instance,
single mothers are often left to fend for themselves when there are no welfare
benefits available. Through revolution, working-class women will then be able to
free themselves from the socio-economic hardships imposed upon them by the
capitalist system and work towards, with their male comrades, a fairer system
where men and women are equal in an egalitarian and communist society.

Socialist Feminism- addresses women's inequality in a two-pronged approach,

connecting capitalism and patriarchy and proving that patriarchy isn't the sole
source of oppression. The first objective is often referring to women's limited
roles in society, staying at home and raising a family, as a major factor in their
oppression. The second object aims to show that women can experience it in
various other ways, including race, class, sexual orientation, and education,
among others.

Radical Feminism- is a philosophy emphasizing the patriarchal roots of

inequality between men and women, or, more specifically, the social domination
of women by men. Radical feminism views patriarchy as dividing societal rights,
privileges, and power primarily along the lines of sex, and as a result, oppressing
women and privileging men. Radical feminism opposes existing political and
social organization in general because it is inherently tied to patriarchy. Thus,
radical feminists tend to be skeptical of political action within the current system
and instead tend to focus on culture change that undermines patriarchy and
associated hierarchical structures.

Cultural Feminism- refers to a philosophy that men and women have different
approaches to the world around them, and that greater value should be placed on
the way women approach the world. In some cases, cultural feminism argues that
a woman's way of looking at the world is actually superior to men's. This
perspective aims to unite all women, regardless of ethnicity, race, class or age.
The essence of being a woman is what makes women special and different
compared to men, according to this view. This female essence includes a greater
emphasis on cooperation, relationships and peace, also referred to as an ethic of
care. Cultural feminists can either believe that being more nurturing is
biologically determined, or they might believe that this trait was taught to them by
society, or some combination of both.

Postmodern Feminism- the goal of postmodern feminism is to destabilize the

patriarchalnorms entrenched in society that have led to gender inequality. Seek to
accomplish this goal through rejecting essentialism, philosophy, and universal
truths in favor of embracing the differences that exist amongst women to
demonstrate that not all women are the same. These ideologies are rejected by
postmodern feminists because they believe if a universal truth is applied to all
woman of society, it minimizes individual experience, hence they warn women to
be aware of ideas displayed as the norm in society since it may stem from
masculine notions of how women should be portrayed.

Intersectionality- the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race,

class and gender as they apply to a given individual or group, regarded as creating
overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage.