hegemonic masculinity

[ hej-uh-mon-ik mas-kyuh-lin-i-tee ]

noun

1. a socially constructed masculine ideal, defined chiefly in contrast to or as the opposite of femininity, and held up as the most prestigious form of manliness in a heteropatriarchy.

Word History and Origins

Origin of hegemonic masculinity¹

First recorded in 1995–2000

Example Sentences

Otherwise, that internal sense of masculinity, felt as “I know it when I see it” and framed within the impossible ideal of hegemonic masculinity, means the siren of crisis always beckons.

From Scientific American

This notion of an ideal man is what scholar Raewyn Connell refers to as “hegemonic masculinity”: a perfected sense of manhood that is as glorified as it is unattainable.

From Scientific American

As Wang noted, same-sex spouses seem to feel less confined by the strictures of hegemonic masculinity.

From Salon

Mullaney marveled at how those involved were “throwing around terms like ‘toxic masculinity’ and ‘hegemonic masculinity.' Pretty cool to watch.”

From Washington Post

In their 2019 journal article "Demographic Fever Dreams: Fragile Masculinity and Population Politics in the Rise of the Global Right," scholars Banu Gökarıksel, Christopher Neubert and Sara Smith explore the relationship between right-wing nationalism and what they call "hegemonic masculinity" in a variety of contexts, including white nationalism in the U.S. and Western Europe, Hindu nationalism in India and Sunni Muslim nationalism in Turkey.

From Salon