Hypermasculinity and Prison Violence

Toch, Hans

doi:10.4135/9781483328010.n9

Cited by 94 publications

(78 citation statements)

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“…Such characteristics include violence and aggression, emotional restraint, toughness, risk-taking, physical strength, courage, power and dominance, competitiveness, and achievement and success (Brannon, 1976;Brittan, 1989;Donaldson, 1993;Hopkins, 1996;Kaufman, 1995;Nicholson, 1993;Schoenberg, 1993;Thompson, 1991;Toch, 1998).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Wrestling with Masculinity: Messages about Manhood in the WWE

Soulliere

2006

Sex Roles

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This study was designed to examine messages about manhood revealed by televised professional wrestling through content analyses of 118 World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) programs and pay-per-view events. Specifically, messages concerning masculinity and the way in which proof and assertion of manhood are accomplished were investigated and compared to the culturally ideal version of masculinity. Findings revealed that the messages imparted by the WWE about manhood support the dominant hegemonic form of masculinity, which emphasizes aggression and violence, emotional restraint, and success and achievement. Popular culture messages about manhood that emphasize hegemonic masculinity have implications for alternative expressions of masculinity and potential gender role socialization, which are discussed. Keywords Masculinity . Professional wrestling . Popular cultureGender is a cultural creation (Butler, 1995;Gilmore, 1990;Kimmel, 1990) that is often constructed by and represented through popular culture media (Gauntlett, 2002) such as advertisements (Andersen, 1997;Basow, 1992;Beal, 1994;Witt, 2000), music (Andersen, 1997;Witt, 2000), sports (Hanke, 1998;Messner, Hunt, & Dunbar, 2001), and entertainment television (Andersen, 1997;Spangler, 1992;Witt, 2000). Indeed, Andersen (1997) asserted that the mass media, in its various forms, is loaded with gendered presentations, and Gauntlett (2002) has maintained that the media are responsible for disseminating numerous messages about gender, including acceptable forms of femininity and masculinity.It has been noted that television, in particular, is a powerful source of gender representations. As Spangler (1992) has argued, television provides models of appropriate gender roles and behavior, and effectively constructs ideals of femininity and masculinity. Similarly, Witt (2000) contended that television, through both entertainment programming and advertisements, sends uniquely compelling messages about socially approved roles for boys and girls and men and women.Research concerning gender and popular culture media has tended to focus on women rather than men (Durkin, 1985;Good, Porter, & Dillon, 2002;Scharrer, 2001;Vigorito & Curry, 1998). Vigorito and Curry (1998), for example, reported that only recently has attention been given to men and masculinity in media studies of gender portrayals. Durkin (1985) also contended that most research on gender in the media has focused on the construction of femininity; masculinity has received only a cursory nod by default. Nevertheless, Hanke (1998) pointed to more recent media studies that focus on popular representations of masculinity in film, television, mediated sports, advertising, and popular music.Studies reveal that gender stereotypes abound in popular culture media representations (Andersen, 1997;Anderson & Hamilton, 2005;Basow, 1992;Dietz, 1998;Ditsworth, 2001;Evans & Davies, 2000;Ganahl, Prinsen, & Netzley, 2003;Gooden A. M. & Gooden M. A., 2001;Ogletree, Martinez, Turner, & Mason, 2004;Seidman, 1999;Towbin, Had...

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confidence: 99%

Wrestling with Masculinity: Messages about Manhood in the WWE

Soulliere

2006

Sex Roles

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“…It is a space of exaggerated masculinity -a hypermasculine space (Toch 1998). In a zone of hypermasculinity, violence is entrenched and the willingness to fight and the capacity for combat are measures of male self-worth.…”

Section: Incarcerating the Male Bodymentioning

confidence: 99%

“The Only Thing they have to Bargain with is their own Self”: masculinity and protesting immigration detention

Browning¹

2007

TfC eJournal

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This paper explores questions around masculinity and immigration detention. It suggests that masculinity constitutes a dimension present in both the rationale for incarcerating unauthorised asylum seekers and in practices of resistance against their incarceration. In modern Australia, the enclosed spaces of immigration detention are sites of bitter struggle. Brutality permeates the detention space and all detainees are vulnerable to its permutations, but men are the principal targets of the detention regime and are typically the primary instigators of mass demonstrations. Group protests are a response to the constraining system of incarceration and seek particular resolution. In this masculine space a form of male resistance has publicised the devastation of detention.

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“…This type of control is evident in a variety of ways. Some studies point to the culture of hypermasculinity among male inmates, wherein masculinity is defined in opposition to femininity and supported by force (Pemberton 2013;Toch 1998). Kuper (2005), similarly, outlines the psychological characteristics of what she calls ''toxic'' masculinity in male prisons, noting the importance of not displaying any emotions apart from anger (p. 718).…”

Section: Gender Differences In the Consequences Of Psychiatric Disordersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Orange Is Still Pink

Schnittker

Baćak

2015

Society and Mental Health

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Although research has established a very strong relationship between the presence of a psychiatric disorder and victimization in prisons, some gaps remain in our understanding. This study considers the importance of gender differences in this relationship. Estimates based on the 2004 Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities show that psychiatric disorders have a stronger relationship with victimization among male inmates than among female inmates. Yet the size of the gender difference varies greatly depending on the specific disorder. Depressive disorders have a much stronger relationship with victimization among men than among women, but other disorders, such as psychosis, show no gender difference. Symptom-specific analyses further confirm the nature of the difference. Victimization appears to be based in part on how well symptoms do or do not overlap with traditional gender roles. Male-atypical symptoms (e.g., sadness) have a stronger relationship with victimization among men, whereas female-atypical symptoms (e.g., anger) have a stronger relationship with victimization among women. Gender-neutral symptoms (e.g., hallucinations and delusions) have an equivalent relationship between genders. Further analyses suggest that these gender differences are not explained (with some exceptions) by verbal or physical provocation. These findings are interpreted in light of the literature on the nature of social control in men's and women's prisons as well as the literature on stigma.

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Hypermasculinity and Prison Violence

Cited by 94 publications

References 0 publications

Wrestling with Masculinity: Messages about Manhood in the WWE

Wrestling with Masculinity: Messages about Manhood in the WWE

“The Only Thing they have to Bargain with is their own Self”: masculinity and protesting immigration detention

Orange Is Still Pink

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