The military hypermasculine mystique: Sex, status, and emotional control at the United States Military Academy.

Abstract

Although hostile expressions of masculinity have robust negative impacts in multiple domains among civilian populations, in the military, masculinity is a rarer target of inquiry and remains a polarizing subject. This article examines hostile and hypermasculine attitudes that prior work suggests may be associated with negative consequences for the social environment and men themselves in a U.S. military educational environment (N = 1,560 freshmen and 499 graduating senior men). Multivariate moderated multiple regressions (MMMR) linked military hypermasculinity facets (Machiavellian desire for status and control; conformity to masculine norms including emotional control, violence tolerance, needing to win, and impersonal sex preference; hostile and benevolent sexism) to performance outcomes including academics, leadership, and fitness; perceptions of peers, leadership, and antibias programming; and behavior. Desire for status, impersonal sex preference, violence tolerance, and benevolent sexism predicted negative performance outcomes. Violence tolerance, emotional control, and hostile sexism were associated with poorer perception of character education and/or anti-bias programming. Needing to win and control were associated with positive performance outcomes. Healthy messaging surrounding emotions, sex, and perception of women may help assuage toxic expressions of masculinity in the military. Contextualized demonstration of the counterproductive aspects of military hypermasculinity might sidestep opposition to altering hegemonic norms. Public Significance StatementOur results and the work of others show that hostile masculinities result in poor outcomes for men holding these beliefs and for the social environment generally. In our sample, poor outcomes for hypermasculine military attitudes included lower connection to peers, poorer grades and leadership, and rejection of diversity training efforts. Our findings suggest that healthy messaging surrounding sex and display of emotions are especially important to counteract problems associated with hypermasculine military culture.

“Always on parade”: Pregnancy experience of active-duty air force members.

“…Military personnel adhere to strict discipline and order to promote safety and protection in potentially dangerous and life-threatening situations (Moran & Turner, 2021). Traditional military culture values submission to a rigid, hierarchical authority structure, obedience to authority, and uncompromising adherence to prescribed social roles (Moran & Turner, 2021; Schaefer et al, 2021). Introspection, individuality, and displays of emotion are discouraged as detrimental to the mission (Schaefer et al, 2021).…”

“…Traditional military culture values submission to a rigid, hierarchical authority structure, obedience to authority, and uncompromising adherence to prescribed social roles (Moran & Turner, 2021; Schaefer et al, 2021). Introspection, individuality, and displays of emotion are discouraged as detrimental to the mission (Schaefer et al, 2021). The military also encourages the embodiment of organizational doctrines such as “service before self,” in which individual needs are secondary to the needs of the collective unit (DoD, 2015).…”

Veteran Identity (Perceptions) in Higher Education: A Veteran/Scholar/Advocate’s Story

“…But as the leadership and administration over the space, the responsibility fell to him and to the dean to educate themselves on military culture and make informed decisions from a culturally competent place. If they had they would know the military institution is considered "hypermasculine" (Schaefer et al, 2021) and is still predominantly comprised of white, heterosexual men. They would know that 1 in 4 women report military sexual trauma and 1 in 2 women report sexual harassment during their time in service (Wilson, 2018).…”

The ‘Real Man’ in the Global War on Drugs: Narco versus Militarised Masculinities

“…Heteronormativity is justified 'on the grounds of preserving combat effectiveness' (Duvin in Van Gilder 2019: 151). Essentially, 'effectiveness' is linked to violence and hypermasculinity which subordinates other genders considered as inferior (Schaefer et al 2021). In this way, the military ethos preserves the gender order by reproducing essentialist and rigid dichotomies:…”

“…In the context of the military there is a similar logic (Schaefer et al 2021), as Van Gilder (2019: 158) explains, feminine traits, and feminine others, are considered as a 'threat to military effectiveness [which is] born out of a fear that masculine environment could become feminized.' Likewise, the narco masculinity rejects female behaviours and attitudes.…”