The Definition of the Term Masculinity - Assignment Example

Gender Studies Key Words Student’s Name Professor Subject University/institution 19th April, 2012. Masculinity Masculinity is the possession of qualities or rather characteristics that are considered distinct to men (Reeser, 2010). In the traditional aspect of defining the term, masculinity is considered as behaving in ways or in a way that is considered typical for men or having the characteristics that are considered manly. However, the term masculinity does not always apply to men as even women are known to be masculine, that is they possesses the characteristics that men possess though they are women in other words called tom boyishness. The definition of masculinity can also be broadened to include objects and even animals which have the qualities that are masculine. The definition of the term masculinity varies across historical and different cultural contexts. For instance, masculinity can be argued in the context of innate characteristics in men which are linked to the male body, other people may argue masculinity based on the cultural constructs of the term as denoting characteristics such as a man being brave and strong (Courtenay, 2000). In addition, in the cultural context of masculinity, the cultural definition of masculinity denies the existence of females who are masculine as masculinity is only typical to men in cultural sense. Intimacy The word intimacy is often misunderstood with many people defining it in the terms of a relationship where the couples involved are passionate, are close and always know detailed information about each other (Prager & Roberts, 2004). Intimacy in the context of a relationship is taken as an affection that is exhibited between couples who are in love. The couples who are said to be intimate always show warmth towards each other. Therefore, in this context, people can be emotionally, or physically intimate. On the contrary, intimacy can also be defined as familiarity coupled with a deep understanding of a place, a certain subject or history relating to a particular period. However, intimacy can also be defined in the context of people for instance friends or a group of people who have a close relationship with one another. Such friends always display a sense of belonging to the friends or to the members of the group and therefore show a special closeness to each other, a closeness that is defined by the presence of absolute trust among each other that is characterized by no privacy among the friends or the group members (Laurenceau, Rivera, Schaffer & Pietromonaco, 2004). Therefore, the definition of intimacy is only clear when one is defining it from a definite stand that is from a relationship point of view of from a familiarity of a subject or place point of view. Hysteria Hysteria is sometimes regarded as a mental disorder that characterizes people with excess emotions for instance emotions of fear or panic (Halligan, Bass & Marshall, 2001). People who are known to have hysteria are said to be hysterical and in most cases have emotional outbursts, frenzied laughter and crying which cannot be explained or which suddenly happens in a patient. Psychoanalysts define hysteria as a psychoneurotic condition whereby people with the condition always have emotional outbursts, have disturbances resulting from the sensory functions in addition to motor functions and also abnormal effects. People suffering from hysteria always lose control of themselves, are known to have engaged in severe conflicts in their past resulting in the fear of something and this fear can be centered on a part of body or the fear may be centered on an problem which is imaginary with a specific part of the body (Mark, 1993). The definition of the word hysteria has evolved over time whereby traditionally, the word was known to refer to the sexual dysfunction of men to the modern definition of hysteria as a psychological disorder. The term nowadays is defined in the broader context of its various manifestations and symptoms. Democracy Democracy as applied in gender refers to a path through which gender equality is achieved (Cooray, 2012). In most of the countries all over the world, democracy in gender issues has not been an easy path. Again, though international organizations, standards and norms have worked to reinforce democracy, it has not been embraced and it is still a challenge. Democracy is the opposite of absolute dictatorship. Democracy therefore ensures that gender equality and women empowerment are achieved in a certain organization or nation. Democracy as the power of the people, for the people, and by the people is applied in gender to govern men and women on how to be fair with each other regardless of gender or sex. In respect to these, democracy requires that men surrender some of their economic, social and political powers to women for gender equality and democracy to prevail. Democracy in gender issues includes all i.e. government organizations and non-government organizations, male and female, poor and rich, minority and majority etc. in conclusion, democracy in gender is based on the idea that both men and women are equal despite of their political, social, mental and economic strengths. In other words, democracy is based on humanitarian grounds (Inglehart, 2002). Resistance Resistance as used in gender refers to the opposition of gender related issues. The resistance can be from a person, organization and/ or government (MacLeod, 1992). Personal resistance to gender issues is a person’s notion to opposite gender and sex related issues such as democracy, equality and equity. It is commonly driven by the ideas one have about the opposite sex and the ideas are learnt from society. These ideas include thing like gender roles and sex roles and therefore, since they differ from one culture to another, they impose different reactions to persons. Moreover, the kind of resistance to gender issues may also vary depending on the educational level of a person. Organization resistance is the tendency of an organization governing council to embrace gender equality and democracy. In such an organization gender democracy does not prevail and they are characterized by gender imbalance, gender biasness and gender discrimination. In such an organization, men dominate in the administration posts while women are given low racked positions (Riddell, 1989). For government resistance; political, economic, and social powers and privileges are given to men without considering the women. Women are therefore side-lined leaving men with power. Such governments do not apply gender democracy and equality. Transsexualism Transsexualism comes from the term trans-sexuality which means the same as gender dysphoria. Trans-sexuality in-line of gender refers to a condition in a human being in which he/she is in a state of confusion (conflict) between physical sex and gender. In other words, trans-sexuality from transsexual is a person who views sex structures of the brain (which defines gender) as the exact opposite of physical sex organs of the body (Brill, 2008). Therefore, Transsexualism refers to person who possesses the character of trans-sexuality. A person with such personality exhibit characterizes (traits) of the opposite sex. For example, a man who is trans-sexual has masculine physique and the sexual organs but his traits are more of a female nature than male nature. The trans-sexuality nature does not only happen to humans but also to other animals for example; dogs, rats, cats, monkeys and others are known to exhibit such traits. The cause of trans-sexuality is attributed to hormones that are produce by a stressed pregnant woman during critical stage in mental development of the foetus. Trans-sexuality is a treatable disorder which if not treated can cause stress to the person. In addition, a person who is trans-sexual has more intelligence quotient than the normal population (Abramson & Pinkerton, 1995). Psychoanalysis Psychoanalysis is a psychological theory, credited to Sigmund Freud, which attempts to relate the behavior of human kind to the unconscious mind. Westen (1999) suggests that mental representations of people guide how we interact them. Psychoanalysis therefore attempts to identify these factors and to demonstrate how they shape the behaviors of people. Common practice in psychoanalysis involves the patient visiting the analyst and lying on a couch and speaks out on everything that comes to mind in an attempt to re-experience past occurrences that may be the cause of their inherent behavior. The analyst meanwhile identifies these unconscious sources that manifest through repetitive behavioral patterns and the patients inability to address certain subjects. This practice is necessitated by the need to create the perfect setting under which a patient can open up; Chaney (2007) likens the couch to a place of comfort and safety like the womb. Once such underlying unconscious sources have been identified, the analyst confronts the patient with the knowledge and helps them go over these sources with an attempt to eradicate their impacts on the patients. Sadism Sadism is the act of deriving happiness and pleasure from inflicting pain or agony upon other people. It has a number of faces attached to it including sadomasochism and sadistic personality disorder. Sadomasochism also commonly referred to as S&M is the derivation of sexual pleasure from inflicting pain upon others and as such should not be mistaken for sexual role playing as in this case there is mutual consent that lacks in the case of sadomasochism. According to Glenn (1998) some of the symptoms of patients include sexual fantasies experienced by persons who have difficulties in establishing relationships constitute. Acts of violence such as cutting, burning whipping define sadomasochism. Treatment exists for sadomasochism and it involves a combination of psychoanalytic therapy to modify arousal patterns to prescribed medication. Sadistic personality disorder is considered by some researchers as a diagnosis to sadism though currently it has been scrapped of for the much general diagnosis of personality disorders. Fiester & Gay (1995) suggest that sadism is mostly arises from a person’s upbringing though other factors such as biological and environmental can be responsible. Misogyny Misogyny is the hatred that is directed towards women both by women and by men. Johnson (2000) describes misogyny as a cultural attitude of hatred towards women because they are women. It is a way of thinking that manifests itself in many ways such as gender discrimination, violence towards women, and sexual objectification of women among many other ways. Misogyny has been existent for centuries and continues to exist today though creation of awareness has lead to alleviation of the modern day woman and thus a reduction on the level of misogyny. Misogyny is also a recurrent issue in major religions across the globe. The Christian and Muslim religions advocate for submission by the woman which in some circles is mistaken for misogyny. It is an issue of concern in the world of music today as the content of such genres as hip-hop and techno is highly misogynistic through their lyrics and sexual objectification of women in music videos and through pornography. Brown miller (1975) is of the view that rape is a form of misogyny that men use to keep women in a state of fear. Clitoridectomy Clitoridectomy is the partial or complete removal of the clitoris surgically or otherwise. A UNICEF (2005) report defines clitoridectomy in relation to female genital mutilation as excision of the prepuce with or without excision of part or the entire clitoris. Clitoridectomy is one among the few procedures that define female genital mutilation. This practice has been in existence for a long time and has been practiced for various reasons across various cultures worldwide ranging from cultural rights of passage to curbing masturbation in women. Masterson & Swanson (2000) cited Carr (1997) who stated that clitoridectomy was used to reduce a woman’s sexual desire, ensuring her chastity prior to marriage, and her fidelity and husbands’ sexual pleasure following marriage. Clitoridectomy has various implications on women: Reducing sexual pleasure among women, increasing the rate of susceptibility to the AIDS virus and could lead to death not to mention the pain the woman goes through. The practice is however on the decline due to efforts from human rights activists worldwide. References Abramson, P & Pinkerton, S. (1995) .With Pleasure: Thoughts on the Nature of Human Sexuality. USA: Oxford University Press. Allan G, Johnson. (2000). Blackwell dictionary of sociology: A user’s guide to sociological language. Oxford: Blackwell publishing. Brill, S. (2008) .The Transgender Child: A Handbook for Families and Professionals. USA: Cleis Press Publishers. Cooray, A. (2012) .Suffrage, Democracy and Gender Equality in Education: Oxford Development Studies. Vol. 40(1), pp. 21-47 Courtenay, W. (2000) "Constructions of masculinity and their influence on men's well-being: a theory of gender and health" Social Science and Medicine, Vol. 50, Issue: 10 pg: 1385–1401 Drew westen (1999). The scientific status of unconscious process. Journal of the American psychoanalytic association, 1999, 47, 1061-1106. Fiester, S. J., & Gay, M. (1995). Sadistic personality disorder. New York: Guilford Press. Glenn, J. (1998). Dora as an adolescent: Sadistic and sadomasochistic fantasies. Mahwah, NJ: Analytic Press. Halligan, P.W., Bass, C. & Marshall, J.C. (Eds.) (2001). Contemporary Approach to the Study of Hysteria: Clinical and Theoretical Perspectives. Oxford University Press, UK. Inglehart, R. (2002) .Islam, Gender Culture, and Democracy: International Journal of Comparative Sociology. Vol. 1(1), pp. 45-90 Julia M. Masterson. & Julie Hanson Swanson. (2000).Female genital cutting: Breaking the silence, enabling change. Washington DC: International center for research on women.pp.10 Laurenceau, J. P., Rivera, L. M., Schaffer, A. R., & Pietromonaco, P. R. (2004). Intimacy as an interpersonal process: Current status and future directions. In D. Mashek & A. Aron (Eds.), Handbook of closeness and intimacy (pp. 41-78). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. MacLeod, A. (1992) .Hegemonic Relations and Gender Resistance: The New Veiling as Accommodating Protest in Cairo. Vol. 17(3), pp. 533-557 Mark, S. M. (1993). "On the "Disappearance" of Hysteria: A Study in the Clinical Deconstruction of a Diagnosis". Issue, 84 (3): 496–526. Prager, K. J., & Roberts, L. J. (2004). Deep intimate connections: Self and intimacy in couple relationships. In D. Mashek & A. Aron (Eds.), Handbook of closeness and intimacy (pp. 43-60). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Reeser, T. W. (2010). Masculinities in theory: an introduction. Malden, Wiley-Blackwell Riddell, S. (1989) .Pupils, Resistance and Gender Codes: a study of classroom encounters. Vol. 1(2), pp. 183-197 9 Rita Chaney (2007). The significance of lying on the couch at a psychoanalyst’s office. Retrieved 22nd April 2012 from www.helium.com/items. Susan Brown miller. (1975).against our will: Men, women, and rape. New York: Ballantine books. United Nations children’s Fund. (10th October 2005). Female genital mutilation: A statistical exploration. Retrieved on 22nd April 2012 from www.unicef.org/publications/files/FGM-C_final_10_October.pdf. Read More