Increasing Rates of Homophobic Violence - Literature review Example

Homophobic Violence [Student’s Name] [Institution Affiliation] Introduction Increasing rates of homophobic violence in many nations has captured political, social, and religious attention. Violent incidences directed against gay and lesbian individuals, especially in schools have become common in the popular media. Various studies show that males when compared to females exhibit this kind of violence frequently. This has led to various arguments on whether or not homophobic violence is a form of hegemonic masculinity, which is an element of manliness. One theory of hegemonic masculinity is that men are expected to be aggressive, masculine, and possess more power either physical or intellectual, compared to women. Therefore, this paper aims to look into this theory and establish the connection between homophobic violence and hegemonic masculinity. The position taken in this argument is that hegemonic masculinity embedded in many cultures all over the world have contributed to the increasing rates of violence against gay, lesbians and transgender individuals who fail to conform to cultural norms and values on gender. Discussion According to Espelage et al. (2008), homophobic violence can be described as any form of hostility, either physical or verbal directed toward gay and lesbians’ community. On the other hand, hegemonic masculinity is a kind of power associated with males in many cultures (Connell, 2005). Hegemonic masculinity gives males power and dominion over females in almost all cultures all over the world. Traditionally, girls and boys were cultured and brought up differently. The nature of roles and games between the two sexes were different. Boys were taught how to exhibit their manliness by taking on difficult tasks compared to girls. There were taught that girls were weaker to them and hence they had power and control over them. As Pollack (2006) explain, the concept of hegemonic masculinity is still prevalent in the modern society. This has been evident through the increasing rates of violence against gay and lesbians, a feature that has evolved with the evolving society. According to empirical studies conducted on this topic, gays are highly susceptible to homophobic violence compared to lesbians. This observation has been attributed to hegemonic masculinity. According to Lasser and Tharinger (2003), boys and men who tend to show feminine characteristics or openly declare to be gay, are high discriminated by other straight men because they are going against cultural norms and believes regarding hegemonic masculinity. Hegemonic masculinity is not embraced by cultures only, but also by institutions such as schools, the military, and sports among others. One of the biggest problems facing many lower grade, upper grade, and high schools all over the world is homophobic violence (Pollack, 2006). It is argued that as long as institutions permit hegemonic masculinity to take charge of male behavior, violence in schools will prevail for many decades. According to aggressive theory on hegemonic masculinity, boys are expected to exhibit a higher level of aggressive behavior than girls do, and many learning institutions embrace this. Therefore, it is not a surprise that aggressive behaviors, such as bullying and fights have become common in schools. Research shows that many young boys have faced some form of violence on basis of sexuality. As Swearer et al. (2008) point out, the statement, “you are so gay” has become common in many schools, (168). Young boys who tend to show any feminine characteristics such as, being tidy, wearing glasses, performing well academically, heavy weight are highly suspected to be gays by other boys in schools. As a result, other boys due frequently tease them to lack of masculinity. Research shows that very few schooling boys who are gay or heterosexual disclose their sexuality to their peers. This is because of the fear of intimidation, discrimination, and violence that such an identity receives in the school environment. Gay students or boys who tend to be feminine in nature face verbal harassment from other heterosexual boys in schools. Sometimes they are physically abused because of lack of masculinity. According to Mills (2001), some of the boys who are harassed or assaulted do not fight back. Instead, they succumb to this pressure, which may result in social disorders such as depression, drug abuse, and school dropouts just to mention but a few. However, other boys who fall victims of verbal harassment or physical assaults because of lack of masculinity fight back using various mechanism. According to Kimmel and Mabler (2003), many of these victims become violent to prove their hegemonic masculinity. This has been evident through the increasing rates of shootings in many schools. According to these two authors, there have been various arguments on the causes of the increasing rates of shootings in schools. Some of the suggested causes include, internet, violent movies through the media, and gothic music among others. However, as Kimmel and Mabler (2003) argue, these researchers overlooked homophobic violence because of hegemonic masculinity as one of the greatest factors contributing to this phenomenon. A research done in the US shows that, many of the reported school shootings are done by boys. According to the research findings, many of the culprits of these shootings commit the offense to prove their masculinity after being challenged by fellow students on basis of sexuality. They commit such crimes to get back at other students who have picked on them, or who have challenged their masculinity and sexuality. As Anderson (2000) points out, organized sports are another area, which is highly homophobic. Many societies have different sports separate for boys and girls. Because boys are masculine and hence more powerful and aggressive than girls, they are involved in tough sports such as football, rugby, basketball, and wrestling among others. On the other hand, girls are involved in soft sports such as volleyball, hockey, netball, and table tennis just to mention but a few. Therefore, homophobic violence is rampant in sports, as it is associated with masculinity. Gay men are unaccepted in these sports whereas girls involved in tough sports are thought to be lesbians. Boys discover very early that being suspected a gay or lack of showing masculinity in sports is detrimental and unacceptable (Poteat, 2008). It is in the institution of sports where men show their hegemonic masculinity by outdoing women. Therefore, gay or men who have feminine characteristics have no space whatsoever in this institution. It is argued that sports are used in teaching young boys to grow while avoiding any feminine features and instead embrace hegemonic masculinity. According to Anderson (2000), in most of the western societies, sports are characterized by hegemonic masculinity, heterosexism, and homophobic violence. Gay athletes who openly disclose their sexuality often experience rejection and discrimination from their heterosexual teammates. Research shows that verbal harassment and physical assaults are the main discriminations that gay athletes face. Many cultures have taught their people that expression of heterosexism is normal, natural, and moral whereas the other kinds of sexuality are regarded immoral, inferior, and unacceptable. This is the main reason as to why gay athletes are rejected in the institution of sports. In fighting back, gay communities have started forming their own teams (Anderson, 2000). Research shows that despite these teams showing the same level of masculinity just as the heterosexual men’s teams, they have not gained any recognition or acceptance in the arena of sports in many societies. Despite the fact that many Western societies are moving away from the notion of homophobia, many teams, especially colleague teams are unwilling to accept the idea of homosexuality. This has been attributed with masculinity where gay men are associated with women, the weaker and inferior sex. Because of the fear of facing violence, many gay athletes choose not to join sports. Hegemonic masculinity has influenced many athletic women to shun away from sports such as football and rugby for the fear of being considered lesbians. Apart from rejection and isolation in sports, homophobia can take extreme forms such as stigmatization and physical assaults. Research points out that this form of violence is common in high school teams where boys act in groups to inflict physical pain on gay and lesbian athletes. As a result, the gay athletes end up dropping out of the team because of stigmatization. Another form of homophobia in sports is witnessed through direct discrimination practices in employment and other leadership roles. According to Anderson (2000), many gay and lesbian athletes are discriminated in employment. Many male team coaches tend to choose athletes who have masculine features to be their team’s captains or representatives. This is because they are believed to portray a good picture of the team in terms of masculinity. According to Marie (2012), military forms the main ground on which hegemonic violence is taught. Military men are trained to attain militarized masculinity. Although militarized masculinity assists men to attain hegemonic masculinity, it is associated with high levels of homophobic violence. Research shows that military men are taught to be the most masculine and powerful, this makes them discriminate women, and men who tend to show feminine features. Not only gay men face hostility in the military but also all men who fail to perform men tasks and all women. According to Marie (2012), homophobic violence and discrimination towards gay and lesbians in the military dates back to World War II. During those times, there were strict rules and regulations that guarded military recruit activities. Any man who was suspected to be gay was not recruited. Even after being recruited, if a man was suspected to be gay, he eventually dropped out of the military service because of discrimination, stigmatization, and violence that one faced. Women who desired to join the military were put under test for a long period until they proved to perform masculine tasks. However, even after joining the military, such women faced high levels of discrimination, as they were rumored to be lesbians. Recent research shows that despite the ban on custom and policy of discrimination on basis of gender and sexuality preferences in many societies, homophobia is still rampant in the military. Researchers argue there is a direct correlation between gendered discrimination occurring in traditional division of labor and gendered discrimination prevalent in the military. According to Kimmel and Mabler (2003), hegemonic masculinity embraced by military men is highly insecure that it trembles with the idea of including gay men in the military. Gay but also women in the workplace threaten this masculinity. This is the main reason why they become highly susceptible to sexual harassment. As these two authors point out, homophobia and sexism in the military go hand in hand with other employment factors to defend hegemonic masculinity. Straight military men are so unwelcoming and reject gay community in their institution to prove to the rest of the world that they are real men and that they should not be likened in any way with women, who are the weaker and inferior sex. Conclusion As the paper has discussed in details, homophobic violence is indeed a form of hegemonic masculinity. Men are brought up in societies whereby they have been taught to be the superior sex compared to women. Because of this, straight men tend to intimidate and discriminate against gay men as they are compared to women, the weaker sex. Many institutions such as schools, sports, and military, just to mention but a few, have embraced hegemonic masculinity. Violence in learning institutions is increasing day after day. As research points out, many of the shootings in schools have been by gay or boys who have been bullied because of their feminine features and behavior, as a way to get back to students or teachers who have bullied them. Sports form an area, which is characterized by hegemonic masculinity whereby men try to show their superiority over women by outdoing them. Gay athletes are rejected and for those who tolerate, they face both verbal harassment and to extreme extents, physical assaults. Another institution which embraces hegemonic masculinity and which is highly homophobic is the military. Homophobic violence has been reported in the military since World War II, where gay men and women were rejected in the service. Up to date, many societies, even the Western ones have not fully embraced the idea of gay men in the military. Women who work in the military are rumored to be lesbians and are highly susceptible to sexual harassment by military men, as a show of their superiority over them. 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