Gender Power Relations and Race Power Dynamic --- Sociological Thoughts

Yvonne Lian, 2021

Connell stresses gender power relations with the hegemonic masculinity model, noting the complicated play of force between hegemonic masculinity, subordinated masculinities, and femininities. Using the concept of hegemonic masculinity as a lens, I explore the issues of race power dynamic, the veil, and the “double consciousness” discussed by DuBois.

Connell extends “Hegemony,” argued by Gramsci, to gender structures. “Hegemony” explains the naturalized social ascendancy in society, solidified not only with brute force, but by its linkage to ideology that is integrated and perpetuated through institutions and cultural processes (p.360). In other words, the dominating group does not simply apply force or coercion to keep the dominated group in their superordinate positions, they leverage social organizations to justify their domination. As a result, the dominated group internalizes their inferiority and consent to their subordinate positions. Applying the hegemony concept, Connell argues for “hegemonic masculinity,” which describes the hegemony of gender relations, and the ideologies that serve to reproduce masculine domination through shaping social structures. I will explore the concept of hegemonic masculinity with two questions, 1) What is hegemonic masculinity? and 2) How does hegemonic masculinity exert power?

What is hegemonic masculinity? Connell emphasizes that there are many types of masculinity and femininity. She disregards the unitary model of sexual characters, and the one-to one correspondence between character types and milieus, and instead recognizes the different types produced in the same social setting. Hegemonic masculinity is the idealized manhood that embodies all positive traits of masculinity. In today’s world, the idealized man is portrayed as tough, fearless, competitive, inexpressive, independent, etc. It is the dominant masculinity that asserts itself as the norm to which men should aspire; it’s dominance, however, can only exist through the existence of other “prescribed” inferior types. Connell suggests, “Hegemonic masculinity is constructed in relation to women and to subordinated masculinities” (Connell, p.361). The dominance of one type of masculinity is always upheld by its devaluation of other subordinated masculinities as well as of women. As such, hegemonic masculinity builds a hierarchical pyramid where celebrated masculine traits are placed at the top of the pyramid, whereas feminine features are relegated to the bottom. However, hegemonic masculinity is not predominant due to the prevalence of such traits among men. In actuality, only a minority of men may enact it. Yet, it is normative and considered by the majority to be the most honored way of being a man. Such hegemonic masculinity type, however, is subjected to change over time, and varied across cultural backgrounds. But most commonly, hegemonic masculinity emphasizes male domination, the sexual division of labor, and heterosexuality.

How does hegemonic masculinity exert power? As explained above, hegemonic dominance is built on the contempt of other subordinated groups, such as gays, women, and lesbians. Compliance with masculinity is met with reward, deviation is met with contempt. Therefore, the hegemonic structure holds power against all men. Most men steer their way closer to the pyramid pinnacle because being near the center endows them with more esteem. For men who possess feminine traits or who are seen as more feminine, they sometimes employ gender strategy, such as deflection, to avoid contempt.

Men uphold this hegemony, even at the price of their own subordination. These subordinated men still have an interest in perpetuating the model because most men receive benefits of patriarchy, and “benefit from the subordination of women (p.361).” Such ideology is further built into social institutions to justify men’s superordinate position to be maintained. Institutions such as the government, education, and family are structured to reinforce and reproduce male hegemony. Gendered job positions, wage disparities and gender-divided non-paid household chores are some examples of institutionalized and culturally-realized hegemonic masculinity.

Living in a patriarchal society, women develop types of femininity to bargain with the structure. Connell notes, “All forms of femininity in this society are constructed in the context of the overall subordination of women to men.”(p.359) One form of femininity is “emphasized femininity,” which is defined by its compliance with women’s subordinate status and leverages their feminine character to gain the support of men. By performing in accordance with men’s interest and desire, women adopting this femininity appeal to men, to compensate for their inferior status and to gain money and social power. As seen, hegemonic masculinity, or the hegemony model at large, somewhat arbitrarily determines the dominant group, which sustains its position by ruling over other inferior groups; the dominated groups recognize the domination as legitimate and internalize domination by ideologies ingrained in social structures, which also applies to DuBois concerns about racial power dynamics.

Dubois argues that the racializing and the racialized are separated by the immensely powerful yet invisible “veil” — a systematically entrenched divided color line in society, which excludes the blacks from the world of whites. The “veil“ segregates the two races, and prevents true recognition between them. Connell argued in the hegemonic masculinity that the dominant group remains in power by condemning other subordinated groups. Therefore, while White men create an imagined persona of Black men through the veil, they also interpret Blacks’ characters in a purposeful and condemning way to legitimize their dominance. To start with, seeing Black men through a veil, White men arbitrarily assume that Black men are strong, aggressive, and hypermasculine. These are the traits applauded by hegemonic masculinity, and which correspond to the characters of superheroes and exaggerated archetypes. Based on the hegemonic model, Black men, who are assumed to have these desired traits, should be given high social esteem and social power. However, White men are in the position of power in race relations, and would not allow the dominance of the prescribed “inferior race.” Therefore, White men add another layer of prejudice onto the projected image to denounce the Blacks, and maintain their own dominance. Whites arbitrarily determine that the hypermasculine traits of Black men are disdained and looked down upon, and are used to justify and naturalize their incompetence. The desired traits of being strong, athletic, and vigorous for White man, ironically impedes the prospect of Black men who are viewed by the dominant White men as less intelligent, and incapable in the workforce. In line with the theory of hegemony, Blacks as a group have no control over their subordinated status in the power relation, and are subjugated to follow the rules set by the dominating race.

Further, DuBois argues that race complicates the process of self-formation in racialized modernity. Hegemonic masculinity contends that the dominance of a certain group is perpetuated and internalized through institutionalized ideology. Such internalization is intricately linked to the self-formation process. Black men see themselves with two conflicting identities, of both being an American and a Black person who is rejected by American society. DuBois describes this as having “two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled striving; two warring ideals in one dark body” (DuBois, p. 364). Using the theory of hegemony, the Internalization of racial oppression among the racially subordinated lies in institutional powers. In the education system, Black students are not only disciplined more frequently but also more severely (Browne, Losen, & Wald, 2002; Skiba & Knesting, 2001) for the same offenses as White students (Okonofua & Eberhardt, 2015). In criminal justice contexts, blackness is associated with increased culpability judgements (Graham & Lowery, 2004). Examples of such institutional racial inequality are endless, the hegemony model therefore extends the theory of double consciousness to look at how institutional powers affect the process of racialized self-formation process.