Middle-Status Masculinity: A Theoretical Restatement and Empirical Demonstration of the Structure of Contemporary Masculinity

• In Event: 220 - Regular Session. Social Psychology 2

Abstract

This paper addresses the theoretical structure of contemporary masculinity. To date, there are two streams of research that speak to this question. One contends that masculinities are arranged hierarchically with a dominant, culturally idealized form of masculinity exerting influence over other gender identities. The second contends that, at least in contemporary Anglo-American culture, two or more forms of masculinity co-exist that are organized horizontally without hierarchy or hegemony. In this paper, I present evidence garnered from an in-depth interview study of undergraduate men to develop a theoretical explanation—middle-status masculinity theory—that bridges these two models. This conceptualization of masculinity includes actors that fall into one of three classes—high-status, middle-status, and low-status—with some degree of permeability between each. Low-status actors, having effectively screened themselves out of consideration for inclusion in the highest ranks of masculinity, experience the most leeway to engage in non-hegemonic forms of masculinity. High-status actors have significant standing as men and are consequently also afforded some leeway as well. Middle-status actors face the strongest pressure to “do” gender. They are less secure than high-status actors in their identity as men, but still value traditional masculinity and fear disenfranchisement. In the second half of the paper, I describe a controlled laboratory study designed to empirically test hypotheses derived from middle-status masculinity theory.

Author

• Christin L. Munsch, University of Connecticut