Under Construction Journal Issue 6.1 UNDER CONSTRUCTION JOURNAL 6.1 | Page 65

why gender roles differ socially and culturally. However, considering Aristotle’s concept of change, it
shows that if gender is a behaviour then it cannot be our essence as our essence must be continuous and
unchanging.
Hypermasculinity
Hypermasculinity, for example, is the idea that men are permitted characteristics such as lust, rage and
bravado in place of feminine behaviours such as emotion and compassion. It explains that for men who
do not meet the idealised, masculine criteria there are negative repercussions for their mental wellbeing
and their personal relationships (Sanchez 2009, 75). An investigation about homosexual members of the
American police force demonstrates the existence of hypermasculinity (Collins 2016). Stereotypically, the
police-force is viewed as a “male” career, with traits like aggressiveness and assertiveness imbedded
within our perceptions. According to this investigation (Collins 2016), these policemen did not face overt
discrimination, but rather constant exposure to hostile language and microaggressions which caused
them to be ostracized by their other colleagues. To account for this, these policemen overcompensated
by behaving like stereotypical, “men”. They acted misogynistically toward women, despite themselves
having been victims of a form of gender-based bullying (Collins 2016). This investigation demonstrates
that these men felt the need to conform to social-typical male behaviours in order to succeed in their
careers, demonstrating that deviation from these social norms evidently causes personal and professional
difficulty.
This reinforces Judith Butler’s performativity concept as these policemen were defying their own
values to behave in what they perceived to be a more “masculine” in order to be socially accepted. The
male role as the provider and protector of the family has become increasingly obsolete, as the gender
roles have started to equalize. To live in an ever-changing society, such as the postmodern world means
that men have difficulty finding their role and masculine identity (Hansen, 2012, p. 1). Sociological studies
have shown that in the modern era, men are no longer the sole earners (Hymas 2019):
“Statistics suggest that the proportion of married women out earning their husbands has risen
from one in eight (13 per cent) in 1980 to a quarter in 2,000 and almost a third (31 per cent) in
2017… psychological distress steadily declined by almost 20 per cent between the point where
man was the sole breadwinner to the “happiest” point when the woman earned 40 per cent of
the household income.”
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