Context of Practice 3 Essay
How does masculinity relate to fitness and how have
they changed?
What is masculinity? How can this concept be
identified? Is it a determined set of values and principles or does it take
more than one meaning over time? The same could be asked about the fitness
industry and how it has become so popular in modern life. Throughout the
investigation into masculinity and its association with the fitness industry,
several areas of the topic were explored in a way that may be able to answer
these questions. The essay explores some of the questions that society has
about what gender is, how we define different labels and what they mean to
different generations. By first looking into the origins of masculinity, what
it means to be a man and how its meaning has changed for some, we can begin to
better understand why identities play a role in society, and particularly the
fitness industry.
The purpose of the essay is to firstly, look into the
way in which masculinity is defined in modern society and the implications it
has on men. This includes the roles that have been defined as masculine
(Connell, 1993) and the struggle that some men feel when trying to conform to
these roles (Pleck, 1981). As a result of the findings, the second part of the
essay will look into the ways in which these roles relate to men’s pursuit of
fitness, in an effort to conform to these predetermined roles and values
(Pleck, 1981). Overall, the investigation may be able to reveal how these roles
in society can create unhealthy behaviours but also how they might be positive
for the development of society in future. It may also reveal what the fitness
industry will do in future, in order to adapt to the social changes of our
society and improve people’s lives.
Masculinity by its very definition is most often
understood to be the traditional qualities that men possess, which make them
‘men’. These qualities include, but are not limited to, having a muscular or
heavy build, being attractive to women, determined and courageous. However,
looking back in time reveals that masculinity did not always follow the same
values and qualities. As far back as the 1970s, gender started to become a more
discussed topic among feminists and scholars alike (Davis, 1975). Defining
masculinity was one of the issues that would be discussed among this topic,
along with femininity, the roles of genders and the identities that individuals
possess. Feminism is likely to have played a role in defining masculinity, as
much as it has femininity during the 70s and 80s. Although this does not seem
too long ago, it was a time when feminism would bring light to the issues of
gender conformity, social constructs and sex roles (Davis, 1975). All of these
would shape the society we now live in today and spark debates about equality,
gender and body image.
This fairly recent approach to identity opened up a
new way to look at gender and revealed the social constructs that defined
different people. If we think about how the family has changed over time, we can
see that the roles and constructs people abide by are different. The nuclear
family became most prevalent in the 1970s, even though it is synonymous with
the 1950s. The reason for this would have been because most families at the
time were living in a household, consisting of a breadwinner father, a
household mother and 1 or more biological children (Hur, 2017). In 1983, The
British Social Attitudes Survey was introduced to record data surrounding the
opinions of the British public. In 1987, it was found that 48% of participants
were in support of gendered separated roles, were men would be breadwinners and
women would look after the home (Scott et al, 2013). Feminism during the 1970s
addressed issues such as these in western culture and gave an alternative
approach to the more patriarchal ideas of the time. Women such as Natalie Davis
(1975) had the opinion that there shouldn’t be a single focus on the subjected
sex. Rather, there should be more studies into the significance of the sexes
and the gender groups they fall under. In Davis’ book she says, ‘Our goal is to
discover the range in sex roles and in sexual symbolism in different societies
and periods, to find out what meaning they had and how they functioned to
maintain the social order or to promote its change.’ (Davis, 1975: p90). This
suggests that society has throughout history, used sex roles and sexual
symbolism to either maintain a balance or find ways to persevere. This also
implies that sex roles and symbolism is different across societies and
cultures. Therefore, it is either the society in which you are placed that will
determine your roles or it is society’s job to find ways to prosper.
Theories of masculinity
Studies into gender and masculinity only began to gain
serious attention in the last 50 years. Much of this attention to the subject
of masculinity and its identification was brought about when different theories
began to emerge. The most notable and referred of all theories of masculinity
is Raewyn W. Connell’s hegemonic masculinity. Connell’s concept of hegemonic
masculinity is seen as a culturally ideal form of masculinity. This includes
the inequalities of powerful men over women and other men, hierarchy of
masculinities and the patriarchal power that certain men of this quality possess. It is said to be the most dominant
form of masculinity, among the 4 identified masculinities in Connell’s
hierarchy. The second form of masculinity, after hegemonic is the ‘complicit
masculinity’. This consists of men who do not possess all hegemonic qualities,
but to some extent still have the benefits of hegemony and dominance over
ethnic minorities and women. For people of ethnic minority backgrounds,
‘marginalised masculinity’ is considered to be their status in Connell’s view.
In her view, they are seen as inferior to hegemonic and complicit
masculinities, but they are still above ‘subordinate masculinity’, which is
deemed the lowest ranking status in the hierarchy and is applied to gay men or
those who are effeminate (Connell, 2005). On the contrary, hegemonic
masculinity is said to be something that is exclusive to men, even though women
can possess some of the same qualities. Generally, this form of masculinity
contains certain features that others do not, as explained in Rachel Jewkes
2015 article when she says:
‘A core element of the construction
of hegemonic masculinity is heterosexuality, and to a greater or lesser extent
hegemonic masculinity is constructed as a gender position that is as much ‘not
gay’ as it is ‘not female’.’ (Rachel Jewkes, 2015)
To this extent, we know that western
society has in recent years become more progressive and accepting of new
masculine identities, but Connell’s concept of an ideal masculinity seems to
remain the most prominent and sought after. One explanation for why this may
be, could include the constructed gender role of men of the past and the values
that made them ‘men’. For some in today’s society, this image of a traditional
male is seen as the ideal masculine figure to aspire to. As mentioned previously,
there had been limited exposure on the study of masculinity before the 1970s
and 80s, because gender had not been considered to be more than just social
constructs (Davis, 1975). However, psychologist Joseph Pleck suggests in his
1981 book, The Myth of Masculinity, an alternative viewpoint to previous
studies of masculinity. He refers to a period in time between the 1930s and
1980s, in which gender role identity
paradigm (GRIP), as he calls it, would have
been the current state of masculinity. This paradigm suggests that in order to
develop a healthy personality, one must conform to the stereotypical values of
their biological sex and the gender roles that came with it (Pleck, 1981,
p229).
Pleck’s alternative to GRIP, was to
introduce another paradigm known as the gender role strain paradigm (GRSP),
which focuses more on the social definitions of the roles of males and females. The strain that Pleck refers to is the way in which
boys and men feel pressured to conform to the traditional forms of masculinity,
which in turn can result in behavioural problems or other stresses in their
lives. One example used by Pleck was that absent fathers or overprotective
mothers would result in a child’s failure to achieve the ideal male identity,
often resulting in emotionally driven behavioural problems, from school
disruption to crime on the streets. As a result of this alternative paradigm,
studies into gender can identify the strains men endure when trying to meet the
expectations of their traditionally defined values and roles (Pleck, 1981). The
paradigm proposed by Pleck could be useful for further studies into gender
roles in future, because it provides evidence of role conformity having
negative effects on the younger generations.
Gender roles
After looking at different theorists’
perspectives on gender and the roles they believe have been constructed, it was
necessary to look into these roles in more detail in order to come to an
understanding of the behaviours of men and how they differ from the past. Having
already established Connell’s hegemonic masculinity and Pleck’s ‘Gender Role
Strain Paradigm’, it is therefore possible to analyse how these theories may be
put into context. In the context of men’s health, we know that failure to live
up to these assigned societal roles can have a detrimental effect on an
individual's mental or physical health (Pleck, 1981). This may be because the
traditionally identified role of men is to be the breadwinner and provider of
the family.(Scott, 2013) Therefore, paid employment is linked to a strong
masculine identity and failure to meet this requirement is what creates a ‘gender
role strain’ (Pleck, 1981). In Steve Robertson’s
paper, Theories of Masculinity and Men’s Health-Seeking Practices, there
is a clear suggestion as to why these roles exist in society. He believes these
roles are ‘encouraged through a range of implicit or explicit rewards
and sanctions’ (Robertson, 2009, p2), meaning
there is reward for the efforts of conformity but there are also boundaries or
rules to conforming to the role. As previously mentioned, Rachel Jewkes
believes that in order to be considered a hegemonic masculine male, you would
need to be heterosexual, non-gay and not a woman. Therefore, for men who are
anything other than heterosexual or identify as women, a struggle is presented
in conforming to these hegemonic roles. This only further supports Pleck’s
theory of a gender role strain paradigm.
In another study, it was found that
the attitudes men have towards their own health could be influenced by the
ideas surrounding masculine traits (Robertson, 2009). For example, it was suggested that men would often
refuse to seek help or treatment for health concerns because they believe it
was something only women would be concerned with. This shows that men are
trying to be strong and stoic, in the image of an ideal masculine identity, at
the expense of their own well-being. However, there were also contradictions of
this narrative as some men would also show they had a balanced lifestyle, which
included healthy eating and exercise (Robertson, 2009). To add to this, another
suggestion points out that health today carries more moral meaning, as
presenting oneself as a morally good citizen means showing some concern for
your own health. This is where another struggle for men is presented, as they
try to find a balance between not showing concern and staying healthy in order
to appear as the hegemonic masculine man (Robertson, 2009). If masculine
traits are changing over time, then it may mean that the attitudes towards
health could change as well. For example, what may have symbolically been
considered ‘strong’ in the past would have associations with physical ability.
Whereas today, we symbolise ‘strong’ with men showing emotions and exposing
vulnerability. In relation to health, this could mean that mental well-being of
men is better recognised as a result of showing emotion or ‘being strong’. It
also indicates that the change to the symbolic meaning of strength could be
beneficial to today’s society, and the stigma surrounding mental health.
As previously noted, hegemonic
masculinity is primarily seen as exclusively heterosexual (Jewkes, 2015). One
other theory of men’s attitudes to health would be that homosexual men are
often seen as more concerned with their health and appearance (Robertson,
2009). This could suggest that there is a link
between men’s health practices and sexuality, as well as other factors
including ethnicity and class. Robertson also includes reference to interviews
with gay men, which found that the reason they are more health conscious and
cared for their appearance was so that they could ‘distance themselves from
‘straight’ men’ (Robertson, 2009, p8).
However, on the contrary to this theory, there are many other men who are in good
health, take pride in their appearance and still possess hegemonic qualities as
straight men. It would be unfair to assume that all men avoid health issues out
of fear of being ‘outed’ as having less masculine traits. In relation to
fitness, in particular public sports, it has been found that masculine men
generally play team games. As evidenced in Eric Anderson’s article, Sport
journalists' views on gay men in sport, society and within sport media, ‘no
player in any of the most popular professional men’s soccer leagues in Europe
(e.g. Barclays Premier League, La Liga, etc.) has ever publicly come out as gay
through the media during or following his career’ (Anderson et al, 2013). This
suggests that team sport is considered masculine by today’s definition and the
men who play it are likely ‘straight’. Therefore, a difference is presented in
what is considered sport and what is considered fitness. Perhaps we associate
masculinity with these sports because there are no gay men involved, or perhaps
it is related to competitiveness. Being competitive is one core principle of
hegemonic masculinity (Connell, 2005), and team games tend to promote
competitiveness with a one team takes all mentality.
This might suggest that our idea of health today has
also changed, as there are varied attitudes towards personal health, which
includes mental and physical well-being. One particular example today would be
the rise of the Body-Positive Movement (BPM). Emerging from other movements
such as the fat acceptance movement, BPM offers a more universal approach to
body acceptance. This community have over recent years, garnered a lot of
attention from body-positive activists, health professionals and others. The
fundamental idea behind the movement is for people to be more accepting of the
body they have, as a way to live a happier life without dissatisfaction of
physical image. However, the movement has in recent years been met with
criticism, as some believe that it promotes unhealthy body types, which are
sending out the wrong message to younger generations. Although the movement
encourages people to be more confident in their own skin, it often neglects the
notion of health being an issue. As previously stated, men are more likely to
ignore health issues and well-being, in an effort to remain masculine
(Robertson, 2009). Therefore, as the body-positive movement primarily targets
women, men are at a disadvantage when it comes to concerns for health, as they
are assumed to be stronger and less worried about body image. This could also
indicate that BPM symbolises health with happiness, which in turn could present
problems. These problems may include obesity, heart disease and other unhealthy
practices.
In the same way that masculinity has
adapted over time in its meaning and variations, femininity has also taken on
new approaches. What were once seen as polar opposites, have now become much
more than just traits of ‘men and women’. When we think about femininity, we
associate it with nurturing, gentleness or sensitivity. This is generally
because it too is a social construct, which has throughout time assigned
certain roles and expectations for women. More rights for women over the last
100 years meant a shift in society’s definition of what it means to be
feminine. Therefore, like masculinity, femininity can be identified through
different cultures in several different ways. In modern western society,
femininity can be identified as something empowering, smart and creative in a
person's character. In Grayson Perry’s 2016 book, The Descent of Man, he
explains how this change in attitudes to femininity could potentially create a
fairer and more prosperous society, in which both women and men are embraced
for their feminine values (Perry, 2016, p4).
'I see masculinity as
being how men behave at present. I think it needs to change to include
behaviours that are at present regarded by many as feminine, behaviours that
are sensible, life enhancing and planet-saving.' (Perry, 2016, p4)
Although Perry suggests femininity to
be something that would benefit both men and women, it is clear that femininity
has in recent years become more recognised as something women should embrace
and express in their own way. As evidenced by Tracey R. Williams, it is becoming clear that femininity has also taken
on new and positive connotations as more powerful women are using clothing as a
way to express their femininity and ‘to reject the notion that they must dress
like men in order to be successful’ (Williams, 2013, p3). Williams also
explains how there is a struggle for equality, as there is a difference in the
meaning of traditional femininity and the meanings it carries today.
Traditional femininity is seen as the values from the first half of the 20th
century and particularly the 1950s. Traits for femininity of the time included
‘sociability, humbleness, others-orientation, domestic orientation, passivity,
dependence (on men) and submissiveness’ (Williams, 2013, p4). In response to
this period of femininity, ‘resistance’ femininity during the 1960s and 70s
would embrace ‘independence, assertiveness, rationality, powerfulness, strength
and control’ (Williams, 2013, p5).
There are also existing
contradictions of today’s feminism, it’s meaning and it’s goals. In the digital
age, it has become apparent that feminism today is alive and more prominent
than ever. Campaigns and trending social debates are what surround today’s
feminism, as well as criticism from both men and women of its intention. What
was once symbolic of embracing political, economic and social equality has now
multiplied into different variations of feminism. Trending hashtags such as
#MeToo were staple points of recent feminism, in which women would share their
personal experiences of harassment, sexual assault etc. This could be a sign that
feminism is symbolic of strength and unity, as well as solidarity. However,
there is evidence to suggest that #MeToo caused backlash for those who were
falsely accused of harassment or assault (Piacenza, 2018).
Fitness industry
The state of the fitness industry has
over several years become one of the biggest industries in western society,
with a worth of over £5 billion in 2018 and over 7’000 gyms now opened across
the UK. Why is it that the fitness industry is growing so rapidly and what are
the reasons for people’s pursuit of fitness? In this section, there will be
evidence that may be able to answer these questions as well as the state of
fitness in the near future, as a result of the changes to gender roles and the
influence of social media. Fitness has taken on so many connotations and
meanings over the years that it is defined more by the individual and their
relation with fitness.
The aim of this section will be to
identify the correlation between masculinity and muscularity or fitness in
general. Through identifying the differences between evolutionary factors,
lifestyles and the influence society has from media ideals, it will be possible
to understand why people choose to pursue fitness and whether they do it for
health or image. One theory suggests that many people pursue something in life
because they are searching for meaning or purpose. This philosophy of
essentialism was first idealised thousands of years ago by Plato and Aristotle,
in ancient Greece. They believed that everything had a core purpose or set of
properties, which would make something what it is. Without these properties it
would be something entirely different. In the context of people’s lives, they
believed that we are all born with essence, which makes us the person we were
born to be. This was a theory that lasted until the late 1800s, when another
philosopher named Friedrich Nietzsche challenged the theory with his own theory
of nihilism. This theory that Nietzsche believed in meant that life was
meaningless and that we are born without a purpose. Perhaps, finding purpose in
our lives is what presents to us a struggle when it comes to conformity.
Another philosopher by the name of
Jean-Paul Sartre added to this theory of nihilism during the mid 20th century.
He believed that if we are born first then it is up to us to decide for
ourselves what our purpose or essence is. There is no predetermined path that
we need to abide by, only the way we choose to live our lives. This could
suggest that the influences in our lives are something that allows us to
dictate how we live and what our essences are (Sartre, 1943). Though this
theory suggests that we are in control of our meaning and purpose in life, it
is still true that there are factors which limit our freedom, including the upbringing
from our parents, the laws set by government and the religions or beliefs we
may choose to follow. This in turn relates to how gender can predetermine how
we will live our lives and the things we are interested in following, in search
of our meaning or purpose. A term often used by Existentialists is ‘Absurd’,
which refers to our search for answers or meaning in a meaningless world. This
theory of existentialism could prove that although people pursue fitness with
the intention of becoming a certain way, whether it be a change in their
personality or how they look, in the end there is no true meaning as to why it
is necessary or relevant. However, thinking of the meaning of life as subjective
will mean that if this pursuit of fitness is what gives some people a purpose
in their life then it is a positive thing to them.
It would be fair to assume that today
we live in a competitive society, which promotes hard work and dedication to
something we are good at. With that in mind, the fitness industry has
capitalised on this idea of dedication, as it takes time, effort and
consistency to get to a certain goal. We know that through hard work we are
rewarded for our efforts and often encouraged and praised by other. Therefore,
in a society that seeks approval from others, men pursuing fitness could be
explained as a way for them to get the approval of others. Bodybuilding for
example, is something that many people pursue because society has idealized
muscular body types as desirable. Therefore, a lot of men decide to dedicate
time and effort into this activity because they know they will be praised for
their efforts and consistency, which in turn reflects their character as more
desirable to others. As a result, the approval from others is what can give people
more meaning and purpose in their lives.
Body dissatisfaction was for a long
time something that was more prevalent in females, until studies began to
discover that males were fast approaching parity with females when it comes to
body dissatisfaction (McCreary & Sasse, 2000). The body image ideals
portrayed in the media have resulted in an expectation that many men feel they
have to conform to, which in turn can result in compulsive exercise regimes,
eating disorders and often, unhealthy practices. The ideals referred to are
predominantly muscular body types, as the media has portrayed this as the most
desirable and attractive build. As explained by April R. Smith, the difference
in the media ideals and the average male build is something that increases the
likeliness of eating disorders or body dissatisfaction, as the ideals cannot be
achieved by everyone and are unrealistic expectations to fulfil (April R.
Smith, 2011). Furthermore, as a result of these struggles men are likely to
show symptoms of depression, lower self-esteem and psychological well-being
(Bergeron & Tylka, 2007). Other more extreme harmful practices include the
use of diet pills or steroids, in an attempt to achieve an unnaturally
achievable body type.
In the previously mentioned theory of
Gender Role Strain Paradigm (Joseph Pleck, 1981), men would feel
pressure to conform to what R. W. Connell called the hegemonic masculinity. In
addition to this, a study into male body image and its relation to sexual
orientation found that gay men were more likely than ‘straight’ men to
experience body image dissatisfaction, which was evidenced by a heightened
drive for thinness, eating disorders and body disturbances (Stuart B. Murray
& Stephen Touyz, 2012). Like the Gender Role Strain Paradigm suggests,
gay men are more likely than their ‘straight’ male counterparts to care about
their physical appearance and presentation. Therefore, this could suggest that
the reason more gay men experience body image dissatisfaction and eating
disorders as a result, is because they are concerned with their physical
appearance. This is likely due to their susceptibility to media influence and
the reinforced thin body ideals they pursue. (Strong, 2000)
Although media influence has been a
primary focus of concern in this topic, it is not the only contributing factor
in men’s pursuit of a muscular body type. One other explanation for this need
of a more physically fit build would be through evolutionary factors.
Typically, men are seen as physically stronger than women as biological
investigations have evidenced this (Bishop & Cureton, 1987). Men’s
association of a muscular build with masculinity could be because of
heterosexual women’s attraction cues to dominance and status (Smith, 2011).
These attractions are something that have always existed within human biology
and therefore they are not constructed social factors. In April R. Smith’s
book, Muscularity versus Leanness, some of the evolutionary factors surrounding
attraction are explained in more detail and how they relate to fertility. For
men, evolution shows that men desire women who have wider hip ratios, as this
is seen as a sign they are likely to be healthy mothers when carrying a child
in the womb. For women, evolution shows that there is desire for a strong
physique and dominant status, as these are characteristics they wish to pass to
their offspring (Smith, 2011). Perhaps there are certain evolutionary factors
that play a role in our society’s drive for muscularity. However, it is also
evident today that there are women who also pursue a more muscular physique.
During the 1980’s in particular, women’s bodybuilding became a more prominent,
competitive activity. Many women competed for the titles, and similar to their
male counterparts, began using muscle-enhancing drugs in order to get bigger.
This shows that even in the 80’s women would defy stereotypical body types of
gendered roles. Having a more muscular build, as opposed to a toned figure
shows that women too can possess the same competitive values and status as
their male counterparts.
Conclusion
In conclusion to the findings of the
essay, there were several explanations to the questions asked prior to the
investigation. Masculinity in itself is something that carries more than one
meaning, particularly in today’s society. The shift in what masculinity
symbolised in the past to what it represents today is evident in our idea of
strength. What we once established to be a ‘strong’ man (physically superior,
courageous and assertive), have now taken on new meanings such as emotionally
strong and mentally strong. This could mean that more men will find comfort in
sharing their emotions and dealing with any mental health problems. As a result
of this, we can begin to break down social stigma and allow people to pursue a
happier life. Joseph Pleck’s gender role strain paradigm provided evidence of
the struggles of conformity and what some men feel when expected to live up to
these assigned roles. The solution to this in today’s society is to recognise
new identities that make roles less constricting and more inclusive to
everyone. However, when several identities carry similar criteria and
characteristics there is a need for limitation because ‘defining gender too
broadly could lead to a definition that has little meaning’ (Mayer, 2016, pp88).
In terms of the attitudes towards health, in regards to masculinity, it
was found that there were a mix of responses to studies. Some men felt they
needed to conform to their gender role, even at the expense of their health at
times (Robertson, 2009). Homosexual men in particular, were found to distance
themselves from straight men because they were more likely to put effort into
their appearance. Furthermore, there was evidence to suggest that fitness would
be divided as a result, with players in team sports being predominantly
straight and a lack of homosexual men having involvement (Anderson et al,
2013). Overall, it became apparent that masculinity could not be directly
associated with men’s pursuit of fitness, because firstly, there are more than
one identified masculinities (Connell, 2005) and secondly, there were several
other factors that could attribute to the same goal. This included the
influence of social media, the search for purpose in one’s life and evolutionary
factors. Pursuit of a more muscular body-type may not always mean that men are
trying to improve their masculinity, but instead it may be a response to
something else in their lives. Perhaps for some it could be a way to deal with
a mental health struggle, for others it may be because they have a passion for
sports or it could just be a way for some to socialise in society. Whatever
reason people have for pursuing fitness, the same result will be to live a
healthier, longer life and have as better state of mind.
‘Fitness by contrast, is
anything but ‘solid’: “It cannot by its nature be pinned down and circumscribed
with any precision”.’ (Bauman, 2011: 77)
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