Masculinities And Femininities Essay

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Sociology tutorial assignment 1
What is the relationship between femininities and masculinities?
What is considered as masculine or feminine is not only restricted to being male or female, although it does play a part in reinforcing the gender ideas that have emerged (Schippers, 2007). “Masculinity” (Schippers, 2007) and “femininity” (Schippers, 2007) can be considered as complex terms, which have various roles and beliefs attached to them and both can be said to influence or have been influenced by society (Schippers, 2007). As a result of this influence, there is an intricate relationship between the two, to the extent that without one, it would be difficult for the other to maintain existence as these two groups rely on each other to an extent, even if they are considered as distinct categories because of factors such as the need to have families (Schippers, 2007). However the relationship has been said to lack mainly benefit one side and there appears to be a distinct line separating that which is deemed as masculine from that which is deemed as feminine such that, if crossed, can result in the creation of discrimination or ridicule (Schippers, 2007)
It has been seen that the relationship between masculinities and femininities is constructed through the use of “hierarchies” (Schippers, 2007) and in this sense, males are placed at the top of the hierarchy and subsequently women are put at the bottom (Connell,
…show more content…
(1995) Masculinities, Polity Press, pp. 54-75.
Mgqolozana, T. (2013) A Man who is not a Man, University of KwaZulu-Natal Press.
Morrell, R. (1998) ‘Of boys and Men: Masculinity and Gender in Southern Africa’, Journal of Southern African Studies, 14(2), pp. 228-256.
Schippers, M. (2007) ‘Recovering the feminine other: masculinity, femininity, and gender hegemony’, Theory and Society, 36(1), pp. 85-102.
Connell, R.W., Messerschmidt, J.W. (2005) ‘Hegemonic Masculinity: Rethinking the Concept’, Gender and Society, 19, pp.

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