Masculinities

Set of qualities, attributes, roles, experiences, practices and behaviours associated with being a man according to the social conventions of each culture. The term is used in the plural to make it clear that masculinity is not natural but a matter of cultural constructions that change within societies and throughout history, and to show that there can be many ways of inhabiting masculinity. The term first emerged in the Critical Studies of Men and Masculinities that began to be conducted from a gender perspective in the late 1980s. These studies show that masculine identities vary not only according to time and place, but also to factors such as age, social class and ethnicity. The term is also used to advocate models of masculinity that provide an alternative or run counter to the hegemonic model that has traditionally defined one type of masculinity (aggressive, dominant in the public space) as opposed to a femininity that is seen negatively. In other words, masculinities that are critically aware of their condition and position of gender privilege, becoming allies in the fight against misogyny, homophobia and the arrogance implicit in the model of patriarchal masculinity.