Masculine psychology
Encyclopedia
Masculine psychology is a term sometimes used to describe and categorize issues concerning the gender-related psychology
of male
human
identity
, as well as the issues that men confront during their lives. One stream emphasizes gender differences
and has a scientific and empirical
approach, while the other, more therapeutic in orientation, is more closely aligned to the psychoanalytic tradition
. It also relates to concepts such as masculinity
and machismo
.
and Carl Jung
argued that a father is very important to a boy's development of identity. In his book Absent Fathers, Lost Sons Canadian Jungian analyst Guy Corneau writes that the presence of the father's body during the son's developmental phases is integral in the son developing a positive sense of self as masculine. Corneau also argues that if the son does not develop positively towards the father's male body, then the son runs the risk of developing negatively towards all bodies. Jacques Lacan
argued that in the son's mind, the father's body represents the law
, and that the role of the father's body is to break the attachment the son feels to the mother and by extension his own.
Freudian analysts claim that all sons feel they are in competition with their father and often feel in a battle against the father. (Sigmund Freud referred to this as Oedipus complex
.) Freudian psychologists claim that the risk the son runs is that in some cases it is more difficult to win the battle against the father than to lose the battle against the father. This is because a common result of winning the battle against the father is that the son suffers tremendous guilt
.
French psychoanalyst Annette Fréjaville has presented her thesis that all men experience what she terms "primary homosexuality." She argues that primary homosexuality takes place very early in a son's life and consists of a "love story" between the son and father. This "love story" consists of idealizations by the son of the father in which the son expresses an interest in his father and a desire to become what his father represents to him, e.g., "When I grow up I'm going to be like daddy." Fréjaville theorized that such recognition of similarity is the basis of all identification, and that such idealization and identification provides the son with a firm grounding in his own masculinity.
were founded by men, so some scholars and psychologists have theorized that they may dramatize important themes around men's relationship with their fathers for the western world
. Conversely, conservative theologians within these traditions, especially Christianity, see fatherhood itself modeled on God the Father
.
In his book Moses and Monotheism
, Sigmund Freud
, the founder of psychoanalysis
, presents his thesis that Judaism
is the religion of the father and Christianity
is the religion of the son.
often use the masculine pronoun "He," and in other ways refer to God
as masculine. In Mainstream Christianity God is understood as a three-in-one Trinity
, which consists of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
—however, while God is thought of in masculine terms, mainstream Christianity states that God has no gender, because He is a spiritual being, with the exception of the incarnation of Jesus Christ. In Judaism, God
is often portrayed as male and is never portrayed as female. On the other hand, in Islam
, God is never depicted as having a gender.
In his books Phallos: Sacred Image of the Masculine and Castration and Male Rage, Monick correlates male sexuality and spirituality, arguing that the "phallos" (erect penis) is something of an existential God-image for men. He also presents his thesis that there is a difference between masculinity
and patriarchy
. The author also argues that there is a deep need within men to participate in a fraternity with men and to have their maleness recognized by other men, but that our society often does not take this into account. The author claims that what usually results is that these needs become frustrated and manifest themselves in often anti-social behavior and activities, such as hazing
rituals.
The author says it is puzzling that we live in what he considers a male-dominated society, and yet very little work has been done to understand the archetypal basis of masculinity. He suggests that this may be due to a societal assumption of male superiority, founded on the belief that one should not question that which is deemed to be right and superior.
, a noted feminist author, published Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man
in 1999. In this book she claims that in the 20th century men suffered from the breakdown of patriarchal structures.
, a noted author and spiritual practitioner, published The Way Of The Superior Man: A Spiritual Guide to Mastering the Challenges of Woman, Work, and Sexual Desire in 1997. In this book he argues "It is time to evolve beyond the (first-stage) macho jerk ideal, all spine and no heart. It is also time to evolve beyond the (second-stage) sensitive and caring wimp ideal, all heart and no spine. Heart and spine must be united in a single man, and then gone beyond in the fullest expression of love and consciousness possible, which requires a deep relaxation into the infinite openness of this present moment. And this takes a new kind of (third-stage) guts. This is the way of the superior man."
inspired the mythopoetic men's movement with his 1990 book Iron John: A Book About Men consisting of retellings of archetypal male myths.
and Douglas Gillette
collaborated on a series of five books on male psychology and mythopoetic aspects of human development, including King, Warrior, Magician, Lover, and a book exploring each of these four archetypes. The book and its authors are considered important parts of the men's movement
in the latter part of the 20th century.
(1932) in her paper titled "the dread of women." Erich Neumann
(1954), a German-born Jung
ian analyst, dedicated one essay to the discussion, titled "The fear of the feminine" (Orig: Die Angst vor dem Weiblichen, 1959). Neumann regards "patriarchal normality as a form of fear of the feminine" (p. 261).
A later contributor is Chris Blazina, a psychodynamic psychologist and professor based at Tennessee State University. Blazina considers that "the fear of the feminine helps define what is masculine" (1997). In 1986, James O'Neil et al. theorized that the male fear of the feminine is a core aspect of the male psyche. He developed a 37-question psychometric test, a gender role conflict scale (GRCS), to measure the extent to which a man is in conflict with traditional masculine role values. This test is built upon the notion of the male fear of the feminine.
In 2003, Werner Kierski, a London-based German-born psychotherapist and researcher, associated with humanistic psychology
and transpersonal
and existential psychotherapy designed the first empirical research into the male fear of the feminine with the results published in 2007 and presented to the public at the 2007 annual conference of the American Men's Studies Association (AMSA) and at the 2007 research conference of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).
According to the various sources, the male fear of the feminine is connected to influences from their mothers and to cultural norms that prescribe how men must behave in order to feel accepted as men.
When men experience vulnerable feelings and other feelings that are associated with women, men can become frightened. According to Kierski (2007), the fear of the feminine then acts in two ways: a) Like an internal monitor to ensure that men stay within the boundaries of what is regarded as masculine, i.e. being action orientated, self-reliant, guarded, and seemingly independent; b) if a man fails to experience this and feels out of control, vulnerable or dependent, the fear of the feminine can act like a defence, leading to splitting off, repressing
, or projecting those feelings.
Figure 1: Male fear of the feminine as an internal monitor and as a defense. Source: Werner Kierski.
Kierski's research claimed that men do acknowledge that male fear of the feminine can have a strong influence on both hetero- and homosexual men. The research has also indicated that there appears to be a link between fear of the feminine and men's negative views about counseling and psychotherapy
. In addition, this research has identified four possible groups of experiences that lead to male fear of the feminine, which relate to internal and external triggers. These are: Experiencing vulnerability and uncertainty; women who are strong and competent; women who are angry or aggressive; women who are like their mothers.
and gay bashing
are of relevance to the study of masculine psychology. Every year, men (such as Matthew Shepard
) die as a result of gay bashing
. The victims of gay bashing attacks are most often self-identified homosexual males, or those who display what are commonly perceived as effeminate behaviors or mannerism
s which are, when seen in males, often associated with homosexuality. Self-identified heterosexual males are usually the perpetrators of gay bashing attacks.
Sigmund Freud presented the thesis that everyone is at some level bisexual, and Alfred Kinsey
research results claimed that as many as 37% of American males had engaged in homosexual activity. French-Canadian psychologist Guy Corneau says that despite Kinsey's research results attitudes toward homosexuality have remained hostile.
Among artists and scientists during the Renaissance
, it was the prevailing belief that the study of the male form was in itself a study of God. Michelangelo's David is based upon this artistic discipline, which is known as disegno. Under this discipline, sculpture is considered to be the finest form of art because it mimics divine
creation. Because Michelangelo
adhered to the concepts of disegno, he worked under the premise that the image of David was already in the block of stone he was working on—in much the same way as the human soul
is thought by some to be found within the physical body.
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
of male
Male
Male refers to the biological sex of an organism, or part of an organism, which produces small mobile gametes, called spermatozoa. Each spermatozoon can fuse with a larger female gamete or ovum, in the process of fertilization...
human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
identity
Identity (social science)
Identity is a term used to describe a person's conception and expression of their individuality or group affiliations . The term is used more specifically in psychology and sociology, and is given a great deal of attention in social psychology...
, as well as the issues that men confront during their lives. One stream emphasizes gender differences
Gender differences
A sex difference is a distinction of biological and/or physiological characteristics associated with either males or females of a species. These can be of several types, including direct and indirect. Direct being the direct result of differences prescribed by the Y-chromosome, and indirect being...
and has a scientific and empirical
Empirical
The word empirical denotes information gained by means of observation or experimentation. Empirical data are data produced by an experiment or observation....
approach, while the other, more therapeutic in orientation, is more closely aligned to the psychoanalytic tradition
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is a psychological theory developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis has expanded, been criticized and developed in different directions, mostly by some of Freud's former students, such as Alfred Adler and Carl Gustav...
. It also relates to concepts such as masculinity
Masculinity
Masculinity is possessing qualities or characteristics considered typical of or appropriate to a man. The term can be used to describe any human, animal or object that has the quality of being masculine...
and machismo
Machismo
Machismo, or machoism, is a word of Spanish and Portuguese origin that describes prominently exhibited or excessive masculinity. As an attitude, machismo ranges from a personal sense of virility to a more extreme male chauvinism...
.
Born of the female body
Jungian analysts Guy Corneau and Eugene Monick argue that the establishment and maintenance of the male identity is more delicate and fraught with complication than that of the establishment and maintenance of the female identity. Such psychologists suggest that this may be because men are born of the female body, and thus are born from a body that is a different gender from themselves. Women, on the other hand, are born from a body that is the same gender as their own.Role of the father
Sigmund FreudSigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
and Carl Jung
Carl Jung
Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist and the founder of Analytical Psychology. Jung is considered the first modern psychiatrist to view the human psyche as "by nature religious" and make it the focus of exploration. Jung is one of the best known researchers in the field of dream analysis and...
argued that a father is very important to a boy's development of identity. In his book Absent Fathers, Lost Sons Canadian Jungian analyst Guy Corneau writes that the presence of the father's body during the son's developmental phases is integral in the son developing a positive sense of self as masculine. Corneau also argues that if the son does not develop positively towards the father's male body, then the son runs the risk of developing negatively towards all bodies. Jacques Lacan
Jacques Lacan
Jacques Marie Émile Lacan was a French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist who made prominent contributions to psychoanalysis and philosophy, and has been called "the most controversial psycho-analyst since Freud". Giving yearly seminars in Paris from 1953 to 1981, Lacan influenced France's...
argued that in the son's mind, the father's body represents the law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
, and that the role of the father's body is to break the attachment the son feels to the mother and by extension his own.
Freudian analysts claim that all sons feel they are in competition with their father and often feel in a battle against the father. (Sigmund Freud referred to this as Oedipus complex
Oedipus complex
In psychoanalytic theory, the term Oedipus complex denotes the emotions and ideas that the mind keeps in the unconscious, via dynamic repression, that concentrate upon a boy’s desire to sexually possess his mother, and kill his father...
.) Freudian psychologists claim that the risk the son runs is that in some cases it is more difficult to win the battle against the father than to lose the battle against the father. This is because a common result of winning the battle against the father is that the son suffers tremendous guilt
Guilt
Guilt is the state of being responsible for the commission of an offense. It is also a cognitive or an emotional experience that occurs when a person realizes or believes—accurately or not—that he or she has violated a moral standard, and bears significant responsibility for that...
.
French psychoanalyst Annette Fréjaville has presented her thesis that all men experience what she terms "primary homosexuality." She argues that primary homosexuality takes place very early in a son's life and consists of a "love story" between the son and father. This "love story" consists of idealizations by the son of the father in which the son expresses an interest in his father and a desire to become what his father represents to him, e.g., "When I grow up I'm going to be like daddy." Fréjaville theorized that such recognition of similarity is the basis of all identification, and that such idealization and identification provides the son with a firm grounding in his own masculinity.
Influence on Abrahamic religions
All three Abrahamic religionsAbrahamic religions
Abrahamic religions are the monotheistic faiths emphasizing and tracing their common origin to Abraham or recognizing a spiritual tradition identified with him...
were founded by men, so some scholars and psychologists have theorized that they may dramatize important themes around men's relationship with their fathers for the western world
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
. Conversely, conservative theologians within these traditions, especially Christianity, see fatherhood itself modeled on God the Father
God the Father
God the Father is a gendered title given to God in many monotheistic religions, particularly patriarchal, Abrahamic ones. In Judaism, God is called Father because he is the creator, life-giver, law-giver, and protector...
.
In his book Moses and Monotheism
Moses and Monotheism
Moses and Monotheism, 1939 by Sigmund Freud, ISBN 978-0394700144 is a book where Freud hypothesizes that Moses was not Jewish, but actually born into Ancient Egyptian nobility and was perhaps a follower of Akhenaten, an ancient Egyptian monotheist, or perhaps Akhenaten himself...
, Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
, the founder of psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is a psychological theory developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis has expanded, been criticized and developed in different directions, mostly by some of Freud's former students, such as Alfred Adler and Carl Gustav...
, presents his thesis that Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
is the religion of the father and Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
is the religion of the son.
Gender of God
The original languages of several religions have gender specific pronouns or verb conjugation. References to GodGod
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
often use the masculine pronoun "He," and in other ways refer to God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
as masculine. In Mainstream Christianity God is understood as a three-in-one Trinity
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity defines God as three divine persons : the Father, the Son , and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct yet coexist in unity, and are co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial . Put another way, the three persons of the Trinity are of one being...
, which consists of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of the Hebrew Bible, but understood differently in the main Abrahamic religions.While the general concept of a "Spirit" that permeates the cosmos has been used in various religions Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of...
—however, while God is thought of in masculine terms, mainstream Christianity states that God has no gender, because He is a spiritual being, with the exception of the incarnation of Jesus Christ. In Judaism, God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
is often portrayed as male and is never portrayed as female. On the other hand, in Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, God is never depicted as having a gender.
Eugene Monick
Masculinity
Masculinity is possessing qualities or characteristics considered typical of or appropriate to a man. The term can be used to describe any human, animal or object that has the quality of being masculine...
and patriarchy
Patriarchy
Patriarchy is a social system in which the role of the male as the primary authority figure is central to social organization, and where fathers hold authority over women, children, and property. It implies the institutions of male rule and privilege, and entails female subordination...
. The author also argues that there is a deep need within men to participate in a fraternity with men and to have their maleness recognized by other men, but that our society often does not take this into account. The author claims that what usually results is that these needs become frustrated and manifest themselves in often anti-social behavior and activities, such as hazing
Hazing
Hazing is a term used to describe various ritual and other activities involving harassment, abuse or humiliation used as a way of initiating a person into a group....
rituals.
The author says it is puzzling that we live in what he considers a male-dominated society, and yet very little work has been done to understand the archetypal basis of masculinity. He suggests that this may be due to a societal assumption of male superiority, founded on the belief that one should not question that which is deemed to be right and superior.
Susan Faludi
Susan FaludiSusan Faludi
Susan C. Faludi is an American feminist, journalist and author. She won a Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism in 1991, for a report on the leveraged buyout of Safeway Stores, Inc., a report that the Pulitzer Prize committee thought showed the "human costs of high finance".-Biographical...
, a noted feminist author, published Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man
Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man
Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man is a 1999 book by feminist author Susan Faludi, her followup to Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women...
in 1999. In this book she claims that in the 20th century men suffered from the breakdown of patriarchal structures.
David Deida
David DeidaDavid Deida
David Deida is an American author who writes about the sexual and spiritual relationship between men and women. His ten books have been published in 25 languages. He conducts spiritual growth and intimacy workshops and is one of the many founding associates at the Integral Institute...
, a noted author and spiritual practitioner, published The Way Of The Superior Man: A Spiritual Guide to Mastering the Challenges of Woman, Work, and Sexual Desire in 1997. In this book he argues "It is time to evolve beyond the (first-stage) macho jerk ideal, all spine and no heart. It is also time to evolve beyond the (second-stage) sensitive and caring wimp ideal, all heart and no spine. Heart and spine must be united in a single man, and then gone beyond in the fullest expression of love and consciousness possible, which requires a deep relaxation into the infinite openness of this present moment. And this takes a new kind of (third-stage) guts. This is the way of the superior man."
Robert Bly
Robert BlyRobert Bly
Robert Bly is an American poet, author, activist and leader of the Mythopoetic Men's Movement.-Life:Bly was born in Lac qui Parle County, Minnesota, to Jacob and Alice Bly, who were of Norwegian ancestry. Following graduation from high school in 1944, he enlisted in the United States Navy, serving...
inspired the mythopoetic men's movement with his 1990 book Iron John: A Book About Men consisting of retellings of archetypal male myths.
Robert Moore and Douglas Gillette
Robert L. MooreRobert L. Moore
Robert L. Moore, Ph.D., is an internationally recognized Jungian psychoanalyst and consultant in private practice in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is: the Distinguished Service Professor of Psychology, Psychoanalysis and Spirituality in the Chicago Theological Seminary; a Training Analyst at the C.G...
and Douglas Gillette
Douglas Gillette
Douglas Gillette is an author who has written a series of five books with co-author Robert L. Moore that explore the archetypal level of the human psyche. He is also the author of The Shaman's Secret: The Lost Resurrection Teachings of the Ancient Maya. Gillette has worked as a mythologist, artist,...
collaborated on a series of five books on male psychology and mythopoetic aspects of human development, including King, Warrior, Magician, Lover, and a book exploring each of these four archetypes. The book and its authors are considered important parts of the men's movement
Men's movement
The men's movement is a social movement that includes a number of philosophies and organizations that seek to support men, change the male gender role and improve men's rights in regard to marriage, child access and victims of domestic violence...
in the latter part of the 20th century.
The male fear of the feminine
The male fear of the feminine is a phenomenon that has been discussed since the 1930s. It was first introduced by the German psychoanalyst and critic of Freudian theory, Karen HorneyKaren Horney
Karen Horney born Danielsen was a German-American psychoanalyst. Her theories questioned some traditional Freudian views, particularly his theory of sexuality, as well as the instinct orientation of psychoanalysis and its genetic psychology...
(1932) in her paper titled "the dread of women." Erich Neumann
Erich Neumann
Erich Neumann may refer to:*Erich Neumann , Nazi politician*Erich Neumann , Psychologist and writer...
(1954), a German-born Jung
Jung
Carl Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist, an influential thinker and the founder of analytical psychology.Jung may also refer to:* Jung * JUNG, Java Universal Network/Graph Framework-See also:...
ian analyst, dedicated one essay to the discussion, titled "The fear of the feminine" (Orig: Die Angst vor dem Weiblichen, 1959). Neumann regards "patriarchal normality as a form of fear of the feminine" (p. 261).
A later contributor is Chris Blazina, a psychodynamic psychologist and professor based at Tennessee State University. Blazina considers that "the fear of the feminine helps define what is masculine" (1997). In 1986, James O'Neil et al. theorized that the male fear of the feminine is a core aspect of the male psyche. He developed a 37-question psychometric test, a gender role conflict scale (GRCS), to measure the extent to which a man is in conflict with traditional masculine role values. This test is built upon the notion of the male fear of the feminine.
In 2003, Werner Kierski, a London-based German-born psychotherapist and researcher, associated with humanistic psychology
Humanistic psychology
Humanistic psychology is a psychological perspective which rose to prominence in the mid-20th century, drawing on the work of early pioneers like Carl Rogers and the philosophies of existentialism and phenomenology...
and transpersonal
Transpersonal
The term transpersonal is often used to refer to psychological categories that transcend the normal features of ordinary ego-functioning. That is, stages of psychological growth, or stages of consciousness, that move beyond the rational andprecede the mystical...
and existential psychotherapy designed the first empirical research into the male fear of the feminine with the results published in 2007 and presented to the public at the 2007 annual conference of the American Men's Studies Association (AMSA) and at the 2007 research conference of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).
According to the various sources, the male fear of the feminine is connected to influences from their mothers and to cultural norms that prescribe how men must behave in order to feel accepted as men.
When men experience vulnerable feelings and other feelings that are associated with women, men can become frightened. According to Kierski (2007), the fear of the feminine then acts in two ways: a) Like an internal monitor to ensure that men stay within the boundaries of what is regarded as masculine, i.e. being action orientated, self-reliant, guarded, and seemingly independent; b) if a man fails to experience this and feels out of control, vulnerable or dependent, the fear of the feminine can act like a defence, leading to splitting off, repressing
Psychological repression
Psychological repression, also psychic repression or simply repression, is the psychological attempt by an individual to repel one's own desires and impulses towards pleasurable instincts by excluding the desire from one's consciousness and holding or subduing it in the unconscious...
, or projecting those feelings.
Figure 1: Male fear of the feminine as an internal monitor and as a defense. Source: Werner Kierski.
Kierski's research claimed that men do acknowledge that male fear of the feminine can have a strong influence on both hetero- and homosexual men. The research has also indicated that there appears to be a link between fear of the feminine and men's negative views about counseling and psychotherapy
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is a general term referring to any form of therapeutic interaction or treatment contracted between a trained professional and a client or patient; family, couple or group...
. In addition, this research has identified four possible groups of experiences that lead to male fear of the feminine, which relate to internal and external triggers. These are: Experiencing vulnerability and uncertainty; women who are strong and competent; women who are angry or aggressive; women who are like their mothers.
Homophobia
Issues of homophobiaHomophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
and gay bashing
Gay bashing
Gay bashing and gay bullying is verbal or physical abuse against a person who is perceived to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender . Such abuse is used also to bully heterosexual persons and persons of non-specific or unknown sexual orientation.A "bashing" may be a specific incident, and one...
are of relevance to the study of masculine psychology. Every year, men (such as Matthew Shepard
Matthew Shepard
Matthew Wayne Shepard was a student at the University of Wyoming who was tortured and murdered near Laramie, Wyoming, in October 1998...
) die as a result of gay bashing
Gay bashing
Gay bashing and gay bullying is verbal or physical abuse against a person who is perceived to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender . Such abuse is used also to bully heterosexual persons and persons of non-specific or unknown sexual orientation.A "bashing" may be a specific incident, and one...
. The victims of gay bashing attacks are most often self-identified homosexual males, or those who display what are commonly perceived as effeminate behaviors or mannerism
Mannerism
Mannerism is a period of European art that emerged from the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520. It lasted until about 1580 in Italy, when a more Baroque style began to replace it, but Northern Mannerism continued into the early 17th century throughout much of Europe...
s which are, when seen in males, often associated with homosexuality. Self-identified heterosexual males are usually the perpetrators of gay bashing attacks.
Sigmund Freud presented the thesis that everyone is at some level bisexual, and Alfred Kinsey
Alfred Kinsey
Alfred Charles Kinsey was an American biologist and professor of entomology and zoology, who in 1947 founded the Institute for Sex Research at Indiana University, now known as the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction, as well as producing the Kinsey Reports and the Kinsey...
research results claimed that as many as 37% of American males had engaged in homosexual activity. French-Canadian psychologist Guy Corneau says that despite Kinsey's research results attitudes toward homosexuality have remained hostile.
Historical perspectives
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
, it was the prevailing belief that the study of the male form was in itself a study of God. Michelangelo's David is based upon this artistic discipline, which is known as disegno. Under this discipline, sculpture is considered to be the finest form of art because it mimics divine
Divinity
Divinity and divine are broadly applied but loosely defined terms, used variously within different faiths and belief systems — and even by different individuals within a given faith — to refer to some transcendent or transcendental power or deity, or its attributes or manifestations in...
creation. Because Michelangelo
Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni , commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art...
adhered to the concepts of disegno, he worked under the premise that the image of David was already in the block of stone he was working on—in much the same way as the human soul
Soul
A soul in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing or object. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans have souls, and others teach that all living things and even inanimate objects have souls. The...
is thought by some to be found within the physical body.
Sports
Competitive sports are heavily influenced by masculine psychology. Though females do play sports, culturally male athletes are often accorded more attention and respect than their female counterparts. The Modern Olympics are based on the Ancient Olympic Games of Greece. In the ancient Grecian games, not only were women forbidden from competing in the games, they were not even allowed to attend the Olympic games. Sports terminology has been transmuted into common day slang, often with sexual connotation. For example, it is common for males to refer to "scoring" with a woman.See also
External links
- "Books on Masculine Psychology": Inner City Books (Studied in Jungian Psychology by Jungian Analysts)
- Masculine Psychology by Roya Monajem
- He: Understanding Masculine Psychology
- The Jung Page: Feminine and Masculine Psychology
- Books & Audio on Masculine Psychology By: Dr. Robert Moore
- A response paper by Harvey Hall, regarding Eugene Monick's "Phallos: Sacred Image of the Masculine"