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1. It is important to note the difference between sex (being a biological male or female) and gender (having characteristics associated with being male or female). Basically this means that people can have a male body and have a variety of ways to adopt and express gender.

2. A gender role is a set of attitudes, behaviors, and self-presentation methods ascribed to members of a certain biological sex. All cultures across all times have had what I call a “culturally preferred gender role” (CPGR; what a man is supposed to be like) that males are encouraged (or forced) to adopt. Men usually grow up learning these things and other "rules of masculinity" from their fathers, media, and peer group. The three major themes of these are:

Strength: emotional toughness, courage, self-reliance, aggression, rationality
Honor: duty, loyalty, responsibility, integrity, selflessness, compassion, generativity
Action: competitiveness, ambition, dominance, risk-taking

3. When men meet the expectations of a CPGR, there are benefits that usually include acceptance from other men, success in occupations traditionally held by men, increased social status, self-esteem, access to resources, and opportunities with potential mates. Basically, if a man thinks, feels, looks, and acts “like a man should” according to his culture, there are benefits, and these benefits reinforce men to continue with this type of masculinity. This process is what I call gender role compliance advantage.

4. However, conforming to a CPGR also brings serious negative consequences that include physical, mental, and relational health problems due to how restrictive or harmful the style of masculinity is for the individual. These problems are referred to as gender role strain and gender role conflict.

5. Men that do not conform to a CPGR do not receive the previously mentioned benefits, and instead usually experience negative consequences such as social rejection, loss of status, and fewer opportunities for work and potential mates. Therefore, many men who don’t meet the expectations of a CPGR usually either a) try to change in ways that will be more in line with a CPGR, b) reject the idea of the CPGR and find the benefits through other means, or c) make efforts to create change in what the CPGR is.

6. Basically what this means is that in most cultures, men have few options related to gender expression. Thus, most men learn and make efforts to embody a CPGR to get the benefits, and then find ways to deal with the other problems that come with it. Unfortunately, a lot of the ways men cope with these problems are unhealthy (substance abuse, escapism, violence, etc) and often lead to depression, relationship destruction, and physical illness that need professional treatment. Even worse, since self-reliance is usually part of a CPGR, men often do not seek help that they need.

7. For anyone wanting to know how to understand or work with men more effectively, I think the best advice is to a) be educated about the pressures men face to follow a CPGR, b) have compassion (rather than contempt) for their struggles in dealing with it, and c) understand that changing to go against a CPGR is very difficult and can come at great personal and social cost.

8. The Integrative Model of Masculinity (Meek, 2011) incorporates all of these threads to understand an individual male’s masculinity, and the things that influence it.

]]> General http://psychologyofmen.org/index.php?itemid=72 Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:30:00 -0500 http://psychologyofmen.org/index.php?itemid=5
About Me
This site was created by Will Meek, PhD. I am a licensed psychologist in the state of Washington, am currently employed as the director of Counseling Services at Washington State University Vancouver, I have a private counseling practice in Vancouver, WA (<-- link), and I reside in Portland, Oregon. I am always interested in other ideas and collaborations, and plan to begin a research program related to some of the concepts discussed on this page, so please do not hesitate to contact me here (<--link).]]> General http://psychologyofmen.org/index.php?itemid=5 Fri, 31 Jul 2009 19:26:53 -0500 http://psychologyofmen.org/index.php?itemid=4
An additional explanation that gets very little consideration in the professional literature is that men who maintain at least some level of culturally preferred masculinity benefit tremendously, often outweighing the costs associated with it. The tendency for following a culturally preferred brand of masculinity benefiting the person is what I call “gender role compliance advantage” (GRCA). Put simply, a culturally preferred gender role is functional and advantageous in many aspects of men's lives. I believe that GRCA is the primary factor that prevents men from readily adopting (and teaching their sons) more flexible gender roles, which would reduce gender role conflict and associated problems.

Some of the likely benefits of GRCA are acceptance from other men; success in activities and occupations traditionally pursued by, or required of men; increased social status; access to income and resources; self-esteem; and interest from potential mates.

In conclusion, for individual men, a tension exists related to gender role. Maintaining a certain level of a culturally preferred style of masculinity is the source of great rewards (gender role compliance advantage) and also the source of problems (gender role strain and conflict).

Next: Integrative Model of Masculinity]]> General http://psychologyofmen.org/index.php?itemid=4 Fri, 31 Jul 2009 19:24:08 -0500 http://psychologyofmen.org/index.php?itemid=3 gender role conflict” (GRC; O’Neil, 2008). For example, many men restrict their emotions. This may have positive consequences such as the ability to stay cool in a crisis situation, but a disadvantage would be the inability to emotionally connect in a relationship. The man may experience some gender role strain if he does express feelings in the relationship, and the loneliness and detachment that may following this choice is the gender role conflict.

O’Neil (2008) breaks down different types of gender role conflict in this way (quoted directly):

a) GRC within the man
Private experience of negative emotions and thoughts experienced as gender role devaluations, restrictions, and violations.
b) GRC expressed toward others
Men’s expressed gender role problems that potentially devalue, restrict, or violate someone else.
c) GRC experienced from others
Men’s interpersonal experience of gender role conflict from people interacted with that result in being personally devalued, restricted, or violated.
d) GRC experienced from role transitions
Gender role transitions are events in a man’s gender role development that alter or challenge his gender role self-assumptions and consequently produce GRC or positive life changes

O’Neil (2008) defined devaluations, restrictions, and violations this way:

“Gender role devaluations are negative critiques of self or others when conforming to, deviating from, or violating stereotypic gender role norms of masculinity ideology. Devaluations result in lessening of personal status, stature, or positive regard.”

“Gender role restrictions occur when confining others or oneself to stereotypic norms of masculinity ideology. Restrictions result in controlling people’s behavior, limiting one’s personal potential, and decreasing human freedom.

“Gender role violations result from harming oneself, harming others, or being harmed by others when deviating from or conforming to gender role norms of masculinity ideology. To be violated is to be victimized and abused, causing psychological and physical pain. (O’Neil, 2008, p.363).”

Overall, research has shown that GRC is often related to larger problems including depression, anxiety, relationship problems, low self-esteem, violence, and a variety of other undesirable things. It is possible to reduce or minimize the negative effects of GRC by (a) recognizing it, and (b) becoming more flexible in attitudes and behavior. Using the previous example of the man in the relationship, he may not be very emotionally expressive in other parts of his life but he could learn to be emotionally expressive in his relationship.

Next Section: Gender Role Compliance Advantage


_{Sources/Further Reading
Jim ONeil’s GRC Page at UConn
O'Neil (2008). Summarizing 25 Years of Research on Men's Gender Role Conflict Using the Gender Role Conflict Scale: New Research Paradigms and Clinical Implications. The Counseling Psychologist, 38, 358-445}]]> General http://psychologyofmen.org/index.php?itemid=3 Fri, 31 Jul 2009 17:33:16 -0500 http://psychologyofmen.org/index.php?itemid=6 Gender role is generally defined as a set of attitudes, behaviors, and self-presentation methods ascribed to members of a certain biological sex. This includes norms for behavior, which some researchers have started to call “the rules of masculinity” or “masculine ideology.”

These include prescriptions for ways to act (be tough, stay in control, etc), attitudes to hold (work is very important, women should be be primary caregivers to children, etc), and ways to look (wear pants and suits, wear hair short, etc). It also includes proscriptions for ways not to act (don't cry, don't be a wimp, etc), attitudes not to hold (want to be a stay-at-home dad, it's OK for my wife to earn more money than me, etc), and ways not to present oneself (don't wear a dress, don't have long hair, etc).

Similar to sex differences, there are many debates about the nature and nurture of gender role. Some believe that these attitudes and behaviors naturally flow from biological sex and personality traits, whereas others seem them as complete cultural constructions.

Some researchers have also tried to explore whether there is a "universal masculine" gender role, that can be seen in all cultures during all times. This proves to be quite difficult, but there are several types of social roles that have been highlighted (Gregor, 1985). Specifically, those are:

(1) Provider: Secure and provide resources
(2) Protector: Defend others and territory

Other researchers examine larger cultural trends of male gender roles. Some notable work on this includes Levant et al (1992), who summarized traditional (hegemonic) American masculinity into seven principles. It is important to note that although these are a general trajectory for many men, that there are many different configurations of expression of these depending on individual and sub-cultural differences.

(1) restrict emotions
(2) avoid being feminine
(3) focus on toughness and aggression
(4) be self-reliant
(5) make achievement the top priority
(6) be non-relational
(7) objectify sex
(8) be homophobic

Another popular structuring of this was by David & Brannon (1976), who described the four standards of the traditional American masculinity:

(1) “no sissy stuff”
Distance self from femininity, homophobia, avoid emotions
(2) “be a big wheel”
Strive for achievement and success, focus on competition
(3) “be a sturdy oak”
Avoid vulnerability, stay composed and in control, be tough
(4) “give em hell”
Act aggressively to become dominant

In contrast to what is often viewed as a negative angle on masculinity, a set of studies and papers has been focusing on positive traits associated with traditional concepts of masculinity (Hammer & Good, 2010; Kiselica et al, 2008; O'Neil, 2008; Levant, 1992). A recently presented framework for this focuses on the following 10 "strengths" of masculinity (Kiselica & Englar-Carlson, 2010):

1. Male relational styles: males form relationships through shared instrumental activities
2. Male ways of caring: protecting others and action-empathy
3. Generative fathering: engaging and responding to a child's needs while attending to larger development
4. Male self-reliance: using resources to overcome adversity and "be your own man"
5. Worker/provider tradition: having meaningful work that provides for others
6. Group orientation: males tend to collaborate and associate in larger networks
7. Male courage: males can achieve great things through daring and risk-taking
8. Humanitarian service: fraternal organizations have a strong history of service for others
9. Men's use of humor: this can be a means for connecting to others and coping with stress
10. Male heroism: heroic acts have a long tradition as part of manhood.

In reading a variety of work on these characteristics, I believe that this work is in need of a more flexible organizing framework, and this can be used to understand the remaining concepts on this site. Therefore, I am proposing the following three themes of masculinity:

1. Strength: emotional toughness, courage, self-reliance, aggression, rationality
2. Honor: duty, loyalty, responsibility, integrity, selflessness, compassion, generativity
3. Action: competitiveness, ambition, dominance, risk-taking

Using this model, we can also examine different levels of masculinity. If the above might represent a "positive" or "balanced" masculinity, below we can see levels of "hypomasculinity" and "hypermasculinity." These clusters are generally viewed as the less healthy ways of being masculine.

Hypomasculinity
1. Weakness: emotional fragility, excessive fear, dependence, irrationality
2. Ambivalence: unreliability, non-committal, irresponsibility
3. Inactivity: lethargy, submissiveness, complacency

Hypermasculinity
1. Coldness: stoicism, relational cutoff, violence, fearlessness
2. Sociopathy: manipulation, lack of conscience, using others
3. Narcissism: vanity, arrogance, life endangering risks

Next: Gender Role Strain



_{David & Brannon (1976). The Forty-nine percent majority: The male sex role. Addison-Wesley.
Hammer & Good (2010). Positive Psychology: An Empirical Examination of Beneficial Aspects of Endorsement of Masculine Norms. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 11(4), 303–318.
Kiselica, M., Englar-Carlson, M., Horne, A., & Fisher, M. (2008). A positive psychology perspective on helping boys. In M. Kiselica, M. Englar-Carlson, & A. Horne (Eds.), Counseling Troubled Boys: A Guidebook for Professionals. (pp. 31–48). New York: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.
Kiselica & Englar-Carlson (2010). Identifying, affirming, and building upon male strengths: the positive psychology/positive masculinity model of psychotherapy with boys and men. Psychotherapy Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 47(3), 276–287.
Levant, R. (1992). Toward the reconstruction of masculinity. Journal of Family Psychology, 5, 379–402.
Levant et al (1992). The male role: An investigation of norms and stereotypes. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 14, 325-337.
O’Neil, J. M. (2008). Summarizing 25 years of research on men’s gender role conflict using the Gender Role Conflict Scale: New research paradigms
and clinical implications. The Counseling Psychologist, 36, 358.
Gregor (1985). Anxious pleasures. University of Chicago Press}
]]> General http://psychologyofmen.org/index.php?itemid=6 Thu, 30 Jul 2009 19:28:00 -0500 http://psychologyofmen.org/index.php?itemid=58 Gender is defined as a set of characteristics or traits that are associated with a certain biological sex (male/female). These characteristics are generally referred to as “masculine” or “feminine.”

The formation of gender is something that has been highly controversial in many scientific fields. Specifically, researchers and theorists take different perspectives on how much of gender is due to biological, neurochemical, and evolutionary factors (nature), or is the result of culture and socialization (nurture). This is controversial because there are political implications for either side being right. For example, if gender was proven to be completely biologically based, some people believe that this would be used to promote social inequalities.

I believe that an integrative model provides the most accurate resolution to this debate. Essentially, my approach is that gender (being masculine or feminine) encompasses a variety of domains including personality traits (consistent ways of being in the world), gender role (attitudes, behaviors, and self-presentation), and self-concept (identities and beliefs); and is determined by a complex blend of nature and nurture influence. We will look at these in more depth in the following sections.

Next: Sex Differences in Personality]]> General http://psychologyofmen.org/index.php?itemid=58 Mon, 10 Nov 2008 13:57:00 -0600 http://psychologyofmen.org/index.php?itemid=46 Integrative Model of Masculinity (Meek, 2011).



Download a full-size PDF version of the model here (<--link)

In the center of the diagram is an individual man that has a certain style of masculinity composed of his personality, gender role, and self-concept.

On the left side of the diagram are sets of influences that impact the person's masculinity. Each box (Cultural & Environmental, Biological & Evolutionary; Social & Familial; Psychological & Developmental) represents a different angle of research being done on men and masculinity.

The box on the bottom right represents the costs and negative impact of the individual's style of masculinity, which feeds back to him as motivation to cope and change.

The box on the top right represents the benefits and positive impact of the individual's style of masculinity, which feeds back to him as positive reinforcement for specific behaviors or his style of masculinity.

This offers a more complete picture of how all of these diverse elements impact an individual male's masculinity, and I believe is useful for researchers, mental health professionals, or anyone else interested in understanding men. ]]> General http://psychologyofmen.org/index.php?itemid=46 Fri, 31 Oct 2008 20:40:00 -0500 http://psychologyofmen.org/index.php?itemid=45 Gender role strain is the stress related to experience with a gender role. A lot of research has been conducted in the gender role strain paradigm, and it has been a great way to explain some of the physical and psychological problems that many men encounter. Pleck (1995) proposed three types of strain:

(1) Discrepancy Strain
The person unsuccessfully meets traditional gender role standards
(2) Trauma Strain
This occurs after experiencing a traumatic event or process during socialization into the traditional masculine gender role
(3) Dysfunction Strain
When fulfillment of a gender role is hazardous

A classic example is a man who has taken on some aspects of Levant's traditional American gender role, and is experiencing moderate levels of depression. If he decides to seek help though this, he may experience discrepancy strain. If he decides not to seek help because “men need to be able to tough it out,” he is experiencing dysfunction strain. If part of the depression is related to having a tough, authoritarian father who socialized him into the more traditional gender role, then he may be experiencing trauma strain. The specific patterns of negative outcomes related to this are covered in the next section.

Next: Gender Role Conflict


_{Pleck (1995). The gender role strain paradigm: An update. In Levant & Pollack (Eds.) New Psychology of Men. New York: Basic.}]]> General http://psychologyofmen.org/index.php?itemid=45 Fri, 31 Oct 2008 20:38:00 -0500 http://psychologyofmen.org/index.php?itemid=44
For example, a man's masculinity would include his level of risk-taking and aggression, as well as his attitudes toward work and relationships, specific behaviors in these domains and others, and how he presents himself. Throughout the remainder of the writing on this site,

Some notable work on masculinity includes Levant et al (1992), who summarized traditional (hegemonic) American masculinity into seven principles:

(1) restrict emotions
(2) avoid being feminine
(3) focus on toughness and aggression
(4) be self-reliant
(5) make achievement the top priority
(6) be non-relational
(7) objectify sex
(8) be homophobic

Another popular structuring of this was by David & Brannon (1976), who described the four standards of the traditional American masculinity:

(1) “no sissy stuff”
Distance self from femininity, homophobia, avoid emotions
(2) “be a big wheel”
Strive for achievement and success, focus on competition
(3) “be a sturdy oak”
Avoid vulnerability, stay composed and in control, be tough
(4) “give em hell”
Act aggressively to become dominant

Additionally, a set of studies and papers has been focusing on positive traits associated with traditional concepts of masculinity (Hammer & Good, 2010; Kiselica et al, 2008; O'Neil, 2008; Levant, 1992). A recently presented framework for this focuses on the following 10 "strengths" of masculinity (Kiselica & Englar-Carlson, 2010):

1. Male relational styles: males form relationships through shared instrumental activities
2. Male ways of caring: protecting others and action-empathy
3. Generative fathering: engaging and responding to a child's needs while attending to larger development
4. Male self-reliance: using resources to overcome adversity and "be your own man"
5. Worker/provider tradition: having meaningful work that provides for others
6. Group orientation: males tend to collaborate and associate in larger networks
7. Male courage: males can achieve great things through daring and risk-taking
8. Humanitarian service: fraternal organizations have a strong history of service for others
9. Men's use of humor: this can be a means for connecting to others and coping with stress
10. Male heroism: heroic acts have a long tradition as part of manhood.

In reading a variety of work on these characteristics, I believe that this work is in need of a more flexible organizing framework, and this can be used to understand the remaining concepts on this site. Therefore, I am proposing the following three themes of masculinity:

1. Strength: emotional toughness, courage, self-reliance, aggression
2. Honor: duty, loyalty, responsibility, integrity, selflessness, compassion, generativity
3. Agency: competitiveness, ambition, dominance, risk-taking

Using this model, we can also examine different levels of masculinity. If the above might represent a "positive" or "balanced" masculinity, below we can see levels of "hypomasculinity" and "hypermasculinity." These clusters are generally viewed as the less healthy ways of being masculine.

Hypomasculinity
1. Weakness: emotional fragility, excessive fear, dependence
2. Ambivalence: unreliability, non-committal, irresponsibility
3. Inactivity: lethargy, submissiveness, complacency

Hypermasculinity
1. Coldness: stoicism, relational cutoff, violence, fearlessness
2. Sociopathy: manipulation, lack of conscience, using others
3. Narcissism: vanity, arrogance, life endangering risks

Next: Gender Role Strain



_{David & Brannon (1976). The Forty-nine percent majority: The male sex role. Addison-Wesley.
Hammer & Good (2010). Positive Psychology: An Empirical Examination of Beneficial Aspects of Endorsement of Masculine Norms. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 11(4), 303–318.
Kiselica, M., Englar-Carlson, M., Horne, A., & Fisher, M. (2008). A positive psychology perspective on helping boys. In M. Kiselica, M. Englar-Carlson, & A. Horne (Eds.), Counseling Troubled Boys: A Guidebook for Professionals. (pp. 31–48). New York: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.
Kiselica & Englar-Carlson (2010). Identifying, affirming, and building upon male strengths: the positive psychology/positive masculinity model of psychotherapy with boys and men. Psychotherapy Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 47(3), 276–287.
Levant, R. (1992). Toward the reconstruction of masculinity. Journal of Family Psychology, 5, 379–402.
Levant et al (1992). The male role: An investigation of norms and stereotypes. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 14, 325-337.
O’Neil, J. M. (2008). Summarizing 25 years of research on men’s gender role conflict using the Gender Role Conflict Scale: New research paradigms
and clinical implications. The Counseling Psychologist, 36, 358.}]]> General http://psychologyofmen.org/index.php?itemid=44 Fri, 31 Oct 2008 20:37:00 -0500 http://psychologyofmen.org/index.php?itemid=43 Sex differences are differences associated with biological males or females. For example, males are on average taller than females, making height a statistically significant sex difference. To understand male psychology, we can look at certain clusters of personality traits often possessed at different levels by males and females. In reading the research on personality traits (see Lippa, 2005 for a great overview); it appears that three traits are more common in males than females:

(1) aggression (most types)
(2) higher-stakes risk-taking
(3) assertiveness

and these are less common in males than females:

(1) sociability
(2) harm-avoidance
(3) emotionality

Some of these traits that have been referred to as "agentic" or "instrumental," (Bem, 1974) and are believed to have been adaptive for men and women throughout human evolution (Baumeister, 2010). There are a variety of theories of heritability of personality (Turkheimer, 2000), but it is important to note that research has also shown that socialization and culture can impact the expression of certain traits. This means that although there may be a disposition toward males and females possessing different levels of these traits, parenting, cultural influences, and the socialization process can determine their levels of expression and development of other characteristics.

Next: Male Gender Role


_{Baumeister (2010). Is there anything good about men? New York: Oxford University Press.
Bem, Sandra L. (1974). "The measurement of psychological androgyny". Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 42, 155-62.
Lippa (2005). Gender, nature, and nurture (2nd Ed). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Turkheimer, E. (2000). Three laws of behavior genetics and what they mean. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 9, 160–164.}]]> General http://psychologyofmen.org/index.php?itemid=43 Fri, 31 Oct 2008 20:32:00 -0500