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Helping Men Embrace Equality
I first encountered John Smith after he admitted to the inpatient psychiatric unit of a Veterans Administration Hospital where I functioned as a staff psychologist. John had sought admission after a minor physical altercation with Dwayne, his 13-year-old stepson. This has been the latest in a series of incidents between them. John felt strongly that Dwayne needed to be taught respect for authority, yet he reluctantly agreed to seek help for himself. John feared that he might overreact and hurt Dwayne.
Understanding the Dark Side of Masculinity: An Interactive Systems Model
It is easier, and riskier, than ever to write about the dark side of male behavior. After centuries of celebrating patriarchal manhood, a new gender consciousness has arisen. Feminist scholarship has written women back into history, highlighting the former marginality of women and challenging the misogyny that is deeply embedded in Western culture. This feminist challenge to "hegemonic masculinity" (Carrigan, Connell, & Lee, 1987, p. 64) and to the view of women as the "subordinate sex" (Bullough, 1974, p. 1) has made it possible to perceive more clearly the multiple problems with traditional masculine role ideals. In contrast to the point of view that celebrated traditional masculinity with concepts such as the "epic" or "chivalric" male (Doyle, 1989, p. 27), the deconstruction of masculinity proposes that men are constrained by the rigid role prescriptions implicit in the traditional male role and by patriarchal expectations for male-female relationships (Levant, 1992). From this perspective, the dark side of masculinity not only harms women but damages men's lives as well.
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