Over time, men’s entitlement has evolved through centuries in an intriguing yet fascinating journey of social construction.
Hegemonic masculinity refers to the dominant position occupied by men in society and supported by power; using violence as an instrument (Mesterschmidt 1993). It has serious negative impacts on their lives and health.
The Ancient Greeks
Ancient Greeks were an incredibly diverse people. Many ancestors came from Turkey and other Mediterranean areas. Additionally, other European groups mixed with them through trade, slavery, warfare or migration – often making their mark through trade, slavery or migration.
Early Greeks were tribal peoples; over time however, they developed their own distinct identity and culture that set them apart from those in Eastern Mediterranean regions. Their pantheon of gods included both spiritual and physical deities who gave meaning and guidance in daily lives.
As Ancient Greek society developed into something more civilized, they began considering men and women equally. They considered how women should be treated in their home and family lives, their roles in the workplace, and in communities.
They also discussed the roles of religion and state. According to them, gods played an active role in all aspects of human life: work, politics, theater productions, justice granting processes, marriage arrangements and battle.
However, Ancient Greek society was far from being women-friendly; instead it was heavily male dominated and did not give women much freedom to pursue what they desired.
Ancient Greeks managed to leave their mark on history through cultural innovations and social reforms of their own, including writing down laws for their citizens, creating the hoplite army, and recovering literacy.
These achievements, however, would not last for too long; their power eventually came under threat by perennial rivals Sparta and Persia. Athens was destroyed during the 431-404 war; yet, its democracy survived and was revived into something similar to modern democracy.
The Middle Ages
Over time, men’s entitlement has been determined largely by economic and political changes within society. During the Middle Ages in particular, many cultural shifts occurred, including an explosion of trade routes, urban population growth and military expansion.
The Middle Ages were also marked by profound social and religious transformation as Christianity spread throughout Europe. Church became ever more powerful during this era, conferring temporal authority onto monarchs while overseeing daily affairs through an expansive ecclesiastical infrastructure.
As this power increased, so too did the Papacie’s impact on daily life for commoners. Through bishoprics, monasteries, cathedral canons and canonization processes its influence was felt on religion practices and ideas as well as shaping cities and even changing how people dressed.
At the same time, people were able to gain religious knowledge through multiple outlets; specifically art, music and literature saw immense growth during this period.
Illuminated manuscripts and paintings were an effective means of acquiring knowledge, and their depiction of Heaven, Hell and Purgatory had a lasting influence on life in the Middle Ages. Furthermore, illuminated texts served to maintain culture while documenting history.
Indeed, many of these documents remain widely read today! At this time, people were also becoming more conscious of their natural environment.
The Middle Ages were an era of deep spiritual faith, yet not without faults. The Papacy in particular suffered many setbacks during this period as its moral authority was undermined by abusive practices such as Spanish Inquisition persecution of dissenters. Finally, Black Death plagues that devastated much of Europe during 1340s further undermined Church authority as moral legitimacy was further reduced.
The Renaissance
Renaissance Europe was an age of intellectual cohesion. This period marked one of the earliest moments in European history that brought together cultural and educational ideas under one banner – humanism being one such ideology, along with common studies of Latin writing being others factors contributing to its unification.
The Renaissance brought with it a distinct period of politics and war that marked an abrupt break with medieval Europe. Territorial monarchies rose in size and power during this time; Spain and France emerged as powerful states who often clashed, interfering in smaller states’ affairs as they saw fit.
Some historians view the Great Plague of 1348 to 1350 as the transition point between the Middle Ages and Renaissance periods, killing over 30% of population affected and altering many lives forever.
Though most of the Renaissance took place in Italy, its influence can be felt throughout Europe – inducing humanistic education and art into various countries’ curriculums and influencing development of such fields as architecture.
Renaissance humanists of Italy revived Latin letters, an tradition which had faded during the Middle Ages. Additionally, this period witnessed a new kind of literature which humanists applauded.
Renaissance society saw an emerging belief in men being treated equally. This viewpoint centered around individualism and importance of individual actions.
Renaissance states were shaped by a new understanding of world events, leading to an entirely different form of government. Renaissance states, or republics, were led by businessmen from the ruling class of a city who often controlled lucrative businesses themselves. Their system of laws and edicts granted them special powers during times of emergency – these governments were known as oligarchies, comprising only of powerful merchants, manufacturers, bankers, lawyers and master artisans.
The Age of Enlightenment
A hallmark of Enlightenment thought is equality among men; an idea with roots dating back centuries. Roman philosophers asserted this notion, holding that human beings shared an identical nature and should therefore be treated equally in all matters. Philosophe Marquis de Condorcet assumed this same understanding would eventually result in a perfect moral order unified across societies.
As a result, many thinkers during the Age of Enlightenment understood morality to be grounded in natural law; therefore they tended to treat moral judgments based on’scientific’ evidence or secure objectiveness by appealing to well-placed observers’ normative responses as the basis of moral judgements. Hume demonstrated this tendency best with his assertion that no ethical obligation could exist outside common nature and therefore such obligations could only be secured through appealing to “objectivity” or expertise.
An equally significant influence on Enlightenment thought is Protestantism’s rise within western Christianity. Protestants assert individual liberty when it comes to matters of faith against paternalistic authorities – an ideology which, once generalized and even secularized, becomes one of the hallmarks of Enlightenment thought.
Religion was redefined during the Enlightenment as an area of private or voluntary belief, linked closely with what came to be known as political economy. John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government, for instance, an early contribution of liberal political philosophy outlined a mercantile system where bourgeoisie or upper class individuals (who at that time held high values for private property) needed an “arms race” political society that could preserve and protect it – raising questions regarding freedom and equality at once – two central concepts of Enlightenment thought.
The Modern Age
Modernization brought many seemingly undisputable benefits to society – lower infant mortality rates, improved treatment of individuals from different backgrounds, and rising wealth levels among them. But modernization also had many unintended side effects such as the invention of nuclear bombs, Stalin’s Great Purges, and Holocaust (or Shoah).
Gender inequalities remain entrenched despite widespread social and economic changes, evidenced by how gender stereotypes dating back to the industrial revolution continue to influence how women and men are treated in employment, public affairs, and virtually every other sphere of life.
This explains why gender inequality remains difficult to eradicate in advanced industrial nations. Even though people recognize that older views about men and women no longer fit with modern, more flexible arrangements between genders, traditional beliefs about gender continue to influence economic and social policies as they emerge.
My research has demonstrated this process occurs because people use common knowledge about gender to negotiate their interpersonal relationships – relying heavily on old gender stereotypes for guidance when making these negotiations. Over time, these old gender stereotypes become embedded into interpersonal negotiations about all sorts of work and social interactions that do not already have more flexible assumptions about men and women governing the negotiations process.
My research has also demonstrated that gender inequalities are so difficult to eliminate due to people relying more on “common knowledge” rather than material changes; cultural lag time makes shifting people’s thinking harder than tangible solutions can.
