No man or boy can attain hyper-masculinity. The quest literally kills.
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While is it common knowledge that dogs, in particular male dogs, urine scent mark their territories, human males often mark their territories in other forms more noxious and poisonous than urine. We witnessed the deadly effects of turf battles recently in Waco, Texas between rival motorcycle clubs (gangs) in the parking lot, outdoor patio, and inside the local Twin Peaks Restaurant.
While male dogs and human males “spray” to restrict others from their claimed territories, for dogs, the stimulus stems from innate genetically-programmed instincts. For human males, who are significantly less controlled by biologically-mandated reflexes, on the other hand, the motivational incentives come from the socially manufactured gender roles inculcated and enforced within us to maintain our physical and psychological domains. In dogs, the impetus for what I am calling “turfing,” is essentialized. In human males, it is largely socialized. Humans contain the capacity for higher levels of reason to mediate and even override any dispositional factors that might be involved.
The continued transmission of gender roles require actors to play their designated parts.
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Preeminent scholar and social theorist Judith Butler addressed what she refers to as the “performativity” of gender roles in that these roles are basically involuntary reiterations or reenactment of established norms of expression, acts that one performs as an actor performs a script that was created before the actor ever took the stage. The continued transmission of gender roles require actors to play their designated parts so that they become actualized and reproduced in the guise of reality, and in the guise of the “natural” and the “normal.”
As we are assigned the designation “male” at birth, thus begins the life-long process of “masculinization” in which society teaches us that if we are to be considered worthy of respect and pride, we must be athletic, independent, assertive, domineering, competitive, tough, that we must bury our emotions deep within the recesses of our souls, and, most importantly, that we must search for and destroy any signs of “femininity” – “the woman” – within, which clearly represents society’s devaluation of females.
The members of the biker gangs in Waco learned their scripts only too well. What appears to have begun as an informal gathering of rival gangs, ended in the killing deaths of 9 bikers and injury to another 18, and the arrest of approximately 170 others, primarily white with some Latino men. The ages of the dead ranged from 27 to 65 years. The gangs include the Bandidos (an international crime syndicate, the dominant gang with an estimated 900 members throughout the U.S.) and a smaller gang, the Cossacks.
Trouble erupted on many fronts after the groups came together, most related to issues of turf. On the micro level, members fought over spaces in the Twin Peaks parking lot where over 200 motorcycle riders vied for parking. In addition, since the Bandidos claimed Texas as their exclusive territory, members felt only they could wear Texas state vest patches known as “bottom rockers,” though Cossack members came with these patches affixed to their vests as well.
On the larger macro level, the battle came down to domination of one club (Bandidos) over another (Cossacks), and command of territory in the sale of drugs (cocaine, marijuana, and production and distribution of methamphetamines). Police officers at the scene found numerous pairs of brass knuckles, knives, and fire arms. All the deaths appear the result of shootings.
According to Steve Cook, executive director of the Midwest Outlaw Motorcycle Gang Investigators Association:
“The fact that they were wearing a Texas bottom rocker is a direct affront to the Bandidos. This is just not something you do. Texas is a Bandido-controlled state, and for the Cossacks to do that…they had to know there was going to be retribution for it.”
In addition, a bulletin released by the Texas Department of Public Safety stated in part:
“The conflict may stem from Cossacks members refusing to pay Bandidos dues for operating in Texas and for claiming Texas as their territory by wearing the Texas bottom rocker on their vests, or ‘colors’ or ‘cuts.’”
Reports also indicate that another gang may have attended the meeting uninvited.
Though I am certainly not placing blame or responsibility for the violence on executives at Twin Peaks, I find it as no mere coincidence that the bikers not only planed their meeting for this site, but that violence resulted. Within the male gender script we find the imperative to regulate and objectify females, which is the major draw for Twin Peaks.
I define “sexism” as the overarching system of advantages bestowed on males. It is prejudice and discrimination based on sex, especially against females and intersex people, founded on a patriarchal structure of male domination through hegemonic social and cultural systems.
Throughout history, examples abound of male domination over the rights and lives of women and girls.
- Men denied women the vote until women fought hard and demanded the rights of political enfranchisement, though women in some countries today still are restricted from voting;
- Strictly enforced gender-based social roles mandated without choice that women’s only option was to remain in the home to undertake housekeeping and childcare duties;
- Women were and continue to be by far the primary target of harassment, abuse, physical assault, and rape by men;
- Women were and remain locked out of many professions;
- Women still earn significantly less than men for performing the same work;
- Rules once required that women teachers relinquish their jobs after marriage;
- In fact, the institution of marriage itself was structured on a foundation of male domination with men serving as the so-called “head of the household” and taking on sole ownership of all property thereby restricting these rights from women.
In other words, women have been constructed as second-class and third-class citizens, and even as the property of men, but certainly not as victims, because through it all, women as a group have challenged the inequities and have pushed back against patriarchal constraints.
Twin Peaks represents one of a number of eating establishments collectively known as “breastaurants” or cleavage chains. Others in this category include Bone Daddy’s House of Smoke, Tilted Kilt, and Hooters. Also included in this list is Girlie Pancake House whose motto is “They’re Better Stacked.” The theme and marketing strategy is quite simple in the full menu restaurants: give men red meat, beer, and sports, with a large pair of breasts side order. The clientele eating and drinking at these breastaurants is estimated at 3 men to every woman.
Twin Peaks, whose motto is “Eats * Drinks * Scenic Views,” presents mountain lodge décor where its wait staff, almost exclusively female known as “Lumber Jills,” wears lumber jack plaid bikini tops exposing the mid-section and no sleeves, very skimpy khaki shorts, and a smile. Innuendo abounds on Twin Peaks posters and on its website:
- “Mountain tops should always be within the reach of a man.”
- “Get to home plate at the peaks.”
- And if a man comes to the restaurant on his birthday and orders a meal, he receives the gift of a set of antlers mounted on a plaque, which reads: “I saw some nice RACKS on my birthday.”
These establishments endorse a consumeristic colonization of women’s bodies.
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The reinforcing messages sent from these “breastaurants” are quite clear: they further reinscribe gender roles by promoting socially constructed norms of female beauty, which are exclusionary hegemonic ideologies in terms of body size and shape, standards for skin and hair type, and an idealized and circumscribed age range that acts to the detriment of all women. As such, these establishments endorse a consumeristic colonization of women’s bodies for the edification and commodification of the objectifying male gaze.
In the end, however, no man or boy can truly attain socially constructed mandatory hyper-masculinity. As we attempt to reach it, as is so often the case, we enact inter-male turf battles through violence as we saw in Waco. Hence, the quest for turf through hyper-masculinity literally kills.
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This post is republished on Medium.
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Photo credit: Shutterstock
While is it common knowledge that dogs, in particular male dogs, urine scent mark their territories, human males often mark their territories in other forms more noxious and poisonous than urine. Well, we’re off to a good start with a nice dehumanising analogy – human males often worse than animals. Fabulous. Though I am certainly not placing blame or responsibility for the violence on executives at Twin Peaks, I find it as no mere coincidence that the bikers not only planed their meeting for this site, but that violence resulted. Within the male gender script we find the imperative to… Read more »
To understand the basics on issues of oppression, including sexism, you might want to investigate the following book:
Adams, M., Blumenfeld, W. J., Castañeda, R., Hackman, H., Peters, M., and Zúñiga, X. (Eds.). (2000, 2010, 2013). Readings for diversity and social justice (3 editions), New York: Routledge.
When you read a high school paper you expect a one sided discussion. You expect the student to only look at and present information that corroborates their position. When you look at post graduate work, you expect a student to cite and address facts which contradict their position. That is one of the benefits of the peer review, which is considered an extremely high standard of academic discourse. I suspect the book is a lot closer to the high standard while this conversation is closer to the post graduate standard as contrary positions are brought up and sometimes addressed. Every… Read more »
Hi Warren, I will struggle to mention anything that the previous TGMP members above have not already said. Though I think it is imperative to mention that you have a very narrow and misandrist definition of sexism. Sexism in fact is not gender specific, and by stating that it is implies that men do not suffer from sexism perpetrated by society. That’s not to say that your article is not on point, it is, and a lot of your words around hyper-masculinity are well written and, well, true. Not to mention the synopsis of the breastaurants, again on point. This… Read more »
And no, Warren, I’m not taking the word of the AAUW either. How do you not know what a “biased source” is?
First, 19 male fire fighters died trying to put out a wild fire a couple years back. Would anyone suggest that they should have been paid 77% of what they got? If you say no, then you understand or should understand why part of the pay gap exists. Men are still 90% of industrial accident death. The work is never truly equal because no matter how much effort a woman makes relative to a man it doesn’t compare to the loss of life. If you look at it this way, men make 1.00 and get .90 retaliative to their deaths… Read more »
Because of this “Women still earn significantly less than men for performing the same work” All of the stuff you quoted is NOT FOR THE SAME WORK. It is you who needs to be educated, you add “for the same work’ when it is convienent for you to do so, and leave it out when it isn’t. This is priceless “In 2013, among full-time, year-round workers, women were paid 78 percent of what men were paid” Do you know what constitutes Full Time, year round workers in the quote. A full time , year round worker is someone who averages… Read more »
“The pay gap has barely budged in a decade.” “In 2013, among full-time, year-round workers, women were paid 78 percent of what men were paid.” “Women in every state experience the pay gap, but some states are worse than others.” “The best place in the United States for pay equity is Washington, D.C., where women were paid 91 percent of what men were paid in 2013. At the other end of the spectrum is Louisiana, the worst state in the country for pay equity, where women were paid just 66 percent of what men were paid.” “The pay gap is… Read more »
@ Warren J. Blumenfeld Why are you so very resistant to the historical and current effects of sexism?” I don’t see that they are. The current affect of sexism is more detrimental to men now than to women. As far as the historical affect gores, why do you think it only affected women? My father died when I was a year old. The fact that my mother was negatively affected by sexism and earned less negatively impacted my chances of success while Hillary Clinton’s father having survived and benefiting from sexism against women positively impacted her chances of success. With… Read more »
I am curious.
IF “In other words, women have been constructed as second-class and third-class citizens”
Which two classe of people are above them. When comparison to women, the only class of people analogous to them would be men, so I wonder how are they 3rd class citizens.
You contradict yourself here
“Rules once required that women teachers relinquish their jobs after marriage”
and the source for this says
“Married women were often barred from the classroom”
Those two things are not even close the same thing.
Warren – do your homework please.
http://www.factcheck.org/2012/06/obamas-77-cent-exaggeration/
Read it in full. If you don’t understand portions of it, I am more than happy to help.
We can move on to the other false statements you’ve made after this one has been better understood by you and corrected.
I’ve been watching, listening and reading to feminist and ‘new masculinity’ debates/sites for a year or so now, feeling a vague sense of disquiet but not sure just what was causing it or how to express my feelings. While I have problems with much of this article it has helped by thoughts snap into something close to focus and a lunchtime workout gave me a little time to consider how to say it – that said my thoughts are still rough. First, I must say my concern isn’t driven by some ‘menninist’ concern with men being secretly oppressed by women… Read more »
Great article. CompleteLy agree.
I see denial and resistance from the other comments to the history and legacy of sexism. It is up to you to read your history if you wish to educate yourselves to the realities. Women still earn approximately 77 cents to a man earning a dollar for doing the same work. In the article, I was referring to women as being by far the victims of sexual violence. Also, in reference to women at one time looking their teaching positions when they married, PBS did a great film on the history of U.S. education, in which they state: “Especially in… Read more »
“denial and resistance” pfft.
if you wanted an echo chamber where everybody uncritically nodded their heads and believed whatever you said, without question you should have said so.
I notice you’ve ignored the other points in my post. Quite telling and I’ll take that as an admission of error on your part.
Oh, and by the way, I have done my homework, that’s why I know your article was full of half-truths and blatant lies.
Warren, on your homework studying sexual violence and your conclusion that women are by far the victims of sexual violence, did you happen to include sexual violence in prison?
It would appear that you didnt because of the statement you made.
Also could you post a link to the 77 cent figure showing pay for equal work.
Is this just a click bait article.
There is so many outright LIES in this, it must be
Here is the reference to women barred from teaching after marriage:
http://www.pbs.org/onlyateacher/timeline.html
That link does not say women were barred from teaching after marriage, it says they sometimes were, Big difference.
8Ball, why is it so difficult for you to acknowledge the historial and current effects of sexism. I won’t give you an entire history, for that is up to you to learn if you so desire. “Women were and continue to be by far the primary target of harassment, abuse, physical assault, and rape by men;” Here I am referring to sexual violence. Here is a reference to women barred from teaching after they married in some places: “Especially in big city schools, teachers at the turn of the 20th century felt like the most insignificant cogs in a huge… Read more »
“Strictly enforced gender-based social roles mandated without choice that women’s only option was to remain in the home to undertake housekeeping and childcare duties;” Really? Because I can find records of female doctors and other professionals going back at least a couple of centuries, if not more- note your own use of the words “mandated without choice.” and “only option” “Women were and continue to be by far the primary target of harassment, abuse, physical assault, and rape by men;” This is just flat out wrong. Men are, actually, the majority victims of violence “Women were and remain locked out… Read more »