Sorsogon State University - Bulan Campus
Performative
Masculinity
How Masculinity and Gender is shaped by Society
BSIT 4-3
What is Performative Masculinity?
What is
Performative Masculinity ?
Refers to ways in which masculinity is expressed, enacted, and maintained through behaviors that are influenced by societal expectations and gender norms. These behaviors may be used to conform to social expectations, to gain acceptance or reinfoce a particular masculine identity.
"I prefer not to apply make-up because that will make me look feminine or look gay"
"You are a male therefore you shouldn't be a nurse"
Females that wear male clothing, expressing toughness and boldness to survive an envirionement that is harmful for a normal/traditional feminine characteristics
Performative
Male
Matcha Latte, Tote Bags, Preppy/Baggy Clothing, Self Help/Feminist Books, Labubus are the characteristics of a Performative Male, However Performative Male is under performative femininity. "these are men who visibly accessorize with objects that carry significance for women or men that wants to attract the female gaze" (Taraban)
Definition of Terms :
Masculine Doxa
Socially embedded tradition, opinion, norm of what a man is.
Doing Gender
A Sociological concept that gender is not a biologically inherent thing, that gender could be performed depending on social context, norm, or expectations.
Masculine Habitus
Set of bodily dispositions, and mental structures (O'Toole) constructed and accomplished in connection within the space that is reserved for men (Bourdeu).
Performative Masculinity
a
GenderRelated Issue?
Performative Masculinity is a sociological concept where men/individuals behaves, acts, performs based on societal norms, pressure or expectations.
Performative Masculinity is an application of "Doing Gender", Caffrey clarifies that according to Candace West and Don Zimmerman in their article "Doing Gender" that gender is a social construct rather than a biological determined trait, and that individuals perform gender based on societal expectations or cultural norms that often pressure individuals to be restricted of their personal freedom and conform to predefined notions of masculinity or femininity (Caffrey).
Performative Masculinity can be performed by individuals due to social pressure, expectations or norms in shaping, expressing gender.
According to Pitt and Fox on their paper "Performative Masculinity: A New Theory on Masculinity", that Masculinity is not a fixed thing, Performative Masculinity allows change in the Masculine Doxa, the Masculine Habitus and allows for change for what is, and what is it to be a man in the post modern world (Pitt, Fox), within the paper they also created three types of masculinity :
Orthodox Masculinity
Traditional man that follows established social/cultural norms of what it is being a man
Example/Chracteristics :
Emotionally Supressive
Conservative
Often portrays strength through actions and physical appearance
Avoids things associated with femininity
The person in the image is actually a Dad with 2 kids @tani_takuma on X/Twitter
Heterodox Masculinity
Reworks Traditional Masculinity while Maintaning Masculine Identity
Example/Chracteristics :
Emotionally Expressive/Open
Challenges Gender-Norms
Stay-At-Home Dad
Egalitarian Man
Cacodoxy Masculinity
Challenges Traditional Masculinity,crosses boundaries of traditional Feminine/Masculine behaviours and may attract sanction
Example/Chracteristics :
Gay Men who are attracted to the same gender and dresses feminine
Conservative
Drag Queens
Abandoning Traditional/Orthodox Masculinity through adopting feminine fashion, identity, and mannerisms
Performative Masculinity
a
GenderRelated Issue?
Pitt and Fox also argues that these categories are not a fixed notion, but rather a continuum. Meaning that Men/People may strategically shift between these masculinities depending on social context, norm, or expectations.
Performative Masculinity can be performed by both sexes. Depending on the context, both men and women have their own share of masculinity and femininity, example provided by (Taraban) in his YouTube video explaining Performative Masculinity that is performed by a woman in an ICE arrest, further clarifying that the said woman is trying to express a message to Federal Agents that they should fear her, but Taraban elucidated that the woman fails to express her message by acting tough because it was a "Performance" implying that women are not eexpected to act boldly, manly, or masculine for the sake of others because its not the expected thing to do (Taraban).
Overall
Performative Masculinity is a social issue due to the fact that it affects both sexes due to societal norms, expectations and traditions that affects gender. It also emphasizes that masculinity isn't a fixed notion but rather a continuum where individuals can shift between them depending on context.
Understanding Performative Masculinity allows us to understand masculinity as a whole, recognizing behaviours, influence, socially established norms, expectations and traditions. Therefore understanding its characteristics as a social construct enacts a deeper understanding of its challenges, or how it is maintained and practiced.
References
Bourdieu, Pierre, Masculine Domination, 1998
Taraban, Orion. "Performative masculinity: it's not what you think". YouTube, uploaded by Orion Taraban, 30 Mar. 2026, “https://youtu.be/EBAKVDSpDQ0”
Caffrey, Cait. "Doing Gender" Article Sociology, 2019 "https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/sociology/doing-gender/"
Susan, Pitt L., Fox, Christopher A. "Performative Masculinity: A New Theory on Masculinity" 2012 "https://brill.com/display/book/edcoll/9781848880948/BP000006.xml"
O'Toole, Olga. "Habitus, Culture, and Human Sexuality. Notions of Consent in the Sexual Habitus" 2021, Journal “https://ejournals.eu/pliki_artykulu_czasopisma/pelny_tekst/17549334-9695-410b-b93a-00d35925bd46/pobierz”
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