A study has found that men who feel that they fall short of masculine gender roles are more likely to become violent.
Recently published research shows that men who are concerned about being seen as masculine are more likely to be violent than guys who feel comfortable in their own skin.
It doesn’t really come as a shock to me. I’m from a rough town that is full of people doing their very best to be as masculine as possible, and fighting to prove it every weekend.
But there’s a social science involved.
The way that a man perceives gender norms and masculinity can affect how they behave. So more ‘macho’ men, with their muscles, are more likely to take part in such manly activities as ‘risk-taking, fighting, and substance abuse’. Because they’re bloody blokes, that’s why.
‘Male discrepancy stress’ is alive and kicking. It basically describes guys who see themselves as falling short of being masculine, but also worry that other people see them in the same light.
A survey of men aged 18 to 50 discovered that men suffering from male discrepancy stress were more likely to have committed assaults with a weapon, or assaults with injury to the victim, than men who felt they weren’t very masculine but didn’t really give a shit about it.
For some people, life seems to a pissing contest. I fall into the ‘not arsed if I’m perceived as masculine or not’ category. Some blokes might not think I’m ‘macho’ enough, but at least I’m not a dick about it.
Anyway, however macho you think you are, there can only be one…
