Masculinity is a living system of social interactions among boys and men. Masculinity is the configuration of discourses and practices that differentiate youth gender in different degrees and ways. In his book “Dude you’re A Fag,” Pascoe claimed that senior boys in high school contest for a ‘pro-king title.' In this sense, masculinity is not reduced to the male body but rather a dominance expressed through hyper-masculine and hyper-sexualized discourses ( Alexandrowicz, 2020 ). According to Pascoe, men embody and enact different masculinity variations depending on their status and social hierarchy. Any form of the different kinds of masculinity is beneficial in terms of patriarchal dividend.
Pascoe’s analysis of how masculinity is performed in high school is not specific to the United States. Masculinity performed in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australian high schools conforms to the analysis he conducted in California. In these countries, masculinity is not reduced to gender, which is natural, but considered something one produces through actions ( Knisely, 2017 ). Actions can create these categories by repeating either acting 'masculine' or 'feminine.' Masculinity is often written into existence or spoken through daily conversations that make young people negotiate social identities that are both socially or historically embedded.
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In the United States and other nations, masculinity in high school is performed in similar ways. According to Rosen & Nofziger (2018) , most schools do a lot to strengthen normative sexuality and gender roles. Schools innocuously perpetuate and support a hierarchy of forms of masculinity. High schools make their masculinity values clear by giving tacit approval or by the omission of rules against masculinity. Even though most schools do not address masculinity and sexuality officially, students and teachers informally talk about them, as Pascoe describes it as the unofficial sexuality curriculum of River High.
References
Alexandrowicz, C. (2020). ‘You’re soaking in it’: The socio-cultural bath. Acting Queer , 27-48. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29318-5_2
Knisely, K. A. (2017). Exploring the role of culture in the formation of French language ideologies among US post-secondary students. Contemporary French Civilization , 42 (2), 189-210. https://doi.org/10.3828/cfc.2017.11
Rosen, N. L., & Nofziger, S. (2018). Boys, bullying, and gender roles: How hegemonic masculinity shapes bullying behavior. Gender Issues , 36 (3), 295-318. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12147-018-9226-0
