The Hegemonic Man in American Life

Americans, more humans in general, are a conforming being. A “typical” American conforms to whatever ideals are socially constructed, even if the same ones change over time. The idea of the hegemonic man is the ultimate man that is atop of the hierarchy of masculinities of whom we all sort of understand and agree with. The hegemonic man is one of America’s socially constructed ideals that they tend to conform to. The hegemonic man is a controlling force that drives a man’s attitudes and beliefs throughout his life, which are applied and can be recognized in American society and culture.

Since the beginning of man’s life he is taught to be a “man,” in this case what is really implied is the hegemonic man (this is generally speaking in terms of the hegemonic man in the latter part of the 20^th century, not all American males at any time in history). As a boy, if you manage to hurt yourself, you are told to “suck it up, and be a man.” The ultimate man does not show pain, he is simply not allowed to. Showing pain is a sign of weakness and men are not weak. Being a “man” in American society is being tough and powerful, showing little emotion and regard for others. A “man” does not settle for less, he gets what he wants. A “man” believes his place is better than a woman’s. These ideals of an older masculinity may be beneficial, but only to a limited extent, what they really do is lead to many problems in a changing society moving away from that hegemonic man.

If a male wants to be a “man,” he is told to be self-reliant. A man cannot ask for help, even though it is actually needed. This becomes a problem when driving comes into play. Males think they always know where they are going and refuse help. This refusal of help gets you and most likely your family lost. Being lost ads extra miles, more gas emissions emitted, wasted time, and more strain on your family life.

A “real man” needs a mode transportation that will make him feel superior, as he is taught to believe. A “man” needs a big truck that will reflect his inner-self, which is really his exterior, tough and rugged. These big trucks that are bought are expensive and get poor gas mileage because of the size engine needed to produce that much power. The amount of gas used greatly exceeds the amounts used by economical hybrid cars. The increased consumption of gas, in turn increases the amount of harmful emissions that are emitted into the environment.

The biggest problem of the old, dying hegemonic man ideal is that a man has a better place than a woman’s. This poses a significant problem in the workplace. Women may work just as hard, and even be better than a male, but since they are woman, they are held back. The practice of holding women back promotes the existence of the glass ceiling, which does not allow women to advance rightfully in the workplace. Thankfully so, this ideal, as aforementioned, is dying out.

The final example of how the ideal of the hegemonic man has affected males in American society and culture is in their unhealthy eating habits. The hegemonic man is advertised as one who engorges himself, eating a vast amount of food (in this case, meat) at one time. Males are socially taught to eat thick, heavy burgers (“man fuel”). Burger King has made this example more apparent than anything else of I have seen. Their commercial for the Burger King Texas Double Whopper said “I am man, hear me roar, in numbers to big to ignore, and I am way to hungry to settle for chick food… I am hungry, I am incorrigible, I am man!” The obsession with eating these kinds of foods leads to health problems. Currently America is one of the unhealthiest countries in part because of high cholesterol and blood pressure problems related to these eating habits.

The hegemonic man is made apparent in American society by the actions of males believing in this ideal. The masculinity mentioned throughout is near the end of its existence, but still manages to hold on. It manages to because of another part of the hegemonic man’s ideal, tradition. Tradition, resistance to change, is what allows it to linger. Males who were taught this ideal in their youth are now mature men, and if they have not conformed to the changing masculinity of today’s society of being more emotional, accepting, and aware, they will continue on their old way allowing that social construct to persist.