The Evolution of Masculinity in Singapore march 2017
Transcript of The Evolution of Masculinity in Singapore march 2017
Masculinity1
/ˌmaskjʊˈlɪnɪti/Noun:
• Qualities or attributes regarded as characteristic of men
• ‘Handsome, muscled, and driven, he's a prime example of masculinity.’
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Looking at the typical definitions of
1 The Oxford Dictionary
Femininity
/ˌfɛmɪˈnɪnɪti/Noun:
• The quality of being female; womanliness.
• ‘She celebrates her femininity by wearing make-up and high heels.’
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Versus the concept, definitions and dimensions of
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Initially separating biology from the meanings people attach to gender
I quickly found out that in their minds• Gender• Biology• Social convention• Personal
experienceAre all inextricably linked to their concepts of masculinity (and femininity, and anything in between)
… as society develops and shifts, those definitions do too.
Where do you (does society) draw the line in the sand?
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Because people’s definitions are a snapshot of a point in time
Masculinitythen
Masculinitynow
Masculinityin the future?
Talking to five Singaporean men aged 25-72
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Hui Keen Ming, 72Retired aircraft engineerBorn in 1945
Patrick Lim, 62Counsellor & TherapistBorn in 1955
Cheng Hiap Choon, 48Singapore Armed Forces PersonnelBorn in 1969
Hui Ken Wei, 38BankerBorn in 1979
Gabriel Ong, 25National University of Singapore Final Year StudentBorn in 1992
… And women aged 25-69
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Chan Yuet Yee, 69Retired Executive AssistantBorn in 1948
Married to
Chrys Hu-Lim, 62Homemaker & MasterchefBorn in 1955
Married to
Hui Soh Yin, 48Ex-Engineer now Stay-At-Home-MomBorn in 1969Married to
Evonne Lek, 41PsychotherapistBorn in 1978
Desiree Lim, 25Project ExecutiveBorn in 1992
Back then, masculinity was very structured and rigid
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Masculinitythen
Dad Cad
The Dad/Cad2
dichotomy of masculinity
Dads• Getting married and establishing a family was the mark of the maturity
of a man• To their family, it was men’s responsibility to provide (financially, food)
and protect• To their country, men fought and served as soldiers• Expected to fix things
Cads• Being known in the market place (through legitimate power or
violence) commanded respect and awe• A masculine man was one who ruled, no matter what• Leaders were in place to solve their families’ or followers problems
Whether a Dad or a Cad:• Masculinity was seen as “outside the home”• Society was structured more rigidly• There was less flow of knowledge/information – you didn’t know what
you didn't know2 Byrne Hobart, Quora.com
Over the decades, more dimensions of masculinity developed
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Masculinitythen
Dad Cad
The Dad/Cad2
dichotomy of masculinity
Masculinitynow
The multifariouspolychotomy of masculinity
2 Byrne Hobart, Quora.com
Looking broadly at an overview of the evolution of masculinity as opposed to an in-depth charting of specific movements of dimensions year-on-year, or decade-on-decade.
The new masculinity has many faces and wears many masks
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Masculinitynow
The multifariouspolychotomy of masculinity
A man might still be expected to… fix things but not know how to…… provide but in different ways and choose to be a stay-at-home-husband…… identify as a man but experiment flamboyantly with fashionWhat was once deemed non-masculine, today does not preclude from masculinity.
… Being in touch with feelings…… Having a softer side…… Communicating…… Doing household chores…Once seen as the traits of femininity, are no longer emasculating
And types of masculinity have ballooned from dichotomous to polychotomous... The Stud ∙ Mr. Fashion Week ∙ The Athlete ∙ The Rugged Man…… The House Husband ∙ The Man Child ∙ The Handyman ∙ The Geek…… The Hipster ∙ The Weirdo ∙ The Sexy Bad Boy…3
3 Katherine Arteche, The Smart Local
So what’s happening to masculinity, and why is it even important?
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1. Masculinity is still a desired ideal but the goalposts have moved
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Chart 1
This model 4 by Everett Rogers’ seeks to explain how, why, and at what rate new ideas spread.
Chart 2
Society is made up of multiple such idea diffusion curves that show the emergence and dissolution of ideas and concepts, rules and norms.
ThereforeMasculinity, in this view, is not a constant, universal essence, but rather an ever-changing fluid assemblage of meanings and behaviors that vary dramatically. Thus we speak of masculinities, in recognition of the different definitions of manhood that we construct. By pluralizing the term, we acknowledge that masculinity means different things to different groups of men at different times5.
- Michael Kimmel, Professor of Sociology,Stony Brook University, New York
2.5%Innovators
13.5%Early
Adopters
34%Early
Majority
34%Late
Majority
16%Laggards
Chart 1
Chart 2
4 Source: Everett Rogers, Diffusion of Innovations, 19625 Source: Global Masculinities: Restoration and Resistance
“
”
1. Masculinity is still a desired ideal but the goalposts have moved
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A masculine man needs to be areal man. He must dress like one, talk
like one, and act like one... I just can’t accept men who dress like women. I know some of
my friends can, but I can’t…
2. Singapore’s continued path from collectivism to individualism has spawned even more dimensions of masculinity
Singapore has developed from a largely collectivist (as most Asian cultures are) society towards one that prizes individuality
• Birth rates have been decreasing since Singapore’s independence, with the tipping point in 1975 6
• With more families having only one or two children, kids became their parents’ little darlings (小宝贝)
• Singapore’s Generation X were the first people to move to an individualist mindset away from the country’s collectivist past.
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Mr. Hipster is dead. All hailMr. Yuccie! 7 Young Urban Creatives. A slice of Gen Y, borne of
suburban comfort, indoctrinated with the transcendent power of education, and infected by the conviction that not only do we deserve to pursue our dreams; we should profit from them.
6 Source: Source: World Bank data7 Source: David Infante, Mashable 2015
2. Singapore’s continued path from collectivism to individualism has spawned even more dimensions of masculinity
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“We were not fortunate enough to be ablechoose back then. We did what we had to. We took
care of the family. It was always family first. That’s what being a real man was in those days. These days young people – both sexes – are lucky. They have less pressure to do what society expects of them. They can do what they want, choose what they want. You know when you decided to go to London to work and Mom
was against it but you went anyway. Think most girls would have even thought of that back then?
3. The future of masculinity (and femininity) is irrelevant
A job, which was a key dimension that defined masculinity in the past is no longer so
• In 2016, the workforce was 45.8% female8
• Female Singaporean millennials are the most independent, globally9
Today, what is expected of men is also expected of women(and vice versa).
• Traditionally masculine dimensions – responsibility, financial provision, problem-solving, level-headedness, rationality – are also expected of women
• Embracing the more nurturing side of femininity – communication, empathy, concern – is the mark of strengthof a man
Masculine or sissy? Who cares?
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8 Source: Ministry of Manpower, Manpower Research & Statistics Department, Labour Force in Singapore 20169 Source: Human Resources Magazine10 Source: World Bank data
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3. The future of masculinity (and femininity) is irrelevant
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“I like cooking. You know my“nom nom nom diaries” album on
Facebook filled with my food! No one believes that I can cook because I’m such a guy with my football. Maybe cooking’s too girly but my mother’s a great cook and I learnt from the best. Helped me a lot in
Berlin when I was by myself.”
“My dad fixes things around thehouse and things like punching extra
holes in my handbag strap. And he also does the ironing. Not every guy today can do
that. I think I know more about using tools that some guys I know. It’s not that I can’t
do these things for myself, but sometimes it’s nice when a guy does it for you.”
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5 Source: averageheight.com
Looking into the crystal ball
Biology will always play a role, however big or small,… Men are bigger and taller11, therefore physical strength is aphysical trait that could make lifting heavy things easier
But really, Will masculinity (and femininity)
really matter?
References
1. The Oxford Dictionary, https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/masculinity
2. Byrne Hobarthttps://www.quora.com/How-has-the-concept-of-masculinity-evolved-over-the-last-fifty-years
3. Katherine Arteche, The Smart Localhttp://thesmartlocal.com/read/types-of-guys
4. Everett Rogers, Diffusion of Innovations, 1962
5. Global Masculinities: Restoration and Resistance, by Michael Kimmel
6. World Bank data
7. David Infante, Mashable 2015http://mashable.com/2015/06/09/post-hipster-yuccie/#jVmJOhXnliqU
8. Ministry of Manpower, Manpower Research & Statistics Department, Labour Force in Singapore 2016
9. Human Resources Magazinehttp://www.humanresourcesonline.net/female-singaporean-millennials-independent-globally/
10. Source: World Bank data
11. http://averageheight.com
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