Construction of masculinity in relation to Kaufman's triad of men's violence

Masculinity

Violence and Masculinity

In his essay, "The Construction of Masculinity and the Triad of Men's Violence," Michael Kauffman asserts that there are three types of violence that society ultimately creates as a part of masculinity, and that all three of these violence types are interrelated and part of the same problem. Kauffman identifies this triad of violence as consisting of violence against women, violence against other men, and violence against themselves, and he goes on to demonstrate many different areas of society -- sports, the military, even industrialization and capitalism -- contribute to the idea that aggression must equal success. This aggression truly comes, in Kauffman's view, from increased repression; this same repression shows up as extreme passivity in women, yet extreme aggression in men. In some senses, it is the very act of repression that causes the specific outlet, as in when a boy is told that expressing emotions of sadness, fear, or even mercy are not "manly" -- the opposite emotions of stoicism, disregard of danger, and the triumph of strength instead reign supreme.

This begins at a very young age in Western society, with the indoctrination of young boys in the sports culture that dominates the way most schoolboys are judged to greater or lesser degrees. Though Michael Messner does not comment on the violence that is an inherent feature of many sports, his makes a compelling case for viewing organized sports as a decidedly gendered institution that sets up a system of ranking and judgment for men in our society, and this certainly could be seen as a precursor to male violence against other men. Judgment is not base don individual performance, that is, but on relative performance -- life becomes inherently competitive to the masculine sensibility.

The documentary film Tough Guise provides many more striking and direct examples of the manner in which aggression in all three forms discussed by Kauffmann have become a seamless part of male identity in our society. From the association of aggression and physical prowess with sexuality and performance capabilities to the extreme pressure in minority communities to conform to specific masculine identities as a way of asserting independence, male violence against women and against other men through both direct physical violence and through general domination and intimidation is seen as a natural part of society by many. The violence against oneself that this sense of masculinity leads to is seen in examples like the school shootings that typically end in suicides, but every act of violence that leads to a deterioration of an individual's actual standing in society -- or the standing of that society itself -- is truly an act of violence against oneself. The fact that the twentieth century was the bloodiest on human record should be taken as a sign that this society is committing violence upon itself, and that a change must be made.