Hegemonic masculinity

R.W. Connell first coined the term 'hegemonic masculinity' in her books (1985; 1997). Some have critiqued the place of this dominant masculinity suggesting that it is just one of many dominant forms of masculinity though other forms continue to be marginalised.

To me, the powerful, athletic, strong, cool, collected masculine man was embodied in my late brother Scott. Though it has been over 2 years since he passed away, the fact remains that while he should have gone to the doctor to find out what was wrong with him and not have viewed this as a weakness, he didn't, and he died from an undetected heart condition. We do not know the extent of his symptoms which he may have been ignoring.

His mobile phone welcome message was 'Harden up'. This was not helpful, but I think it was an important part of his identity.

Hegemonic masculinity, as Connell first suggested, is still alive and kicking.