SOC 0851 Chapter Notes - Chapter 3: Grammatical Gender, Puberty, Masculinity
• Masculinity, Puberty, and Embodiment
o The power associated with masculinity is assumed to be rooted in
masculine bodies
o Men work on their bodies in order to achieve the ideal masculine
physique
o Both os ad e osider fla odies to e less masculine
o Bodies of boys and men are judged for their functional purposed –
for what they can do with their bodies
o In school settings, masculinity and social standings of boys are based
in part on their physical dexterity, strength, and athleticism
o Sports are an especially important arena in which boys use their
odies to deostrate asuliit, alloig the to aass phsial
apital ad gai asulie status
o Masculinity is embodied – embodiment is understood as a social
process through which women and men as active social agents
develop their bodies as both the objects and agents of practice
▪ Bodies are not passive objects onto which the social is
produced, but neither do bodies determine how we
experience the world as social beings
▪ Embodiment describes a reciprocal relationship between
bodies and our social experiences of them
▪ Through body reflexive practice, we can experience ourselves
as both in and as our bodies
▪ Bodies can be seen both as something separate from us – as
space we dwell inside – and as inseparable from who we are
▪ Embodiment points us to the ways in which our bodies are
important parts of our identities and biographies
▪ The making of our bodies is also the making of ourselves
▪ Puberty is a good example of a deeply embodied experience
• The bodies of both boys and girls go through radical
changes at puberty
• Boys make sense of puberty as a social and a biological
experience
• Boys experience anxiety about puberty itself and their
bodily changes
• Boys understood penises to be associated with
manhood and dominance
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