GRSJ224/Hegemonic Masculinity

Hegemonic Masculinity

Hegemonic masculinity has been a much talked about discussion in everyday society and is highly related to gender inequality. Practices that put men in a dominant position whereas women are put into a subordinate role is one way of looking at hegemonic masculinity (Connell). Many may view this as a major issue for only females, or vice versa, but controversially this idea affects both genders significantly. Mass media portrayed men a part of the rescue team in the 9/11 incident as “real men doing jobs that real men do”(Jefferson 2002). This idea has portrayed boys and men to be strong, brave, violent and in most cases the decision maker in the family (MacDonald 2014). One area that is not talked about as much is the amount of hegemonic masculinity found in the great Canadian sport, Hockey.

Hockey Injuries

Many sports manage injuries slightly different in my opinion, but one thing that all athletes can relate to is that being injured is really tough to manage both mentally and physically. Hockey players in particular are highly associated with physical strength in which an individual can withstand pain. In “24/7 Penguins Capitals: Scars and Sacrifices” documentary, Dan Bylsma said that “giving up makes you look weak”. Crosby followed with a statement that stated not letting any injury stop you from playing is what “commitment to the team” looks like. Men adopt bravery, aggressiveness, and strength attributes which drive the dominate cultures idea of masculinity. Niklas Backstrom of the Washington Capitals supported the idea on how the hegemonic masculinity side of hockey will always exist, we have big strong men skating full speed at each other without a flinch. With the current hegemonic form of masculinity in the current society we are socialized to think of men to put in positions to control dominance and to show no fear(Jefferson 2002). Some athletes continuously play regardless of their injury due to a few factors. One being the embarrassment and lack of commitment it shows to the team. Two, the business side of the sport needs you to continue to play, this could be due to the fact of it being the playoffs or it being an important game. Thirdly, simply embarrassment and let down to the athlete themselves. An example to take into account of how tough these athletes are would be to look at Kevin Klein, an NHLer’s story. Halfway through a game, half of Klein’s ear was cut off and was reattached within the period, even though long term injuries to his ear was a huge concern he decided to continue playing. A part of this was of course adrenaline, but an even bigger part was for him to show his commitment to his team by proving to everyone in the hockey world that even though he lost half his ear, it wouldn't stop him.

Hockey Roles - Enforcers

In hockey, each player has a specific role on the team, whether it is to score goals or to simply be a shut down defensemen (Tjønndal 2016). One particular position that is starting to shy away from hockey today, is the position of the enforcer (Tjønndal 2016). This particular role was adopted by many successful players which entailed them to protect their teammates and to fight certain individuals. Hockey has been one of the sports that have the highest rates of criminal reports. Violence in hockey have been known to stir up the game a little bit and create excitement amongst the fans, which essentially would give the fans a motive to come to the game. From a business perspective a way to get more ticket purchases they would need things the fans would want to see, such as an enforcer.

Story of Derek Boogaard

Derek Boogaard, was 6’7 and weighed 245 pounds. He was always the biggest guy on his team even when he was in minor hockey. He was drafted into the National Hockey League, in the last round for simply his size and his fighting skill, nothing more. The coach Derek has in Junior hockey told him he could only play if he fought – Derek wanted to live the dream and adopted this role regardless of how much he didn’t like it. He was not forced to take on this role but was socially pressure by this idea of masculinity. Many of Derek’s teammates called him the nicest giant in the game. Todd Fedoruk, an ex-NHLer also said being the enforcer “you must be mentally strong”. As much as Derek was a fan favorite regardless of where he went, many didn’t see the discomfort he had with fighting and the amount of mental illness he had gone through. Derek Boogaard was one of many enforcers that was socially pressure to this role and unfortunately decided to take his own life. Other similar stories to be named are Rick Rypien and Wade Belak, both played the enforcer role as well. This extremity of adopting hegemonic masculinity in hockey has caused individuals long term injuries and to the utmost extent, death. To add to this all hockey players know what they are signing up for prior to joining the league, the league has put in place many rules to reduce fighting in the sport due to some of the extreme stories that have been told by some past enforcers (Tjønndal 2016). By being socialized to through these hegemonic characteristics have caused some individuals mental issues that have ended in death (Tjønndal 2016). Hockey is just one sport we looked at - imagine other sports such as football, basketball etc.

Solutions

I strongly believe that the NHL will need to continue to intervene if hegemonic masculinity characteristics are affecting the game, the fighting has most definitely decreased over the last decade and the game has become more based off skill (Tjønndal 2016). The National Hockey League will also need to continue to chat with every member of the hockey team to get a oversight of the perspectives of the players. I feel by getting teams more involved in community work and speaking up about mental illness has help shy away the dominance figures of hockey players. We have seen on media players crying due to an emotional event such as shootings or remembering a veteran that retired.

References

• Connell, R. W., and James W. Messerschmidt. "Hegemonic Masculinity Rethinking the Concept." Gender and Society 19.6 (2005): 829-59. Web.
• MacDonald, Cheryl A. "Masculinity and Sport Revisited: A Review of Literature on Hegemonic Masculinity and Men's Ice Hockey in Canada." Canadian Graduate Journal of Sociology and Criminology 3.1 (2014): 95. Web.
• Jefferson, Tony. "Subordinating Hegemonic Masculinity." Theoretical Criminology 6.1 (2002): 63-88. Web.
• Beasley, Christine. "Rethinking Hegemonic Masculinity in a Globalizing World." Men and Masculinities 11.1 (2008): 86-103. Web.
• Tjønndal, Anne. "NHL Heavyweights: Narratives of Violence and Masculinity in Ice Hockey." Physical Culture and Sport. Studies and Research, vol. 70, no. 1, 2016, pp. 55-68.