Hegemonic masculinity is the theory that men are driven to dominate and control other people. And that the result is a range of unhealthy, "toxic" behaviors that are the root of all the world's problems.

It is a sexist outlook, and is quickly becoming passé in academic psychology. But it has generated a decent amount of discussion inside gender studies.

There is, however, a new theory that is challenging this old view of masculinity. Called responsive masculinity, it purports that men ultimately want to be helpful and solve problems. In this framework, men are said to "respond" to the demands of other people in society.

And there is quite a bit of research backing up this hypothesis:

  • Men are more likely to engage in costly altruism, which basically means men are more likely to be self-sacrificing.

  • This is especially true when the target of that altruism is women or children.

  • Men respond strongly to emotional displays from women and children. In fact men are more responsive (as measured by changes in heart rate) to crying infants than women are.

  • Men's desire to be successful in the workplace might be the result of men wishing to be desired by women.

  • Women are more emotionally expressive around men than they are in private or around other women. The theory is that women try to evoke empathy and therefore a helpful response from men.

Ultimately what this means is that men are driven to succeed in order to help provide for their loved ones, not because they want to "dominate" or "control" people. When looked at in this context, masculinity becomes inherently productive and pro-social, not toxic.

Sources:

Brown B. (2019) From Hegemonic to Responsive Masculinity: The Transformative Power of the Provider Role. In: Barry J., Kingerlee R., Seager M., Sullivan L. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Male Psychology and Mental Health. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-04384-1_10

The provider role indicates that masculinity is prosocial. The Centre for Male Psychology.

https://www.centreformalepsychology.com/male-psychology-magazine-listings/the-provider-role-indicates-that-masculinity-is-prosocial