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Masculine Psychology refers to an archetypal gender-related psychology of male human identity. A scientific and empirical approach of gender differences through global expansion explains social structure through the lenses of standard culture.

See also: Masculinity

Western Masculine Psychology
Enlightenment of modern history became an influencing discipline during the Renaissance. Intellectual approaches of modern philosophy shaped cultural customs as thinkers became fixated with creating a utopian world through law, artistic representation, western expansion, and social structure.

The masculine psychology emphasizes gender differences that were closely governed in the result of a" political and social organization". Conflict of social structures became evident as there were forms of participation in governance and beliefs in liberty. Writers, artists, and liberalists alike rebelled from social structures through their artistry.

See also: Masculinity

Ideologies of Manhood
See also: Toxic Masculinity

The establishment of masculinity (and femininity) are socially constructed. Gender ideologies transcends as socializing elements that become a continuum. Masculinity varies among social class, so masculine psychologies would be altered depending on "normative" class constructions for gender.

or non-conforming gender expression, but the reaction this gender identity provokes in men. Halberstam writes that men are often irrationally threatened by masculinity in non-male bodies because this kind of expression does not require maleness. Butch lesbians not only reject the influence of male-bodied masculinity but men themselves by refusing to interact with them romantically or sexually. They turn either to disgust and ridicule, and when their daughters are involved, shame and violence.

Influence from a Western Religion
The original languages of several religions have gender-specific pronouns and verb conjugations. As language was constructed by man, references to God often use the masculine pronoun "He" and refer to God as masculine; social modernity enabled hegemonic language.

In many religions, including Judaism, Sikhism, and Islam, God has traditionally been referred to by using masculine pronouns. However, in the original Hebrew and Aramaic languages of the Old Testament, God is referred to by a variety of names, in both singular and plural forms, and so it is not clear that the use of a masculine pronoun necessarily conveys actual gender. For example, in Sikhism the use of masculine pronouns is due to grammatical conventions and does not signify actual gender. In Islam, similarly, God is generally depicted as having a male gender, though there may be debate as to God's gender. As there is no neutral gender in Arabic, God is referred to in the masculine form by default, and it is universally understood that God (Allah) is not a woman.

In Mainstream Christianity God is understood as a Trinity of three persons in one God, consisting of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. While in mainstream Christianity God is thought of in masculine terms, teachings generally state that God has no gender, except in his incarnation as Jesus Christ, due to the fact that He is a spiritual being. However, the names of Father and Son clearly imply masculinity, and the Gospel of John implies the masculinity of the Spirit by applying a masculine demonstrative pronoun to the grammatically neuter antecedent. Still, teachings regarding the gender and nature of God vary between Christian groups, and some clearly state that God is male. These include the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which explicitly describe God the Father as being male, corporeal, and separate in being from the Son, Jesus Christ. Unusually, Latter-day Saint teachings also indicate the existence of a Heavenly Mother, who is the wife of the Heavenly Father, and that together they are the spiritual parents of humankind. This reinforces the idea that God is analogous to our earthly fathers. However, these beliefs are not common among Christian groups, which generally see God as having both male and female attributes and therefore no need for a female counterpart.

In many polytheistic religions, there are both gods and goddesses clearly defined. This includes many pagan religions, such as those involving Greek mythology, Norse mythology, and Celtic mythology. This distinction also exists in other polytheisms. For example, Hinduism distinguishes between God and Goddess. There are three main male gods known as Tridev (Sanskrit:त्रिदेव) and their wives are worshiped as goddesses. In Hindu mythology, all the forces converge to form a female supreme power known as aadishakti (Sanskrit: आदिशक्ति.).

The western masculine psychology derived from religious social structures that created ideologies of masculinity (and femininity).

Masculine Identities
Masculine identities arise from social structures that inevitably validated gender. Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung argued that a father is very important to a boy's development of identity. In his book Absent Fathers, Lost Sons Canadian Jungian analyst Guy Corneau writes that the presence of the father's body during the son's developmental phases is integral in the son developing a positive sense of self as masculine. Corneau also argues that if the son does not develop positively towards the father's male body, then the son runs the risk of developing negatively towards all bodies. Jacques Lacan argued that in the son's mind, the father's body represents the law, and that the role of the father's body is to break the attachment the son feels to the mother and by extension his own.

Freudian analysts claim that all sons feel they are in competition with their father and often feel in a battle against the father. This is well represented in Greek mythology as Chronos, the father of the gods, is in constant war with his children should they contradict him. This dominant patriarchal attitude still has roots in society today as men are viewed to be heads of families. (Sigmund Freud referred to this as Oedipus complex.) Freudian psychologists claim that the risk the son runs is that in some cases it is more difficult to win the battle against the father than to lose the battle against the father. This is because a common result of winning the battle against the father is that the son suffers tremendous guilt.

Masculine identities or concepts are developed differently across cultures and subcultures. Because masculinity can take varied forms, forms of manliness can be changed and utilized at once. Masculine identities are not limited to the archetypal male species, and can be fluid in constructing a new identity outside of binary lenses.

Law
Sodomy was a 1789 law that enforced masculinity, and deemed specific sexual acts by men illegal. As this law was never repealed, sodomy laws began to be used in a new way during the late 1960's - distinctly against people who identify as gay. As the gay rights movement began to make headway, and the social condemnation of being gay began to weaken, social conservatives invoked sodomy laws as a justification for discrimination. The gradual liberalization of the Western sexuality, especially in Northern America, led government officials sodomy laws in most states. Several northern American states out-ruled sodomy in just 2003.

Not acknowledging sexual preference outside of the binary social constructs are effects of masculine psychology.

Literature, Academia, and Artistry
Social standards of manliness or masculinity has been challenged as much as it is asserted in the Western culture. The study of masculine psychology has brought about the publication of several books, poems, and journals.


 * Robert Bly

Robert Bly inspired the mythopoetic men's movement with his 1990 book Iron John: A Book About Men consisting of retellings of archetypal male myths and analysis of the Grimms' Fairy Tale "Iron John".


 * David Deida

David Deida, a noted author and spiritual practitioner, published The Way Of The Superior Man: A Spiritual Guide to Mastering the Challenges of Woman, Work, and Sexual Desire in 1997. In this book he argues "It is time to evolve beyond the (first-stage) macho jerk ideal, all spine and no heart. It is also time to evolve beyond the (second-stage) sensitive and caring wimp ideal, all heart and no spine. Heart and spine must be united in a single man, and then gone beyond in the fullest expression of love and consciousness possible, which requires a deep relaxation into the infinite openness of this present moment. And this takes a new kind of (third-stage) guts. This is the way of the superior man." Literary critiques of David Deida include the fact that he encourages men to express their sexuality in a manner that still reflects the same attitudes.


 * Susan Faludi

Susan Faludi, a noted feminist author, published Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man in 1999. In this book she claims that in the 20th century men suffered from the breakdown of patriarchal structures.


 * Robert Moore and Douglas Gillette

Robert L. Moore and Douglas Gillette collaborated on a series of five books on male psychology and mythopoetic aspects of human development, including King, Warrior, Magician, Lover, and a book exploring each of these four archetypes. The book and its authors are considered important parts of the men's movement in the latter part of the 20th century.


 * Anne McClintock

The White Family of Man: Colonial Discourse and the Reinvention of Patriarchy (1994). "This text chronicles the dangerous liaisons between gender, race and class that shaped British imperialism and its bloody dismantling. Spanning the century between Victorian Britain and the recent struggle for power in South Africa, the book takes up the complex relationships between race, sexuality, and more.


 * Eugene Monick

In his books Phallos: Sacred Image of the Masculine and Castration and Male Rage, Monick correlates male sexuality and spirituality, arguing that the "phallos" (erect penis) is something of an existential God-image for men. He also presents his thesis that there is a difference between masculinity and patriarchy. The author also argues that there is a deep need within men to participate in a fraternity with men and to have their maleness recognized by other men, but that our society often does not take this into account. The author claims that what usually results is that these needs become frustrated and manifest themselves in often anti-social behavior and activities, such as hazing rituals.


 * Dee Rees

Female Masculinity in Dee Rees's Pariah is viewed through many different facets as it explores identity and sexuality. This film offers multiple definitions of the monolithic black feminist that is often thought of in a singular aspect. Pariah goes against the concept of a binary heterosexist expression of sexuality, for it challenges the concepts of “masculinity” and “aggressiveness” in women. All women who choose this form of sexuality are not limited to one definition of the “third gender”. This film represents the attitudes of the black community towards the “third gender” by revealing that African Americans can offer complex identity formation, which validates humanism in a patriarchal society.


 * William Shakespeare

Shakespeare's works are politically influenced as the following plays comment on western patriarchal constructs such as family, monarch, nature, religion, law, and the Renaissance, respectively: Titus Andronicus (Family), Richard III (Monarchy), A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream (Nature), Hamlet (Religion), Measure for Measure (Law), Antony and Cleopatra (Renaissance).


 * Percy B. Shelley

Percy Bysshe Shelley, whose literary career was marked with controversy due conflicting social agendas, is a figures of English romanticism (following the Renaissance). The Keepsake (1828) reveals his ideas about religion, socialism, and free love, especially in his essay "On Love".


 * Justin Torres

We the Animals (2014) highlights character psychology, familial structure, the learned behavior of masculinity, and it encourages one to imagine a utopian space in which civil and human rights are not tied to a compliance with heteronormative lifestyles.

Homophobia
Constructions of race and sexuality in the western world caused particular expressions of homophobic racism and sexual violence. Defying traditional gender expectations become monstrous as spectacles are labeled as “other” for disregarding [gender] norms.

Issues of homophobia and gay bashing are of relevance to the study of masculine psychology. Every year, men (such as Matthew Shepard) die as a result of gay bashing. The victims of gay bashing attacks are most often homosexual males, or those who display what are commonly perceived as effeminate behaviors or mannerisms which are, when seen in males, often associated with homosexuality. Self-identified heterosexual males are usually the perpetrators of gay bashing attacks.

Sigmund Freud presented the thesis that everyone is at some level bisexual, and Alfred Kinsey research results claimed that as many as 37% of American males had engaged in homosexual activity. French-Canadian psychologist Guy Corneau says that despite Kinsey's research results, attitudes toward homosexuality have remained hostile.

The author says it is puzzling that we live in what he considers a male-dominated society, and yet very little work has been done to understand the archetypal basis of masculinity. He suggests that this may be due to a societal assumption of male superiority, founded on the belief that one should not question that which is deemed to be right and superior.