First of all it is important to understand what masculinity for men means. It has been reported that although men from all over the world vary, there is a surprising similarity in what is considered masculine. An article in the American Anthropologist reviewed four books written by anthropologists explaining acts of masculinity. According to anthropologist Raphael Ramirez, the presumed definition of masculinity is that men are aggressive, oppressive, narcissistic, insecure, loud-mouthed, womanizers, massive drinkers, and persons who have an uncontrollable sexual prowess. Ramirez however believes that there are two “dimensions” of masculinity, power and sexuality. To achieve power, Ramirez emphasizes that men feel they must work hard to gain success a

Other evidence of the genetic origins of criminal behavior has been found in twin studies. A study in Minnesota on identical and non-identical male twins when separated at birth was conducted to observe the environmental and genetic factors on their personality. After studying over 100 twins, the researches concluded, “i) genetic factors exert a pronounced and pervasive influence on behavioral variability, and (ii) the effect of being reared in the same home is negligible for many psychological traits" (Evansburg, 2001). It has been found that in cases of crime, when one twin has a criminal record, the other is more likely to also commit crime. In the cases of identical twins, the chances are increased by fifty percent. These studies however do not take into account much of the environmental and experiential factors. “Environmental and experiential forces have a powerful influence on personality, but they argue that the environments and experiences that individuals encounter are not encountered by chance. Experiences are, for the most part, self-selected and guided by the steady pressure of the genome. In other words, even though the twins were raised under different environmental circumstances, their identical genomes guided them toward similar effective experiences, thereby generating similar psychological traits” (Evansburg, 2001).

Does this mean that masculinity makes men deviant? What society has chosen to define masculinity as has indeed oppressed men. Men feel obligated to conform to masculinity and try to live up to the standard of masculinity. When men do not do this they are perceived by society as deviant. When men cannot live up to this standard they feel “less of a man” and that may lead to deviant behavior. As Ramirez states, “Masculinity is very demanding”, and the desire to be masculine may lead to deviance.

nd that they need to contribute to the community, which goes against the perceived notions of masculinity. When it comes to sexuality, Ramirez states that men are very sexual and that they need to show it. It is the insecurities of men’s sexualities that create problems (Synnott, 2001).

Some topics in this essay:
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