NCJ Number
161541
Date Published
1996
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This essay considers cultural factors that influence men toward violent behavior.
Abstract
There are links between the prevalence of violence in our society and men's effort to affirm "masculinity." These links may even be reinforced as the assumption of men's dominance over women -- part of the traditional image of "masculinity" -- continues to diminish. Some men, increasingly less sure of such dominance, may resort more to violence in their attempt to reinforce their sense of masculine identity. Some men, on the other hand, may modify their behaviors under more enlightened views of human relations, particularly relationships between the sexes. At the same time, there are links between the prevalence of violence in our society and forces that have little to do with gender. These are forces that have impacted as strongly on certain groups of men as on certain groups of women. These links derive from the creation of a permanent underclass in many Western societies, an underclass built around dependency, self- destruction, crimes against property, and crimes against people. Drugs, crime, and violence are the legacy of the withdrawal of Federal funds for welfare provision at local and national levels throughout the United States, in combination with the deterioration of the trade union movement and the restructuring of labor that has destroyed many traditional working-class jobs and communities. Homelessness, joblessness, and hopelessness are now escalating in the United States. Under the current climate among public officials, those who may never directly engage in violence orchestrate the degradation and brutalization of others, as contemporary capitalism continues to carve out its hierarchies along the grooves of class, race, and gender. 70 notes