“Masculinities” by R. W. Connell

The author points out two interesting articles about the science of masculinity. The first one is from The Glebe, headed: Why women ask the way – women are more likely to stop someone in the street and ask for directions than men – simply because the sexes think differently. This logic comes from the common-sense knowledge that men and women act differently which correspond to ‘women are more likely to stop someone’, and in fact, they are different (‘the sexes think differently’). The author explains that we can see two forms of knowledge about masculinity and femininity – common sense and psychological science. This is because, psychologically, males immediately think that asking directions on the street imply that their position is weaker than the other person; males do not want to be hierarchically more inferior to anyone which proves their masculine instinct inside them. This was really interesting to me because it reminded my family trip few years ago. We were in Hong Kong once, and we decided to travel without a tour guide. However, we were lost in Soho Street once, and the map we were holding didn’t really make sense so we had to ask someone for help. I and my mom expected ‘guys’ (dad and my brother) to take the lead, but they resolutely refused telling us that they feel ashamed. I and my mom couldn’t understand why asking directions would be something shameful act, but eventually, I was the one who stopped someone in the street and ask for directions.

The other story the author mentioned was that women’s difficulty in parking cars is due to sex differences in brain function though there is no actual evidence of the sex difference in parking, to start with. However, this story is a good example of the relationship between biological or scientific discoveries with masculinity and femininity. This story immediately implies that according to scientific research (brain function), difference in biological capacity can limit masculinity in women or give masculinity to men. Whether this is true or not, I do also think that masculinity and femininity are not just the matters of social or political influence but are limited in certain amounts due to different biological mechanisms.