Insecurity Inherent to Masculinity

So, I've been thinking a lot lately on how masculinity can be a precarious identity to hold.

Obviously there is no master masculine identity, but what comes to mind in analyzing the insecurity of masculinity is the way in which white, male, capitalist, patriarchal masculinity (WMPCC) views itself, how it holds power, why it favors misogyny, and how it perpetuates certain ways of being, functioning, expressing gender via dress and behaviour, and functioning within gender roles.

My argument is essentially this: a white, male, cissexual, patriarchal, capitalist/colonialist masculinist gender expression has been constructed by such males as all powerful, all knowing, and all deserving. Masculinity, in this context, is dependent not on qualities inherent within a WMPCC position, or personhood per se. It is entirely dependent for its own sense of identity on the power structures it upholds.

In this sense, what makes WMPCC subjects masculine depends on how dominance is achieved in terms of heterosexual relationships, work relationships/status, household hierarchy, status as provider, decision maker, disciplinarian/authority figure, person in charge, opposite gender qualities in relation to cissexual heterosexual femaleness, phallocentrism and the denial of masculinity in those assigned female at birth, degradation of queerness and trans identities, and self assigned status of seed provider. All of these locations by nature, are defined by what masculinity is NOT. Essentially, masculine men are NOT soft like women. Masculine men are not fags because gayness is constructed as weakness and associated with femaleness/feminity. To be gay is equated with penetration, and since cissexual straight white males have penises, they should be doing the penetration, the baby making, the fucking, the dominating.... anything less is to be servile and subscribe to the role of femaleness and feminity (as constructed by them).

Masculine white cissexual men are masculine because they are men. They are masculine because they are NOT women. They are masculine because they do NOT give birth. They are masculine because they are far removed from their xx chromosomal progenesis and do NOT have fear of annihilation via a return to the womb where they were created and protected until their difference formed.

Are you starting to see why masculinity is such an insecure expression to hold - even for WMPCC? Any physiological attribute, manner of expression, behaviour, way of dress which has been constructed as male and inherently masculine does not by virtue determine maleness/masculinity. Or maybe it does. And this is the problem.

Hair, presence or absence of reproductive organs, musculature, bone structure, weight, mass, chromosomes, voice... none of these characteristics singularly or in combination can distinguish cissexual men from other men (trans/masculine), and at times from women. On the other hand, one's social location and position, the various social roles one inhabits can reveal a lot more about how one fits or is excluded by a patriarchal masculinist power structure. When white cissexual hetero men (and women and others) react to other men, or masculine subjects with degradation and invalidation, they are acting to uphold the power structure which places their white maleness at the top. Their insecurity is a product of the precarious position of dominance which they uphold and which is confused with their maleness and masculinity.

In order to maintain the power structure which WMPCC benefit from, all non-WMPCC men (including men of colour, esp. black men) must be reminded they are less than men. They must be kept in check, subverted, made to think and feel they are not men. They must become convinced their maleness is less than, and that in order to achieve power in society they must emulate white hetero male masculinity - even if they will never have access to the power and privilege such a position bestows.

To the extent that maleness and masculinity are validated in subjects other than WMPCC, the prevailing power structure is being rerouted. It is being subverted. The foundation for 'maleness' is being reconstructed, and 'manhood' eroded. If I were a white hetero cissexual male with no inherent claim to masculinity besides power and privilege... the threat of annihilation via other masculine subjects would make me feel a little insecure too.