Hegemonic Masculinity in Southern Rock and Roll

Eastman, J. T. "Rebel Manhood: The Hegemonic Masculinity of the Southern Rock Music Revival." Journal of Contemporary Ethnography 41.2 (2012): 189-219. Web.

 

            In, “Rebel Manhood: The Hegemonic Masculinity of the Southern Rock Music Revival, Jason Eastman discusses the hegemonic masculine ideals of the southern “gentleman.”  Eastman talks about how the contemporary southern rock bands sing about protesting authority figures, dominating women, and using drugs and alcohol.  Not only do they sing about it, but act it out as well.

            Eastman discusses the contradictory values of southern rock music.  He states how, “Although many Americans stereotype the region as a backward cultural wasteland, Southern musicians have produced most of the genres considered quintessentially American.” (Eastman, 190).  He goes on to write about how southern musicians write about the struggle to differentiate themselves from the old stereotype of their forefather’s from long ago, such as, “a code that emphasizes personal

honor and strict adherence to Christian values in public while privately

encouraging men to suspend gentile sociability and prove their manhood by

drinking, gambling, having sex with prostitutes, and dueling.” (Eastman, 190).  Although southerners want to get away from that stereotype, the sexist musicians continue to write about their white supremacy, and male superiority.

            An example of this type of music is Hank Williams.  Hank Williams sang about this kind of sinful behavior, and was very popular among most Americans.  Eastman calls this type of music, “rockabilly,” and some other artists he lists include Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Johnny Cash, who are some of the most respected rock musicians of all time.  He claims that southern Americans are hypocrites for wanting to get away from the stigma that they are drunk, sexist, fighters, but still listen to rock that advertises those actions.  Later on, Hank Williams Jr, and Lynyrd Skynyrd, kept the popular theme of drinking, drugs, violence, and sex, and appealed to the masses.  Southern men want to get away from this stereotype of, “over-masculinity,” but it’s hard when popular southern rock groups continue to publicize and popularize the idea.  “A contradiction emerges as Americans recognize Southern culture as distinct and even deviant (especially as expressed in music) yet also as central to the U.S. experience.”  (Eastman, 190).  Eastman points out the hypocrisy in Americans that think the southern culture is backwards, even though most Americans consider them the most American of anyone.

            Eastman cites R.W. Connell and his idea of,

“hegemonic masculinity, which refers to an ideal and abstracted form of manhood that is both celebrated by an entire culture and thus shared by men across social classes. Connell describes how in Western nations all men of all classes are under immense social pressure to conform to this ideal type of manhood, which prescribes strength, dominance, aggression, independence, rationality, physical vigor, competition, and emotional detachment.” (Eastman, 91)

Eastman claims that all southern men have to conform to this idea of manhood by performing manhood acts such as overpowering women, drinking excessively, and fighting.

            Overall, this article is trying to explain the contradictions in the southern rock scene.  The country, as a whole, wants to get away from the past norms of male superiority, and the self-entitlement males receive from acting in a manner such as protesting higher authority, fighting, drinking, doing drugs, and degrading woman.  However, southern rock bands, who are extremely popular, sing about these kinds of things all the time, and do nothing to help the sense of “over-masculinity” that southern men have about themselves.  This article really relates to Karen Franklin’s, “Enacting Masculinity: Anti-Gay Violence and Group Rape as Participatory Theater,” in the way that southern men feel the need to be in control, and that it is a group norm.  The music that they listen to not only mentions these things, such as domestic violence, rape, drugs, and alcohol, but encourages the behavior.

Anthony Bellore