Description of Davis’ Social Construction Theory - Male

This theory was developed utilizing the self-reports from ten undergraduate males who were interviewed in a manner that required them to explore conflicts related to socially constructed gender roles that may impact men’s identity development. Particularly, focusing in on how college men cope with culturally defined notions of what it means to be a man. From the interviews, Davis found five theme areas that comprise her theory:

Importance of Self-Expression:
Males feel that self-expression and communication are very important to them. However, being comfortable with self-expression was not always practiced earlier in life.

Code of Communication Caveats:

• Communication with women - Men are more likely to openly express themselves to women than men. However, there is some perceived fear of being penalized in terms of a woman considering a male as a potential partner if he is too expressive. For example, some of the men interviewed believed that “you’ve got to be jerky to women” because being too nice means you’re more likely to be perceived as a spouse than a potential boyfriend.
• One-on-One communication with other men- As opposed to communicating with other men in a group where a level of performance through humor or insults is expected, men are able to have more intimate discussion with another male when the conversation is one-on-one. This may be due to fear being accepted by the group or appearing overly effeminate.
• Nonverbal and side-by-side communication –Upon engagement in an intimate conversation with another male, men are likely to show affection by a nonverbal, physical cue such as a squeeze on the shoulder or light punch in the stomach. The logic behind this is that if the male doesn’t feel like he can hit you, then he doesn’t trust you as a friend. Side-by-side communication is a way men communicate with each other as opposed to face-to-face, such as in a car ride, playing video games, or watching a show on television. The men report the significant of the relationship in the context of the activity they are engaging in, but discussion was found to hold meaning outside of the activity.

Fear of Femininity:
Men have expressed fear and frustration of femininity outside of expression and communication styles. They do not want to come off as being “unmanly” and often feel the need to prove themselves. Men are also concerned of behaving in a manner that would have other people questions their sexual orientation, such as talking a lot and wearing certain clothing styles because they perceive a social message that links feminine activities with homosexual traits and want to avoid these labels as such.

Confusion About and Distancing From Masculinity:
Men do not often report thinking about what it means to them to be male (Davis, 2002). It seems they give very little thought to this part of their identity. Men also do not view themselves as being a typical male, for example they do not consider themselves to be “macho” and value the relationships in their lives. Therefore, it appears men do not actively think about what it means to be a man, and they also do not want to identify with being what their perceived definition of masculine is.

Sense of Challenge Without Support:
Several men feel there are not equivalent resources on campus available to them, whereas there are resources specifically designed for women (e.g., women’s center, women’s leadership programs). Both genders may face the same challenges in the classroom, but males identified situations where females received more support from faculty, such as asking a professor for help with physics homework.