ABSTRACT
I’ve always wanted to climb to the top. Being second best never has been good enough. When I was young I used to compete in every sport. I still want to win.
43-year-old college professor
Male dominance is embedded in most societies and rewarded through institutionalized relations of gender and power. The social norms promoting patriarchal social arrangements are embedded in the ‘Bosses’ aspect of masculinity. Modern societies with hierarchical social institutions promote competitive behavior among men. Successful men aspire to be leaders. Not happy when others control them, ambitious males climb to the top of bureaucratic structures, dominate sports teams, head corporations, and direct boards of organizations. This aspect of male behavior, captured by the title ‘lord’, connotes an exalted position of dominance. Throughout history great lords have become warrior kings. This dominator paradigm in modern times urges men to rule, by heading social institutions and lording over family members.
