ABSTRACT
Before the advent of feminism and the rise of women's studies, everything male was assumed to be the "norm" and everything female the"other" (de Beauvoir, 1949 [1952]). Predetermined sex roles based on biological sex were viewed as static containers for men and women, with appropriate gender traits and behaviors assigned to each sex. However, the rise of men's studies problematized the construct of gender such that the question "What does it mean to be a man?" could no longer be answered simply as "the social norm."
