ABSTRACT
While sexism and homophobia are central tenets in constructing orthodox masculinities, there are a number of activities that men can partake in, and a number of attributes that men can ascribe to in order to achieve this archetype. In this chapter, I examine how men jockey for position to raise their masculine worth, and how masculine capital is used to purchase privilege among peers. However, there are many costs associated with the fulfi llment of orthodox masculinity, too. Men who adhere to orthodox principles of masculinity produce a great deal of symbolic and real violence, not only against women and other men, but against themselves, too. In a culture that values orthodox masculinity, men are limited in the arenas in which they can work or play, the entertainment they can partake in, the emotions they can express, and the sports they can enjoy. Essentially, in an orthodox valuing society, everybody suffers. This chapter explicates these ideas.
