Essay Sample on Patriarchal Dividend

The patriarchal dividend describes a general privilege effect that is granted to men, just because they are men. Hurst (2019) talks about a “man box” which lays out all the societal expectations about what a boy/man should be: Do not cry, No weakness, Powerful, Dominance, Protector, Do not be like a women, Heterosexual, Not gay, Tough-athletic, Stand alone, Women are objects. The less a man prescribes to the “man box” the greater potential for a reduction in access to the  privileges the patriarchal dividend provides. 

The privileges of the patriarchal dividend is established on masculinity. While all men inherit these advantages, the ranking of masculinity can privilege some men more than others but all men are considered superior to women. According to Gibb-Clark (2022) hegemonic masculinity is considered the legitimized practice of masculinity that secures mens dominant position in society.  Other divisions of masculinity exist as components ranked  on the hierarchy of masculinity which ultimately implies that the lower you are on the scale the less privilege you receive. Next is complicated masculinity which are men that enforce patriarchy by receiving/accepting the privileges of the patriarchal dividend but don’t necessarily engage in patriarchal hegemony.

Following that is marginalized masculinity. These men are constrained to this type of masculinity, preventing them from grasping the full benefits of the patriarchal dividend, because of their intersecting identities: race, age, disability, etc. However, they still practice hegemonic masculinity. Lastly, subordinate masculinity is a man that does not conform to the hegemonic norm; thus, displacing themselves from misogyny and accepting more feminin characteristics. These are some determining factors that separate the privileges that man receives.