Masculinity,Testosterone, and Financial Misreporting

We examine the relation between a measure of male CEOs’ facial masculinity and financial misreporting. Facial masculinity is associated with a complex of masculine behaviors (including aggression, egocentrism, riskseeking, and maintenance of social status) in males. One possible mechanism for this relation is that the hormone testosterone influences both behavior and the development of the face shape. We document a positive association between CEO facial masculinity and various misreporting proxies in a broad sample of S&P1500 firms during 1996–2010. We complement this evidence by documenting that a CEO's facial masculinity predicts his firm's likelihood of being subject to an SEC enforcement action. We also show that an executive's facial masculinity is associated with the likelihood of the SEC naming him as a perpetrator. We find that facial masculinity is not a measure of overconfidence. Finally, we demonstrate that facial masculinity also predicts the incidence of insider trading and option backdating.     

Masculinising domesticity: an investigation of men’s domestic foodwork

Abstract

This study examines how men configure their gendered identity in relation to a traditionally feminised domain. Hegemonic masculinity is said to structure men’s dominance over women. We use the lens of hegemonic masculinity along with social fields of cultural production to understand new allocations of status capital in relation to gendered identity work. Sweden, a country permeated by an ideology of egalitarianism and having a history of high economic and symbolic incentives for the domestic field, has seemingly legitimised the domestic consumption field in the search for higher status. By exploring the transforming meanings of masculinity when men enter a traditionally feminine consumption domain in this particular cultural context, we identify how feminised masculinities are shaped into hegemonic masculinity. This in turn suggests that the currently most honoured way of being a man includes forms of masculinities that incorporate egalitarian relationships between men and women.     

Hero shots: involved fathers conquering new discursive territory in consumer culture

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we explore how visual expressions of culture offer new discursive territory within which consumer cultural ideals can be negotiated on a global scale. Through a critical visual analysis of the revelatory case Swedish Dads, we find hero shots depicting involved fathers where children’s needs and the hermetic confines of the home take center stage, as opposed to the traditional fatherhood ideals portrayed in western contemporary advertising, media, and popular culture. We demonstrate how the Swedish state’s gender ideology was encoded into a communicative event in the form of hero shots and subsequently dispersed by visual consumers as well as political and commercial stakeholders pushing this particular agenda and/or capitalizing on its tendencies. This in such a way that the event conquered new discursive territory fostering new types of consumer cultural negotiations on fatherhood ideals also in other cultural settings.     

Indigenous masculinity in sport: the power and pitfalls of rugby league for Australia’s Pacific Island diaspora

Pasifika men are significantly over-represented in Australia’s National Rugby League and their dramatic influx into the sport over the past 10–15 years has often been attributed to their ‘natural’ athleticism and other corporeal reasons invoking hyper-masculinity. Coupled with this discourse is the commonly accepted idea that these sporting opportunities are a good thing for Pasifika peoples. This paper considers both the damaging effects of the ‘hyper-masculine body’ and ‘sport-as-inherently good’ discourses, and addresses the positive potential rugby league has in transgressing various forms of oppression. Rather than arguing that sport is a positive force in society or outright challenging that assertion, I demonstrate how rugby league in Australia plays a paradoxical role in both reinforcing and challenging social values around race and masculinity. It can be a rare space for positive visibility and upward mobility for Pasifika and other Indigenous men, and a space of exploitation, degradation and racism; it can even save lives and destroy them. I argue that these complexities should be better understood before any moral claim is made about the positives or negatives of sport for marginalised peoples.     

如何成为男人？高星级酒店男性职员的性别气质建构--广州案例

在转型期的中国，随着男性与“男性危机”的焦虑“，如何成为男人”不仅仅是一个社会问题，也是一个学术问题。该研究以广州市高星级酒店男性职员为研究对象，综合运用多种质性研究方法，深入探讨高星级酒店男性职员的性别气质建构过程，发现酒店男性职员通过职业规训逐渐从“被动的绅士”演变成“主动的绅士”；通过“他者”规训逐渐从“形式美的绅士”蜕变成“内涵美的绅士”；通过“自我”规训，完成“全方面的绅士化”建构。研究呼应了男性气质身份政治的结论，同时补充了男性气质建构的内涵，认为男性气质建构是一个与空间、职业互动的过程，回应了“如何成为男人”的环境决定论观点。在实践方面，研究对于酒店人力资源管理具有一定的借鉴意义。     

A contextual study of female-leader role stereotypes in the hotel sector

Guided by the role congruity theory (RCT), this paper examines the mismatch in female-leader role stereotypes and how this mismatch may lead to prejudicial evaluations against female leaders. It also tests how gender equality practices and leadership development programmes (LDPs) may mitigate prejudicial evaluations against female leaders. Following a quantitative approach, this study uses a paired sample t-test and linear approach (i.e. multiple regression) to model the relationships and test the hypotheses formulated. Drawing on a survey of 392 employees working in 4- and 5-star hotels in Jordan, the study shows that employees stereotype successful leaders to be more masculine than feminine while they attribute both feminine and masculine stereotypes to women. There is, thus, an element of congruity in female-leader role stereotypes which reduces prejudicial evaluations against female leaders. Moreover, the results indicate that gender equality practices and LDPs significantly enhance the emergence and effectiveness of women leaders. The importance of this study derives from extending the RCT through a contextual investigation in the hotel sector in Jordan. This was done by considering two additional constructs, i.e. gender equality practices and LDPs that mitigate prejudice against female leaders.     

How consumers' values influence responses to male and female gender role stereotyping in advertising

ABSTRACT

The present study aims to explore the moderating effect of culture-related values on responses to male and female gender role stereotyping in advertising. Based on an experiment in Sweden (n = 507) and Germany (n = 506), we test the impact of respondents' masculinity, power distance, assertiveness values and feminine role orientation on ad attitudes and brand attitudes. The results show that, in general, perceived stereotyping contributes positively to ad and brand attitude, and this effect is enhanced for more masculine, more power distant, more assertive and less feminine-role oriented individuals. In addition, consumers respond more negatively to perceived female stereotyping compared to male stereotyping, and this is especially true for more power distant and more assertive individuals.     

Masculinity cues,perceptions of politician attributes,and political behavior*

How are masculine‐looking politicians perceived by voters? Are these judgments accurate? We asked Australian survey participants to rate images of unknown‐to‐them Swiss politicians. We find that politicians with prominent markers of masculinity (including facial hair, baldness, and higher facial width‐to‐height ratio) are perceived as less honest and competent. To determine whether these perceptions correlate with political behavior, we exploit two unique features of Swiss politics. First, to check for politician–voter congruence, we match each politician's voting record to that of their constituents on identically worded legislative proposals. We find that bearded politicians are less likely to behave according to constituents' preferences. Second, by exploiting the mandatory disclosure of lobby group affiliations, we show that bearded politicians are less likely to be captured by interest groups. Our results suggest that more masculine‐looking politicians are recognized by both voters and lobby groups as less amenable to being controlled.     

The fashion engagement grid: understanding men's responses to fashion advertising

This study examines how men who are interested in fashion interpret fashion advertisements. Data are garnered from interviews with adult men who regularly read fashion magazines and buy fashion clothing. Findings reveal that men process fashion advertisements through the same five modes as women. The current study also demonstrates that men's responses to fashion advertisements can be categorized through the Fashion Engagement Grid which examines men's characterizations of and motivations for fashion behavior. This study expands theoretical understandings of gender in advertising research and recommends advertising elements to attract male consumers.