Hegemony Essay ⋆ Criminal Justice Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

The word hegemony can be traced to the Greek root egemon, which means “leader or ruler.” Antonio Gramsci, an Italian communist philosopher and political leader, is credited with broadening the use of hegemony to denote the dominance of one social class by another. Gramsci described how the social structure of capitalism created a situation whereby the dominant class (bourgeoisie) controlled the working class (proletariat). For Gramsci, not only did the bourgeoisie have political and economic control, but also they were adept at defining the social structure so that the proletariat would not question the ruling class values but embrace these values as the status quo.

“Hegemony” refers to the dominance, authority, or influence of one social group over another. Hegemony most commonly refers to the subjugation or oppression of minorities by majorities. Whites have and often do act in ways to dominate or control racial minorities, males often try to control females, and heterosexuals routinely denounce homosexuals as a way to deny them equality.

White hegemony or the superiority of “whiteness” in American culture has a long history. Jim Crow was a racial caste system that primarily operated in southern states between 1877 and

Because of Jim Crow laws blacks were relegated to the status of second-class citizens. During this time period, many Christian ministers and theologians taught that whites were the chosen race and blacks were inferior. The Jim Crow system perpetuated the belief that whites were superior to blacks in terms of intelligence, morality, and civilized behavior.

White individuals claimed that the Jim Crow laws were designed to keep the races “separate but equal.” However, the practice of separation or segregation resulted in conditions that were significantly inferior for blacks. Jim Crow laws required segregation of public schools, public places, public transportation, restrooms, restaurants, and drinking fountains for blacks and whites. Jim Crow laws were rigorously enforced in the south, although there was widespread discrimination in the north as well. Segregation in the north was largely de facto, where patterns of segregation in housing were enforced by covenants, job discrimination was common, and bank lending practices favored whites.

During the 1950s and 1960s, blacks began to challenge segregationist practices. Up until 1952, black children were denied admission to public schools where whites attended because laws required the segregation of the races. In Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the U.S. Supreme Court examined whether the segregation of children in public schools based solely on race deprived the minority children of equal protection under the law, which is guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment. In a unanimous decision, the justices ruled that separate educational facilities were a violation of the equal protection clause. The Brown decision paved the way for the desegregation of schools.

Blacks continued to challenge segregationist policies that reinforced the erroneous notion that whites are the superior race. For instance, in 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama. Her actions prompted blacks across Montgomery to boycott the public bus system. The boycott crippled the bus system. In Browder v. Gayle (1956), the Supreme Court ruled that the enforced segregation of black and white passengers on motor buses operating in the city of Montgomery violated the Constitution and laws of the United States, because the conditions deprived people of equal protection under the-Fourteenth Amendment. The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s helped abolish Jim Crow laws and erode the belief that whites were somehow superior to blacks.

Even though Jim Crow laws no longer exist on the books, white hegemony is an ever-present fixture for racial minorities. Tracey Owens Patton and Julie Snyder-Yuly have examined how white hegemony contributes to the perpetuation of rape myths and the unfair treatment of African American men. Patton and Snyder-Yuly claim that media coverage of rape disproportionately covers cases involving alleged black male perpetrators and white female victims. This feeds a myth that the dominant culture holds—that black men are more likely to rape white women. Research indicates the contrary, that is, that black rapists are less likely to target white women.

Hegemonic masculinity plays out through gender roles that support the dominant social position of males and the subordinate social position of females. Hegemonic masculinity explains how and why men continue to hold the dominant social role in society above women, or other gender identities perceived as feminine. Hegemonic masculinity takes several forms that include the subordination of women, heterosexism, authority, control, dominance, independence, aggressiveness, and the capacity for violence.

Policing is one profession in which hegemonic masculinity is pervasive. To begin with, males continue to outnumber females in policing. Recent estimates indicate that females represent about 15 percent of the total of sworn police officers in the United States. Female police officers often report that they experience hegemonic masculinity while in the police academy and on the street. Law enforcement academies teach a “hidden curriculum” that reinforces hegemonic masculinity and teaches male and female recruits that masculinity is the essential characteristic necessary to perform police work.

Anastasia Prokos and Irene Padavic studied hegemonic masculinity in one police academy in the southeast. Prokos enrolled in the police academy to study the treatment of female recruits in the academy. She notes that from the beginning male recruits made the female recruits feel unwanted. For example, one of the instructors shared a video with the class in which the police arrest a man for domestic violence. The man objects to arrest by yelling out, “There oughta be a law against bitches!” The class erupted in laughter, and that statement became the mantra for many of the male recruits. That is, any time the men wanted to joke about the behavior of the women, they would shout, “There oughta be a law against bitches!” It sent a clear message to the females that they did not belong.

Prokos also noted that there is a hidden curriculum in the police academy—masculinity is the preferred characteristic for police officers. Men created social and physical boundaries by using language that excluded women. For example, instructors and male recruits almost exclusively referred to police officers by masculine pronouns such as “he” or “him.” Instructors and male recruits emphasized gender differences. In other words, women who are feminine are incapable of performing the duties of a police officer because they are the biologically weaker sex. The male recruits would routinely rate the attractiveness of females they would see in class instructional videos. This made many of the female recruits feel that females were sexual objects rather than individuals who deserved respect. Additionally, there were few female instructors, but when there was a female instructor the male recruits openly disrespected her authority. Prokos concluded that hegemonic masculinity was pervasive in the police academy.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people also experience hegemony. Heterosexual hegemony is the dominance and control of the LGBT community by heterosexuals. Because many heterosexuals disagree with same-sex relationships, they institute legal restrictions in an effort to control homosexuals. In Bowers. v. Hardwick (1986), the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of Georgia’s sodomy law criminalizing oral and anal sex in private between consenting homosexual adults. The criminalization of homosexual acts stood until the ruling in Lawrence v. Texas (2003). The justices struck down the sodomy law in Texas and held that intimate consensual sexual conduct was part of the liberty protected by substantive due process under the Fourteenth Amendment. The Lawrence decision invalidated sodomy laws in 13 other states and made consensual same-sex activity legal in every U.S. state and territory.

Nonetheless, heterosexual hegemony remains pervasive in the United States. One extreme example of heterosexual hegemony is Westboro Baptist Church. The church is known for its radical position on homosexuality. Their primary tactic to control homosexuals is to picket military and other high-profile funerals like the ones for the students at Sandy Hook in Newtown, Connecticut. Westboro’s minister, Fred Phelps, claims that the tragedies that occur in the United States and to military fatalities overseas can be attributed to America’s tolerance of homosexuality. He routinely parades young children holding signs with inflammatory anti-gay rhetoric at funerals and other venues.

As of January 2014, 17 states and the District of Columbia allowed same-sex marriage. The decision to allow same-sex marriage continues to be a hotly debated issue. Those on the political right feel that allowing same-sex couples to marry is immoral and that a marriage is exclusively between a man and a woman. Many cite biblical scripture and argue that same-sex marriage is an abomination in God’s eyes. Those on the political left do not wholly endorse same-sex marriage either. Some politicians endorse civil unions as a middle-ground compromise to satisfy both the opponents and proponents of marriage equality. The gay community rejects civil unions as an inadequate compromise, and they assert that they are being denied equal protection under the law.

Hegemony serves to divide social groups and perpetuate the dominance of one group over another. Hegemony in any form should be recognized for what it is and rejected if people hope to continue to move toward a more civilized society.

Bibliography:

Gramsci, Antonio. In Selections From the Prison Notebooks of Antonio Gramsci, Quintin Hoare and Geoffrey Nowell Smith, eds. and trans. New York: International Publishers, 1971.
Nolan, Thomas. “Behind the Blue Wall of Silence: Essay.” Men and Masculinities, v.12 (2009).
Patton, Tracey Owens and Julie Snyder-Yuly. “Any Four Black Men Will Do: Rape, Race, and the Ultimate Scapegoat.” Journal of Black Studies, v.37 (2007).
Prokos, Anastasia and Irene Padavic. “‘There Oughtta Be a Law Against Bitches’: Masculinity Lessons in the Police Academy Training.” Gender, Work and Organization, v.9 (2002).

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