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Michael Alan Messner (born 1952) is an American sociologist. His main areas of research are gender (especially men's studies) and the sociology of sports. He is the author of several books, he gives public speeches and teaches on issues of gender-based violence, the lives of men and boys, and gender and sports.
Since 1987, Messner has worked as a professor of sociology and gender studies at the University of Southern California. He was head of the department, and still retains his dual faculty appointment. He was the president of the Pacific Sociological Association in 2010–2011, and in 2011 the California Women's Law Center presented him with the Pursuit of Justice Award.
In the late 1970s, he began to work with feminist theory and the construction of gender. He took part in one of the first ever classes about men and masculinity in the US, held by Bob Blauner in Berkeley.
Messner upholds the theory that sexuality is, "a constructed identity, a performance, and an institution". It is not necessary and it influences behaviors in society every day. He discusses this idea in depth in his article, "Becoming 100 percent Straight". In this article, he discusses how he as a teenager was influenced to become a jock because of his height and build and, as a result, repressed his sexual fluidity in fear of being outcast. He talks about his experience with basketball and his relationship with his friend because of his repressed romantic feelings for him. As a result of these feelings, he targets him as an external source of his frustrations and even goes as far as bullying him to express these frustrations. Although Messner does not identify as bisexual, he describes his experiences based on the Freudian model of bisexuality which states that most people go through a stage in life in which they are attracted to people of the same sex. Adult experiences eventually lead them to shift their sexual desires to people of the same sex. This suppression of sexual desires can lead to aggression and violence in order to clarify boundaries between one's self and others. His experience serves as an example of a new perspective on sexuality that others in dominant gender/sexuality categories can identify with: one that is not dominated by socially constructed values.
Along with sexuality, Messner views gender to be a determining factor of the roles we exhibit in society. The world of sports is a prime example of the inherent differences that are constructed for different genders. Sports are a terrain of contested gender relations to Messner. Before the 1970s, girls did not feel as if they belonged in the sporting world because they were not made for it. However, Title IX passed in the early 70's gave them the equal opportunity to pursue sports in school. The participation in sports by women has a strong correlation with the presence of women in the workplace. While the participation of women in sports is a triumph in a movement toward equality, the sports world is still inherently different for men and women. It is fueled by "soft-essentialism", Messner's theory of the shared belief that boys and girls are inherently different as opposed to "hard essentialism," which basically creates a more categorical structure for men. Men are pushed to be more competitive than women through this notion of hard essentialism leading them to be driven by a linear notion that success and leadership in the workplace is the ultimate goal. Women, however, are routed towards sports like softball or even in different leagues altogether giving them choices and complicating the meaning of equality. He argues that separate can never truly be equal because of these components. This furthers the frame of mind that men and women are inherently different, and girls should not be where the boys are.
While integration of sports sound like an opportunity for equality, this idea of merging boys and girls together in youth sports would be potentially counterproductive. Sexists attitudes and presumptions develop in either scenario; if sports become coed, girls may be seen as disadvantaged, but if sports stay segregated the theory of soft essentialism can only help but run up against the social barriers of equal choice for women today. Pdf. In order to dismantle the notion of soft essentialism, a coupled strategy of de-gendering boys sports along with a strategic categorization of women's sports can help break down gender based inequalities exhibited in society.
Gender also plays a key role in the development of gifted students. Gender identities in gifted students usually differ from those of their peers. For example, gifted girls are more like gifted boys than other girls. This complicates the development of their gender identity. Girls are more likely to underachieve because of stereotypes such as, "girls are bad at math" even though the math gap has shrunk significantly where the discrepancy between boys and girls used to be extreme. For this reason it is important for counselors to be practiced in understanding gender educational practices and support students.
Sports and education provide a look at the inequalities found based on gender in boys and girls, but it does not paint the picture of gender and sexuality relations in society as a whole. Messner's views of gender predetermining roles in society is seen in extreme ways when looking at other cultures such as the Congolese. For example, when Moore wrote of her experiences in the Congo with women's rights, she found disturbing evidence that women were only used to birth children. When a women's workshop was held demonstrating that it is wrong for a husband to beat his wife, one man asked, "But if we can't beat our wives what can we do when they won't have sex with us?" Pdf. This shows a universal, somewhat exaggerated, example of how women are seen in society, as childbearers. Male entitlement to women's bodies has become a standard in societies such as these and reflects the values that feminists like Messner aim to change.
Sexuality is a powerful tool used to control nations especially when it is paired with orthodox religious thinking. Feki states, "If you want to understand a people, look in their bedrooms". Her hypothesis is correct when looking at societies such as Egypt. Governments and parents do not trust their children enough to learn about sex education. As a result, religious views of sexuality are established and followed strictly. Women are expected to remain virgins until marriage and chastity thereafter even though their sexuality is a family matter, usually determined by the patriarch on when and who she weds. It is this thinking that has kept women from leadership positions in the workplace and in politics. If women are not deemed responsible enough to control their own bodies, they will not be deemed capable of leading in any aspect. This affirms Messner's belief that roles in society are determined by one's gender and sexuality.
Messner examines gender and sexuality and concludes that they play an important role in determining one's place in society. They can shape the way people behave and develop and can mold views and actions to fit society's standards. It is fueled by notion that men and women are inherently different, a term Messner coins as soft essentialism. This theory often leads to sexuality and gender used as tools of oppression in some cultures which leads to views of women as sexual objects for men who do not have control of their bodies. Religion is sometimes paired with this theory to further the old hegemonic patriarchies established in emerging democracies such as Egypt. Changing the frame of mind of what sexuality and gender truly mean in society will help take steps towards equality. Equal opportunity for people of differing genders and sexuality can only benefit a society. For example, countries such as Germany, Denmark, and Norway have the closest gender gap in the workplace and they have some of the most powerful economies because of it according to Reding who states, "Humans are distinguished in their contributions to society by character, ability, and motivation, and there is no meaningful correlation between those traits and sex and sexuality".
Most of Messner's research in sports media revolves around the way the media portrays females and female athletes. In his most recent article on sports media, "Women Play Sport, But Not on TV: A Longitudinal Study of Televised News Media" he and co-authors Cheryl Cooky and Robin Hextrum analyze 6 weeks of local and national news coverage. Their evidence found that despite "tremendous increased participation of girls and women in sport at the high school, collegiate, and professional level," coverage of women's sport on television is "the lowest ever". Pdf. Through their research, Messner, Cooky, and Hextrum determined that sports media doesn't simply show what people want to see, but rather proliferates hegemonic gender asymmetries by contributing to a specific reception of sport that idealizes it as a man's world.
2. Anekphong. Sports Team. Digital image. WikiGender. OECD, 29 Nov. 2014. Web. 17 Apr. 2015.
3. "Michael Messner." Digital image. USC Dornsife. University of Southern California, n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2015.
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