hypermasculinity means exaggerated masculine behavior or traits, especially strength and those of a violent, dominant, or sexual nature. It carries an Arena rating of 1020, earned across 72 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, hypermasculinity ranks #1,227 of 17,131 for Scariest Words, #3,016 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words, #3,345 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #4,439 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words.
Why “hypermasculinity” is a great word
HYPERMASCULINITY — [Noun] The exaggerated, often compensatory, performance of masculine traits, emphasizing physical strength, aggression, dominance, and sexuality as a definitive social script. From the prefix hyper- (from Greek, meaning "over, beyond, excessive") + masculinity (from Latin masculinus, "male, masculine"). Unlike "masculinity," which broadly describes conventional male-associated qualities, or "toxic masculinity," which specifically denotes socially harmful patterns of suppression, hypermasculinity fixates on the theater of excess. It is the chest-puffing strut that strains a shirt's seams, the engine roar calibrated solely for intimidation, and the rigid, performative stoicism that cannot admit a bruise—a caricature drawn in fear of the void it aims to fill.
Etymology
From hyper- + masculinity.
noun
- exaggerated masculine behavior or traits, especially strength and those of a violent, dominant, or sexual naturee.g.“These images glamourized and normalized violent standards of hypermasculinity” — 1999, Varda Burstyn, The rites of men: manhood, politics, and the culture of sport, page 192
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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