Masculinity vs. Femininity

Masculinity vs. Femininity Geert Hofstede Here you can see four persons, three of them are adults and the other one is a student. One of the adult seems to be the principal of a school, the other two seem to be the parents of that student. Those people are in a room, which seems to be the bureau f the principal since the sign on the door says “principal”. The reason why the parents of the student and the principal meet is because the student is not good in school. The principal is about to tell them their son will fail the third grade.
Then the father says that he doesn’t understand why his son is so bad in school, and asks what they, himself and his wife, did wrong. The wife answers then that her husband is the one that owns a gun. Therefore you can say that the reason why the student is so bad is due to “family problems”: His father having a gun. The way the wife says “You’re the one that owns the gun” seems as if the father uses his gun as a warning, this could lead to fear of the son and this would affect the son’s results in school.
In this picture you can say that the father has the power in the family especially showed by him owning a gun, and the mother and wife is only his subordinate. That is why this picture is an example for the masculinity versus femininity by Hofstede’s model. This dimension indicates the extent to which dominant values in a society tend to be assertive and look more interested in things than in concerning for people and the quality of life. “Masculinity is the opposite of femininity; together, they form one of the dimensions of national cultures.

Masculinity stands for a society in which social gender roles are dearly distinct: men are supposed to be more modest, tender, and concerned with the quality of life. ” (Source: Hofstede, page 262) “Femininity stands for a society where gender roles overlap: both men and women are supposed to be modest, tender and concerned with the quality of life. ” (Hofstede, page 261) The Masculinity and Femininity dimension describes how cultures differentiate between gender roles. Masculine cultures tend to be ambitious and need to surpass.
Members of these cultures have a tendency to polarize and consider big and fast to be beautiful. In workplaces employees emphasize their work to a great extent and they admire achievers who accomplished their tasks. Feminine cultures consider quality of life and helping others to fulfill theirselves and help others to achieve their goals . Working is basically to earn money which is necessary for living. In business as well as in private life they strive for consensus and develop sympathy for people who are in trouble.