Psychologist talks masculinity

Joel Wong

Joel Wong




Posted: Thursday, February 28, 2013 7:58 pm
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Updated: 8:02 pm, Thu Feb 28, 2013.


Psychologist talks masculinity

By: SOFIA CARBONE
STAFF REPORTER

Daily O'Collegian

Masculinity: a constellation of psychological, social, and cultural, meanings and practices.


At least, that’s how psychologist Joel Wong defines it. 

“What is a girly man?” Wong asked the eager audience Thursday afternoon to kick off his lecture on “The Psychology of men and Masculinities: Implications for Health, Dating, and Pretty Much Everything Else in Life.” 

Wong, from Indiana University-Bloomington and a distinguished expert on the psychological study of men and masculinity, uncovered the truth during his lively and research-packed lecture.

Wong is a trained clinical psychologist and is a professor in the clinical psychology program in Indiana.

His research methods are strongly within the empirical tradition of psychology, experimental methods, qualitative methods and cross-sectional research. 

“But philosophically, I have been seduced by a lot of other disciplines outside of psychology, including sociology,” Wong said.

Faculty and graduate students from the department of psychology along with others from varying majors filled Human Sciences room 236. The lecture was free and open to the public. 

This was the last talk sponsored by the Masonic Fraternity of Oklahoma series, but more colloquia from the Department of Psychology are to come. 

Wong addressed various masculinity threats that appear in ads and politics.  

“(In) everyday language we use masculinity, and masculinity is everywhere masculinity is so pervasive that it transcends people,” he said. 

Wong’s lecture followed a historical overview, which described the birth of the psychology of masculinity in the 1970s and how the science has changed over time. 

These changes included the creation of its own organization in 1995, The Society for the Psychological Study of Men and Masculinity (Division 51) and Journal of Psychology of Men and Masculinity in 2000. 

The talk concluded with a brief discussion on dating preferences among males of different racial backgrounds and health behaviors including suicide, where men are most likely to commit suicide than women.

“We need to distinguish between men and masculinity -- masculinity refers to the meanings associated within men. This is important because many times in society we end up attacking men…A more productive way is to attack negative masculine norms,” Wong said.

For more information, contact Wong at joelwong@indiana.edu. For more information regarding future colloquia, visit psychology.okstate.edu/faculty/wingate/departmentcolloquia.

 

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Thursday, February 28, 2013 7:58 pm.

Updated: 8:02 pm.

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