Masculinity and Silence in the Academic Struggles of American Male College Students

Abstract

Women are outperforming men on many academic achievement metrics in tertiary education. Contributing factors may include the hegemonic masculine expectations for boys and men to be successful, strong, and unemotional. The aim of this qualitative study was to therefore investigate how American emerging adult men may perpetuate expectations of stoicism and silence when discussing their academic struggles. Fifteen American male college students between the ages of 19 and 26 ( M = 21.40, SD = 2.10) who self-identified as struggling academically were interviewed about their struggles. A thematic analysis revealed that they engaged in three overarching forms of male silence when discussing their struggles: personal, private, and public. The conversational consequences of these forms of silence are explained that resulted in these students having difficulty identifying their own emotions, not wanting to tell others about their academic struggles, and assuming that others did not want to hear about it.

Men Don’t Ask for Directions: Gendered Social Capital and the Path to College at an Urban High School

“…Ideologies of masculinity encourage toughness and independence (Kimmel, 2000) and when these ideologies intersect with racism and socioeconomic disadvantage in urban schools, they are magnified (Majors & Billson, 1993; Pyke, 1996). Young men may thus “struggle in silence” due to norms of hegemonic masculinity (Schwab & Dupuis, 2022). The data here suggest that these ideologies of race and masculinity manifest in the college transition process, impacting how young men develop social capital.…”

“…For example, Rosette et al (2015) found that men who were leaders were perceived to be less competent when they ask for help, but women who were leaders experienced no similar penalty for help-seeking. Schwab and Dupuis (2022) learned that masculine socialization compels young men in college to "struggle in silence," rather than reach out for help in college courses. Given fraught relationships with teachers and staff and the expectations of masculinity, repercussions for help-seeking may be particularly acute for young men in urban schools.…”