What does masculinising mean?
Masculinising means making something masculine or treating it as though it should possess qualities traditionally associated with men. The word is used particularly in discussions of language, media, education, military culture, religion, and gender, where a practice may be said to masculinise people or institutions. It does not necessarily mean physically changing someone; it can describe a social or cultural process that privileges strength, aggression, authority, or emotional restraint as male norms. For example, critics may describe advertising that links a product with toughness as masculinising because it presents that quality as the standard of male desirability. The word is closely related to masculine and masculinity, but it normally focuses on an active process rather than simply describing a quality. Its British spelling is commonly written with -ise, although the concept is used in both British and American English.
verbTo make something appear or become masculine, or to treat it as masculine. It can also describe a process that produces traditionally masculine characteristics or attitudes.
- To make or treat something as masculine.
- To describe a process that produces masculine characteristics, roles, or attitudes.
"The campaign was accused of masculinising the language by portraying care as a sign of weakness."
"Several critics argued that the advertisement was masculinising the sport by presenting aggression as essential to it."
"The study examines how military recruitment campaigns masculinised young men through images of strength and heroism."
Masculinising describes how language, institutions, and culture can subtly turn traits associated with men into the standard for everyone.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does masculinising come from?
Masculinising is formed from masculine with the suffix -ise, meaning “to make” or “to render.” The adjective masculine came through French masculin from Latin masculinus, a derivative of masculus, meaning “male” or “belonging to a male.” The Latin root also underlies cognates such as masculinity, masculinist, and masculinism.
Related word forms
How masculinising is actually used
The term is especially common in academic and cultural criticism, where it often describes language, media, institutions, or social expectations. British English normally uses the ending -ise, while US English typically uses -ize.
Easily confused with masculinising
Masculine is an adjective describing something regarded as having male characteristics, whereas masculinising describes a process that makes or treats something as masculine.