Abstract
The aim of this study is to show how hypermasculinity is portrayed in literature, specifically in two works by Ernest Miller Hemingway, Green Hills of Africa (1935) and For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940), whose male characters could be considered as representatives of the 20th century masculine model. Through the analysis of different present day media, this work also establishes a comparison between this model of masculinity, the “Code Hero” archetype described by Yuan (598), and the alpha male of contemporary media, represented by the superhero, the womanizer or the hyper-aggressive savage. The hypothesis is that today’s definition of hegemonic masculinity, a behavioral pattern that endows men with authority and leadership, is still based on the male’s control of affection and emotion. To compensate for this repression, the media offers a masculine model with traits like aggressiveness, alcoholism or workaholism. Despite being usually attributed to biological causes, works like Kate Millett’s Sexual Politics (1968), or Judith Butler’s Gender Trouble: Feminism and the subversion of Identity (1990) have shown how these notions are a product of patriarchy, understanding gender as a social construction.
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