“History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.” - Winston Churchill
So successful was Henry VIII patriarchal propaganda that many of us envision him exactly how he wanted us to: broad, strong, powerful, and imposing. Though Henry was a large guy, he employed artistic projection to ensure he was in control of how he was perceived. When Hans Holbein Jr painted him sometime during 1536-1537, Henry was suffering from severe leg ulcers from an infected jousting wound. His shift towards inactivity meant that he had dramatically gained weight and was unable to support himself when vertical, often being carried about or needing complete support.
“When the expectations set by society for men are rooted in lies, it creates expectations they can’t fulfill. Shame creates lies about how men should think and act, and when men don’t reach these impossible expectations they feel additional humiliation.” - Liz Plank, For the Love of Men
However, Henry couldn’t be portrayed as he was because of the possibility others might perceive him as weak or vulnerable, endangering his position as well as the country he reigned over. At the time, there was collective cultural understanding that the health of the country was directly related to the health of the king. If he was unwell, the realm was unwell. This leg wound ultimately led Henry to become the king most remember him as: tyrannical and angry. Chronic pain and chronic shame have an impact upon the human condition. Luckily “he had the power and status to influence narratives about himself however he saw fit. This isn’t a new concept. Historically, whoever owns the books gets to dictate who writes them and what they write about. It’s through this influence that we understand villains and heroes, right and wrong, wins and losses. As well as gender identity and sexuality.” - Fredrick Douglas, Patriarchal Blue: Reflections on Manhood
“Here is a fuller characterization of the structure of shame: Shame is the distressed apprehension of the self as inadequate or diminished: it requires if not an actual audience before whom my deficiencies are paraded, then an internalized audience with the capacity to judge me, hence internalized standards of judgment. Further, shame requires the recognition that I am, in some important sense, as I am seen to be.” - Sandra Lee Bartky, Femininity and Domination
Henry performed his gender in a way that was acceptable within the patriarchal norms expected of him: through anger and control. His anger allowed him to avoid being perceived as weak or feminine, and his projected image needed to reflect a strength and presence that wasn’t real.
As I scrolled through twitter, I was struck by the familiarity of this tweeted photo of Florida Governor, Ron DeSantis. As a neurodivergent adult, I can wholly relate with the inability to naturally pose for pictures, so I won’t dare comment on the body language within this photo, but what struck me was the box under Ron’s heeled shoes. The desire to look larger, to project an imposing presence brought me back to the 16th century portrait I know so well. The need to control other’s perception at every moment is just a small glimpse into the domination required for “maleness” within a patriarchy. “In the dominator model the pursuit of external power, the ability to manipulate and control others, is what matters most.” - bell hooks, The Will to change
When men perform masculinity within a patriarchy, they are rewarded for their oppressive behavior, male identity being firmly ‘rooted in an ethic of domination,’ even if the one being dominated is the self. A millennium of patriarchal violence has mutilated our ability to differentiate between respect and control, assuming one necessitates the other. Not only is physical domination over the other required within a patriarchy, but there is a need to dominate mental perception as well. Patriarchy teaches men that they must provide, protect, and punish. Aligning to these patriarchal values gives men access to control those that fall under the purview of any one of those three categories. Not meeting the standard entry requirements of the patriarchy leaves men open to ridicule; socially implied shame for incorrectly performing masculinity.
“I may have never lived through
what you now go through
but we fight the same evil-
we may come from different worlds
but they’re both medieval.”
-Farida D.
You might enjoy this one! https://open.substack.com/pub/susanbordo/p/royal-bodies-part-i?r=384ha&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web