Hegemony
In the 19th century, hegemony came to denote the "Social or cultural predominance or ascendancy; predominance by one group within a society or milieu". Later, it could be used to mean "a group or regime which exerts undue influence within a society". Also, it could be used for the geopolitical and the cultural predominance of one country over others, from which was derived "hegemonism", as in the idea that the Great Powers meant to establish European hegemony over Asia and Africa.
Gender policing
Sociologist, Raewyn Connell created the theory of hegemonic masculinity in order to explain the relationships between men and women and between the class of men within a patriarchal system. This theory is based on Antonio Gramsci’s concept of hegemony –– conformity or subordination of one group which creates class-based domination. Connell’s theory explains the ways in which ideal or normalized masculine traits have the highest values in western society. These masculine attributes include wealth, control over resources, fertility, attractiveness, heterosexuality, physical strength, and emotional detachment. Demetrakis Z. Demetriou further divided hegemonic masculinity into two types: external and internal. External hegemonic masculinity refers to the subordination of women under men. Internal hegemonic masculinity is the spectrum of masculinity seen within men. This spectrum is defined by the amount of power and masculinity a man holds. The patriarchy needs hegemonic masculinity in order to maintain power. In order to keep this power, men must be policed and women must me dominated. Since the ideal form of masculinity is seen by patriarchal power, men that fit in this norm are seen as what a human should embody.