The basic form of my question is: Is there any validity in the claim that masculinity is equivalent to, or closely related to, sexism, seemingly made by the authors of 'Ten Theories of Human Nature'?
While I think that there is some link between the two concepts (although that does not necessarily have to remain the case) they are not by any means equivalent. Sexism or chauvinism means discrimination against someone on the basis of their sex (or gender; but that is something of a technicality). In this context, and in most contexts in which it appears in contemporary Western society, it means discrimination against women. Masculinity merely refers to those qualities associated with men, of which sexism is not (or at least, should not be) one.
Masculinity does have some links to sexism, in that historically women have been discriminated against on the basis of their gender by men, rather than by other women or by people who identify as neither of the two common genders. Furthermore, the men doing the most discriminating have typically been those who are more classically masculine.
However, this does not mean that masculinity cannot exist without the presence of chauvinism. It is possible for a man to enjoy hunting and fishing, play sports, work out, and possess a large beard (all qualities usually associated with masculinity) yet be extremely supportive of equality for all genders. Also, sexism can exist without masculinity - a man could be quiet and reserved, and defer to other men in most matters, yet still discriminate against women. There is also the issue of sexism working in the opposite direction from the way people usually envision it, benefiting women at the expense of men; but that is not the type of sexism presented by Confucius, so I shall not address it in this post.
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