text: Gender hierarchy Gender hierarchy seeks to explain not only why men hold a superior position to women but how each group influences the other.  Studies indicates that forms of masculinity outside the mainstream are strong, even under conditions of marginalization due to race, economic status, physical ability, or sexual orientation. The dominant system of gender norms maintains its authority more through the incorporation of these non-traditional masculinities into its overall narrative . An example would include that of the mainstream adoption of black hip hop culture which was created in response to urban structural inequalities. Another example is that of "protest masculinity", in which local working-class settings, sometimes involving ethnically marginalized men, embodies the claim to power typical of regional hegemonic masculinities in Western countries, but lack the economic resources and institutional authority that underpins the regional and global patterns.
  This new emphasis on gender hierarchy seeks to take a more relational approach to women as well. Women are central in many of the processes constructing masculinities, as mothers, schoolmates, girlfriends, sexual partners, wives, and workers in the gender division of labour. Gender hierarchies are affected by new configurations of women's identity and practice so more attention has been given to the historical interplay of femininities and masculinities.