A Brief History of Masculinity & the Arctic

Engraving of Elisha Kent Kane
by J. Sartain from portrait by Matthew Brady, not dated.
Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Masculinity has long been associated with the exploration of the Arctic, a place often called a male-proving ground. Michael F. Robinson argues that three explorers are key to understanding masculinity’s association with the Arctic, the first being Elisha Kent Kane (1820-1857). Due to his participation in both Grinnell Expeditions—which succeeded in finding traces of the missing English explorer Sir John Franklin—Kane was lauded as an American hero. An early death at the age of 37 only increased his fame. Though Kane’s death was due to a life-long illness, eulogists were insistent that his character (if not his body) was evidence enough of his masculinity. One biographer, William Elder, used all of the following terms to describe Kane and his attributes: “manly endurance”, “manly virtues”, “manly effort”, “manly service to the country”, “manly sensibility”, “manly ambition”. Kane became a model upon which future Arctic explorers would construct their own images, and their utilization of the masculine ideal became key to success.

Photo of General Adolphus W. Greely, taken between 1890 & 1935.
Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

The legacy of Adolphus W. Greely (1844-1935) represents a distinct change in Arctic masculinity. In 1884, after he and his crew had been missing for three years, six near-death survivors were discovered. One member of the rescue team later wrote that when Greely was found, his first words were: “Yes—seven of us left—here we are dying—like men. Did what I came to do—beat the best record.” The story took on a life of its own and clearly reflects a change in the definition of what makes a man “a man”. Whereas Kane’s character was representative of his masculinity, by the time of Greely’s expedition there had been a fundamental shift to an emphasis on physical manifestations of manliness. Now, the ideal Arctic man would not only express masculinity in his character, but also in his physical power to either survive the harshness of the North or to die “like a man”.

Portrait of President Theodore Roosevelt
by Theodor Horydczak, circa 1920-1950.
Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

It is within this construct of a newly defined masculinity that Robert E. Peary emerges as “the epitome of manliness”. Americans were becoming concerned that young men were emasculated by increasing industrialization, urbanization and the closing of the American frontier in 1890. In an effort to counteract what he perceived as a serious threat to the future of America’s men, Theodore Roosevelt spearheaded a campaign for what he called “the strenuous life”. Roosevelt’s poster-child for the strenuous life was Robert E. Peary, whom Roosevelt praised for his “Great physical hardihood and endurance, an iron will and unflinching courage, the power of command, the thirst for adventure, and a keen and farsighted intelligence”. Roosevelt seems to be listing Peary’s attributes in what he perceives to be the order of their importance, stressing physical manhood over intelligence or character.

Photo of Robert E. Peary dressed in fur,
taken between 1886 & 1909 for the New York World-Telegram.
Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Roosevelt was not the only American to be impressed with Peary’s masculinity. The editor of National Geographic, Gilbert Grosvenor, wrote that Peary possessed “a physical endowment such as nature gives to few men”. Constance Du Bois wrote a letter to Peary stating that “The glory of manhood seems to have departed. But you, your ideals, justify it to my mind—and the response from the people, the men and growing boys, as their spirits still ring true to the appeal of noble adventure, is so encouraging that we not yet doubt the future of America”. While Peary may have carefully crafted the image of himself and his crew (including Henson) as “ideal men”, how did the expression of masculinity actually manifest itself in Peary’s and Henson’s relationships with Inuit women?

Ahlikahsingwah & Robert Peary

Photo of the Peary sledge party at the North Pole on April 7, 1909, taken by Peary.
L-R: Ooqueah, Ootah, Matthew Henson, Eginwah, and Seeglo.
Courtesy of the National Archives.

Robert Peary first met Ahlikahsingwah in Greenland during his 1893-1895 expedition while taking some ethnographic photos of local Inuit. Peary described Ahlikasingwah as the “belle of the tribe” and soon began a relationship with her, though she was already married to another Inuit man. Peary hired both her and her husband, Peeahwahto, as guides and assistants, often sending Peeahwahto away so that Peary could have unhindered access to her (Peeahwahto, as well as other local Inuit, were aware of the relationship between Peary & Ahlikahsingwah).

Over the course of their relationship, the couple had two sons, Anaukaq and Kali, both born on Peary’s ship Roosevelt—legally making them Americans. After Peary claimed to have reached the North Pole and left Greenland forever in 1909, Ahlikahsingwah and her sons became ostracized and were often taunted by other Inuit. Peary’s attempts to fully control and dominate the Inuit had left him quite unpopular in Greenland, and Ahlikahsingwah, Anaukaq and Kali unfairly suffered the consequences.

Photo of Ahlikahsingwah posed naked for Robert E. Peary’s book Northward Over the Great Ice, 1886.
Courtesy of the University of California Libraries - Internet Archive.

Robert Peary was always condescending to the Inuit, referring to them as “my Eskimos” or “my children.” His relationship with Ahlikahsingwah shows his desire to fully control female Inuit, and Peary even wrote about how he dispensed these local women to members of his crew, exchanging them for everyday objects such as pieces of wood. He published naked photos of Ahlikahsingwah, demeaning, objectifying and eroticizing Inuit women. Peary even bragged about his affair with Ahlikahsingwah in his 1898 autobiography, proving to his readers his masculinity and dominance. To Peary, Inuit women were nothing more than pleasures for he and his men. “Feminine companionship,” he wrote, “not only causes greater contentment but as a matter of both physical and mental health and the retention of the top notch of manhood it is a necessity.”

Photo of (L to R) Ahlikahsingwah, Anaukaq and Marie Peary in Greenland, 1902.
Courtesy of the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands - Maine Memory Network.

Peary was entirely unapologetic about his relationship with Ahlikahsingwah. Josephine (Peary's wife) made a surprise visit to his Greenland camp and met Ahlikahsingwah and her first son by Peary, Anaukaq. Josephine angrily confronted her husband about the affair, but Peary refused to repent or end his relationship with Ahlikahsingwah. Ultimately, Josephine reluctantly accepted the situation and never returned to the Arctic.

Peary agreed with the traditional colonial belief that white women like his wife were “noncompliant” and that Inuit women like Ahlikahsingwah were inherently wanton because they lacked “false modesty or bashfulness”. This helped justify Peary’s desire to take Ahlikahsingwah to bed whenever he wanted, imposing his power over the Inuit both physically and mentally. Men like Matthew Henson, however, did not subscribe to these colonial beliefs.

Conclusion

Map showing Greenland, Canada and the United States,
printed in 1929 by the Italian Touring Club.
Courtesy of the David Rumsey Historical Map Collection.

Today, direct descendants of both Peary and Henson continue to lead their lives in Greenland and the two families have become quite close. This is a fitting legacy for the two men who worked closely together during life, despite their differences. Robert E. Peary was concerned with projecting an image of himself as the “epitome of manliness”, an ingredient which had proven vital to previous successful Arctic campaigns. Peary believed in traditional colonial power relationships and expected the Inuit he encountered to be subservient to him. As an African-American, Matthew Henson identified with the oppressed Inuit and actively worked to befriend them and understand their culture. His efforts have left a lasting impression on the Inuit he encountered and, even today, he is lauded among Greenlanders. Peary and Henson’s relationships with Ahlikahsingwah and Akatingwah reflect these fundamental differences between two very different men.