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An Analysis Of Jack Katz 'Ways Of The Badass'

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In the “Ways of the Badass,” author Jack Katz focuses on individuals who attempt to portray the behavior of a “badass.” Katz describes a badass as an individual who embraces deviance act as a good thing. He attempts to establish proof that the behaviors of a badass take plenty of tactics. Being a badass requires an individual to have a tough appearance, separate from the norm and being mean. “Being tough is essentially a process of negation, achieved either with a visual block, a symbolic sartorial shield, an audible muffle, or a maneuver that inverts the suggestions of a morally open self that are inevitably born in such everyday activities as eating, meeting friends, and conversing” (pg 87). Being tough demonstrate to others that they do …show more content…

Katz attempts to prove this theory to be true by explaining the natural actions of individuals and what individuals who attempt to be portrayed as a badass have to do to fight against those urges. Women are natural caregivers and with a gender role uprising, the badass theory would apply more to males. The author would have you believe much effort is needed for an individual to portray the image of a badass. A great deal of reasoning for the individual’s behavior is well calculated to give off the image of a badass. The tactics described was significant in the past, however, due to the development of mainstream media, there is a great deal of other influence that individuals use to portray a badass. Individuals learn the methods of being a badass in much the same way as individuals learn any skills. Some individuals are not seeking to be a badass, however, are conducting themselves in the only way they know …show more content…

The cultural difference should have played a role in the evaluation of some of the individuals actions. The wearing of clothing as a style could also be seen as a fashion statement just as well as wearing a suit and tie. What one feels is a badass fashion another may see it as spoken fashionable art. Katz seems to only target the individuals from low-income communities. These actions of the individuals are strongly portrayed as negative in the eyes of others who were not a part of the community. A community who based their fashion on what is highlighted in the media and portrays what they see on television is not necessarily an individual who is trying to be a badass. Those individuals could be viewed as individuals who are attempting to be a part of a society that is moving towards a different norm. Katz seems to only target the individuals from low-income communities. These actions of the individuals are strongly portrayed as negative in the eyes of others who were not a part of the community. A community who based their fashion on what is highlighted in the media and portrays what they see on television is not necessarily an individual who is trying to be a badass. Those individuals could be viewed as individuals who are attempting to be a part of a society that is moving towards a different

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