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Essays on how masculinity has changed over time
Essays on how masculinity has changed over time
Hegemonic masculinity in today's society
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Although Money by Dana Gioia and Guys Like That by Joyce Sutphen were written in a relatively short time period, within 20 years, and are both about money, they have several important dissimilarities. Language, characterization, and point of view are the most striking of these. However, there are at least as many similarities, with theme being arguably the most important of these. Both are poems with materialism at their core, and a, if not outright dislike of wealth, a certain bitterness towards it, and both address the fact that money can become a dangerous obsession.
In discussing the many facets of masculinity among young men, one key issue has been the correlation it has with several developmental concerns. In Michael Kimmel’s 2008 publication “Bros Before Hos: The Guy Code”, he talks about how men believe manhood is really achieved. More specifically, he talks about “Guy Code”, the universal rulebook that all men must follow if they wish to remain in good standing among their fellow man. These rules are taught as early as their toddler years.
In paragraph six of Guys vs Men Berry says “although I can’t define exactly what it means to be a guy I can describe certain guy characteristics.” Berry goes on to define the characteristics that make up a guy as, liking neat stuff, liking neat challenges, and not having a well-defined moral code. Berry organizes his essay by listing each characteristic and describing them with stories and examples to support his claims. One example Berry used to define “guys like neat stuff” is with an example of his interest in overly powerful computers. Berry also uses a story about a time where several of his guy journalist coworkers decided to see how fast they could run the forty yard dash to define “guys like a really pointless challenge.”
When Kimmel refers to masculinity as homophobia, he is trying to explain that men are in fear that people will reveal them for not being “real men” or manly enough in the eyes of others. Men live in fear that they need to always act tough, laugh at or make jokes about females and gays. In other words, Kimmel is describing how men are afraid of the humiliation they will face if they are not perceived as a real man and are in silence because they are ashamed to be exposed of this fear. I particularly liked this reading because men always want to portray this “tough guy image” when they are out in public with friends and try to impress females. Men do not want to be made fun of if they do not laugh or make jokes towards a particular group of people
Sayeh Shahriari Mrs. Vermillion Ap language and composition 26 October, 2016 Oogy: the dog only a family could love Oogy was written by Larry Levin. The story is about a Dogo who had been used for bait in a dogfight and was severely injured. The left side of his face was torn off, including his ear. Luckily Oogy was rescued by Diane one of the doctors at AAH, who had saved Oogy’s life.
Similar to Sapolsky, Katz argues that the media teaches men from a young age to be tough, aggressive, and not to show emotional vulnerability. This is what he calls the “tough guise” or the artificial definition of manhood that forces men to conform to society’s expectations by being “tough” and powerful and hiding their emotions. In the beginning of the film Katz shows interviews with various young males where he asks what it means to be a man, and all of them provide an answer referring to strength, such as “powerful,” “intimidating,” “strong,” and of course, “tough.” When asked what a male is called when they fail to live up to these expectations, the young men replied, “wuss,” “fag,” or “sissy.” Katz points out that this just one of numerous methods that society uses to contain young men in this “tough guise” box, using insults to drive them to perform the way they believe a man should.
Masculinity has been a heated debated topic over the past years. Not just america or europe, but our whole society. Men tend to think that entering manhood is a good thing, but most don’t know it can be just as detrimental to our society. Men have certain characteristic when it concerns to masculinity and when doing so it can have a range of effects. So, how do men identify themselves masculine and how do they define themselves that way?
History has repeatedly given men privilege due to their physical advantages; yet it is these same advantages that have developed into “rules” or expectations that all men should conform to in order to prove their manhood. Michael Kimmel’s essay, “‘Bros Before Hos': The Guy Code” outlines the “rules” where men are expected to never show any emotions, be brave, act knowledgeable, be risk takers, be in control, act reliable, and be competitive, otherwise they would be showing weakness which is analogous to women. It is humiliating that men associate weakness with women; they should focus on the potential of the individual rather than their gender. Most insults toward men attack their masculinity because society finds it shameful for men to be
The film, Moonlight, demonstrates the complexity of black masculinity by characters, Chiron and Kevin, conforming to the norms of what it means to be a “man” or “masculine” by society’s standards; more specifically black man and their sexuality. Black men are stereotyped to be violent and hypersexual. Kevin promotes hegemonic masculinity (a practice that justifies men's dominant position in society) throughout the film, one in particular when he asked Chiron, “Why you always let people pick on you, man?” accusing him of acting “soft.” Chiron replies, “But I ain’t soft” and in response Kevin says, “I know, I know.
“Masculinity as Homophobia” an article by S. Kimmel, that talks about how men these days have the fear of being judged and ranked based on their manhood. There are some arguments that the Professor mentions and uses in his article that supports his argument and some experiences from other people 's perspective in life of men over the years. The author’s main argument is about how men these days are being watched and judged closely based on how they walk, talk, eat, dress, move and look like. The author explains how the world is judging men and how it tries to take that power and that pride of being a man.
Throughout the book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, there are many references to the protagonist’s necessity to be recognized for his masculinity. Okonkwo, the protagonist, despises his father for his unsuccessfulness, and Okonkwo is motivated to become a prosperous man. His fear of being weak determines his actions in difficult situations, which causes an internal conflict. Eventually, this fear overwhelms Okonkwo, and he commits suicide. Okonkwo’s desire to be masculine in opposition to his father creates an internal conflict established in his fear of being thought weak, which ultimately leads to his death.
Rather than a single standard of masculinity to which all men and boys are taught to aspire to, studies have documented a variety of masculinity that define manhood differently across racial , ethnic, class, sexual , and regional boundaries.(Kathleen Blee) In this quote the author states that due to intersectional differences, different racial groups of men might have different definitions on what it means to be masculine and what it means to perform masculinity. Gender roles are also modified by life experiences over time across racial groups. In the next images I presented are all images of my guy friends and cousins. More specifically they are all images of African American males in my life choosing to participate in gender and masculinity.
There is a lot of pressure on men in society to be manly; however, what exactly does it mean to be manly? Though many people have different opinions, a lot of them conclude that a man has to be strong and somewhat emotionless to be considered a man. This assumption can lead to Toxic Masculinity, which is “A false idea that men are expected to be as manly as possible” (The Hard, Adrenaline-Soaked Truth About 'Toxic Masculinity, 2017). Men are forced to face these assumptions not only from those around him, but also from people he might see in Media. Media reinforces Toxic Masculinity which in turn causes men to belittle women.
In present American culture the traditional idea of masculinity differs vastly from what masculinity was in the Okonkwo’s culture. Currently in America when one hears the words manly, masculine, man, father, brother, or husband they associate it with an individual who is physically strong and dominant in the traditional American household. A masculine individual is known to have strengthen and power in society and will not assert or show any weakness towards “touchy” subjects or become emotional. The fact that our society has become so prone to look down upon anyone who is a man that acts more feminine and less manly than what is deemed as societies norm is sad. My personal association with the words above are stereotypically, synonyms that are associated with strength and
Masculinity (also called boyhood, manliness or manhood) is a set of attributes, behaviors and roles generally associated with boys and men. But the culture doesn’t end at the definition, it starts from there. The first thing to come to mind when the word masculinity is heard is usually a man flexing his gigantic muscles, as the word might sound to suggest, and that right there is the current culture of masculinity because sadly, in the world we live in, not everyone has a “muscular body”. So far we know the concept of masculinity, but the culture is what is truly hampering.
