Fight Club Masculinity

“Nearly a fifth of the 5,462 so-called single-bias hate crimes reported to the F.B.I. in 2014 were because of the target’s sexual orientation, or, in some cases, their perceived orientation”(Park and Mykhyalyshyn). This statistic concludes that out of 5,462 single bias hate crimes approximately 1,092 of them were due to the targets sexuality. Although this statistic pertains to the year of 2014, its emphasis that harassment and hate crimes directed towards the LGBT community is relevant in present times. Because males of the LGBT community fail to fulfill society's interpretation of the privileged or hegemonic masculinity, they experience difficulty in being accepted by others. This modern identity “crisis” not only affects men of the LGBT

His novel, Fight Club, suggests that societies tendency to engage in materialistic behaviors has affected the way modern society perceives masculinity. The author demonstrates the relevancy of this real world cultural implication through his statement, “then you’re trapped in your lovely nest, and the things you use to own, now they own you” (Palahniuk 22). Like many people of society, the narrator of the novel lists things of value in order to establish a status that suggest power. What the author implies through this quote is that society tends to develop a cycle of buying senseless items for the sole purpose of demonstrating financial strength and an illusion of prosperity. Society's tendency to be materialistic perceives the new version of masculinity through a male's ability to demonstrate their buying power. To clarify, this new notion of masculinity is driven by the amount of wealth a male possesses and their ability to provide for a family, establish social power through their status, and maintain financial

In the article, “The Muxes of Juchitan: A Preliminary Look at Transgender Identity and Acceptance,” Alfredo Mirande, a professor of sociology and ethnic studies at the University of California, Riverside, presents a possible solution adopted by an indigenous group in Juchitan. Instead of confining men to falling into either masculine or feminine categories, the Zapotec community created a third sex called, “los muxes.” As explained by Mirande, a Muxe is a person who is mostly male but displays female characteristics. In other places of the world, men who do not meet the requirements of masculinity are more than of often shunned by society. But the solution of creating a third sex has created an environment that is, “keenly aware and proud of this difference,” as, “pointing to the muxes without rejection is part of a code of acceptance” (Mirande). There solution has alleviated the tension between traditional and new versions of masculinity by allowing men to explore more feminine roles without being heavily judged by others. Although this solution may seem to work for the Zapotec community it might not work well for other places in the world such as the United States. This indigenous group of Juchitan is not generally homophobic and thus has no problem accepting the muxes as active citizens. Unlike the Zapotec community, the