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.
Franklin II argues that, “The major contribution made by authors writing about the male experience in America in the early 70’s was to alert us to the fact that the meaning of masculinity goes by beyond items on a checklist indicating power, privilege, and machoism” (2012, p. 4). During those periods, African American men were not able to perform certain masculine acts as it would give them the power to the black community. The harsh stereotypes in films, unfortunately, degraded the black man’s power to a lower self-esteem. Likewise, there had been many concerns and questions raised towards manhood in black masculinity ever since the freedom period. Their freedom experiences have significantly developed throughout the years, including the laws
To change the way others perceive men and women, they put on a mask. For men they wear their “masculinity mask” to
When someone think of a man, what do they think? Strong? Brave? That’s what most people think; in reality that is a very false image. “Bros Before Hos: The Guy Code,” by Michael Kimmel, talks about what it means to be a man and what it takes to be a man in today’s world.
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.
Television series Friday Night Lights pioneers their accurate representation through the character of Jason Street. Authors Butterworth and Schuck identify how the series fails to align with culturally idealized, traditional representations of men. Foote, Justin Gus, et al break down how different authoritative figures affect how boys view their masculinity. Cherney and Lindemann explain the role that participating in sports have in reaffirming that conception. Building upon that notion, Kerr describes the role that the culture of football has had in forming idealizations of masculinity.
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
He also explains how the world can change men and how values and ideas change men. People fear these changes are affecting the society and lives of other people that they show a bad image to what manhood looks like. Some men do not mind these changes while men do. In some parts of the article, the author talks about the changes in men and how it is
Over time, the thought patterns of many individuals mould to believe only one perception of what is morally acceptable— a perception that is completely faulty. The ideology of the male body and demeanor is only one of the many societal norms constructed by the media, and it alone can result in mental health fatalities, mass violence, or the mere elimination of self-identity whilst attempting to meet the ever-changing ideals of masculinity. The continuous and stereotypical depiction of masculinity in the media has idealized invulnerability, toughness and physical strength as the sole qualities of a ‘true man’. As a result, the complexity of masculinity is flattened, and immense pressures are placed on individuals to meet requirements that are entirely faulty. According to Katz, cultures, topics, and even genders are not one-dimensional; in order to fully comprehend the meaning the entirety of something, one must look at more than its representation in the media.
The contemporary representations of male masculinity are usually formed in electronic visual media, in particular, television, which promotes a certain image of a typical male. The history of the United States has left traces on the racial and cultural stereotypes. That is why mass media promote different views of how white and black men look and behave. In 2007 I joined the United States Army, and attended basic training at Fort Jackson, SC. As a young private in basic training I met fellow soldiers from all over the world, many with very different backgrounds than that of my own.
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.
This essay made me recognize how much someone’s masculinity influences someone’s thinking, belief, and opinion about someone just by observing them. It opened me up to the different beliefs people have about being masculine and what it means to be masculine. Overall, the most important thing about this essay is that it made me a more well-informed person on the influences that made me who I am
Being a man today can be tough. The society a boy grows up in has a wide variety of ideals of what it is to be a man. A boy may see many contradictions of what it takes to be a man depending on the digital media he sees or the company he keeps. It can be difficult to make any sense out what it means to be a man. One avenue shows boys they can grow up to wear makeup and dress like women.
It’s impossible to deny how far the desire for a male child has spread throughout the world, so there are great expectations associated with male births. One of the popular ones being that one day the child will grow up to succeed his father, and take care of the household. But does the upbringing of men in this culture really help them? Analyzing a common male child growing up, from the
