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Masculinity In The Full Monty

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A common theme across the films studied throughout this module is individuals or groups of people being held back in some way, sometimes due to social constraints and other times due to discrimination and bigotry. This theme is integral to multiple character arcs and contribute towards the audience’s understanding of issues presented by the film.
One such film is The Full Monty (1997), which follows a group of former steel factory workers who are struggling financially. As a result of this, they formulate a plan to create a show wherein they strip to be fully naked in order to make money. Despite the film’s overall comedic tone, it does not shy away from important issues such as body confidence, or in Dave’s case, a lack of body confidence. …show more content…

This presents masculinity in a way that is not generally explored in film, as men are typically depicted as ‘macho’, which includes traits such as confidence and exaggerated physical fitness. By presenting masculinity in this manner, it allows the film to make commentary on masculinity in the 1990s – more specifically, how masculinity was viewed in relation to the male striptease act. The time period of the film is once which still has homophobic attitudes present, with names such as ‘poof’ and ‘queer’ being viewed as degrading to a man’s masculinity. These insults were frequently used in relation to male strippers, therefore are also aimed at the main protagonists throughout the film. The film succeeds in depicting changing ideals and …show more content…

The issue of gender is explored in tandem with identity as the film focuses on LGBT+ characters, the majority of whom are depicted as being proud of their sexuality. The film is centred around the key theme of ‘solidarity’ and features a group of main characters who are proud of their identities as part of the LGBT+ community, and so they encourage others to stand with them in solidarity as a show of their support. Despite the main theme of the film being pride in one’s identity and people of all backgrounds supporting each other, the female characters in Pride are somewhat side-lined as more focus is placed on male characters. Ironically, the group’s name – Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM) – places females at the forefront of the cause they are fighting for, but actual female representation is minimal throughout the film. This is perhaps most apparent through the character of Steph, who proclaims herself to be “the ‘L’ in LGSM”, yet her screen time is minimal in comparison to the male members of LGSM. Whilst the argument can be made that the lack of screen time is the result of sexist attitudes that are still present in society, I would argue that it is instead reflective of sexism in the 1980’s. This is because Steph

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“Are you a girl?”, “Do not be such a wimp”, “Be a man”; have you ever heard these words uttered to you at least once in your life? Probably not if you are a girl, most definitely yes if you are a boy. As a boy grows up and enters the journey of his life, phrases that question masculinity and discarding femininity are common everyday phrases in boys’ lives. Stereotype remarks which nurture the concept of a “Man” that people know of; toxic words that come out from people’s mouth without even realizing how dangerous it is. This paper is written mainly from a man’s perspective, adhering to the concept of manliness and male role belief system being talked in the film Tough Guise II.

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The sexism and masculine norms put out by society are a struggle for men everyday. Men’s mental health is seriously impacted by sexism and masculine norms set out by society. In the film, “The Mask You Live In”, young boys and men talk about their experiences dealing with these norms and how it has affected them today and continues to impact them. Men have to face masculine norms such as, violence, self-reliance, power over women, winning and risk-taking. These brave men go against the societal idea for men and talk about how it feels to be different in a society that is telling you different is

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Throughout the film, femininity has made some small advances towards modern day culture in a progressive manner. Sexuality as defined by the Oxford Living

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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.

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What constitutes “masculinity?” Sadly, the term has been defined so harshly that it is having detrimental effects on our society. The definitions of gender roles bombard us everywhere, from books, to advertisements, to movies, there is seemingly no place one can hide from these absurd standards. Canadian sociologist Aaron H. Devor points out in his article “Becoming Members of Society: Learning the Social Meanings of Gender,” that gender norms are learned early on in life, burdening children with these restrictions (388). This is what makes movies which clearly reject and mock gender roles, such as The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, so refreshing.

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Cultural theories by Kathleen Rowe, Laura Mulvey and Stuart Hall can help the audience seek an explanation to how these stereotypical gender roles are portrayed in the movie and how it can create power for the specific

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Women are more likely to fight against the men or against other women because they want to identify with what the other deny them (Melucci, 1996). In other words, women and girls are more likely to continue to fight and pursue jobs of power in order to be identified as powerful, accomplished, strong women, which is what they are denied by other people. However, in order for that to happen we need to be recognized by others in order to confirm and determine who we are. Along with identity, collective identity is another tactic used in the film. Seen in the documentary there is a collective interest of feminists to prevent the objectification of women.

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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.

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Today, many of our perceptions are deceived by systemic stereotypes, often fogging our own ability understand ourselves. This is what suppresses the main character, and a group of other members, in David Fincher’s Fight Club. In the film, both male and female characters are stereotypical and overly sexualized. The film is extremely generalized and Fincher accomplishes this by presenting the characters with no desire to come against the reality of gender norms. The conventions that are held as a standard in the film are the orthodox characteristics of how men are supposed to appear.

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Besides, the film also mentions to sexuality and masculinity are basically related, but the problem of oppressive is dismissed. Therefore, the result for this movie about being a real man for all boys is too general for audiences. But it is really good connection to popular issues such as offensive, and

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To profess their heterosexual identity, boys enact the ritual of performative sex talk. With a profusion of sexual bravado, boys fight to one-up each other in their stories of sexual prominence and prosperity. Pascoe states that “expressing heterosexual desire establishes a sort of baseline masculinity” (87), in part to distance themselves from the feminine identity of a “fag,” but also to establish masculine dominance. These discussions center around how these boys are able to enact their subjectivity and control on the world around them, with women as the objects of their control and puppets of their desires. Furthermore, the masculine dominance is established through compulsive heterosexuality when boys engage in specific patterns of opposite-sex touching.

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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.

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