Aside from misogymy, men are also expected to be: less talkative, less social, less expressive, brave, aggressive, physically built, strong, and many others. What is important from these values are how they are all the opposites from how women are supposed to act, thus giving a gender based role predictions. These gender differentiations are toxic in each of its underlying gender, however this paper is only going to discuss about how it affects the male side. All of these are stereotypes which are being imposed by society on us and strengthened as role differentiation gets into play in later parts of a boy’s life. The socialization of these values are not only being given directly from each of the boys’ parents, but also learned from interacting with their peers, and even bigger yet, medias.
In Robert Jensen’s article “The High Cost of Manliness”, he states that the idea of masculinity is a bad thing and they should get rid of it. This article debates on the common stereotypes of men, as he states: “That dominant conception of masculinity in U.S. Culture is easily summarized: Men are assumed to be naturally competitive and aggressive, and being a real man is therefore marked by the struggle for control, conquest, and domination” (par. 4). Nonetheless, there are some traits that men and woman share, such as, caring, compassion, and tenderness. These traits often depend on the situation, since a man cannot always be this way, whereas, a woman is often expected to have these traits.
Many confuse the terms sex and gender. Sex refers to physical, psychological, and biological characteristics whereas gender are behaviors learned from cultural expectations that distinguish women and men (Benokraitis 159). These terms lead us to sexual orientation which is partner preference. For instance, a desire of the same sex, opposite sex, or neither . In this article, Brandon Miller focuses on homosexual (those who are attracted to the same sex) men.
Heterosexual males strategizes their masculinity performance to impress both male and females, as a result, it rises their confidence. The article is reviewed in the context of supporting identity, gender and sexuality, and symbolic interactions. Firstly, the article is reviewed in the
According to Paechter, it is difficult to label a person by male and female genders because it says minimal about their masculinity and femininity (Paechter, p. 261). Our ideals
Behavioral flexibility refers to individuals being free to choose who they want to be when they want to do so. In the context of androgyny, this may mean that a male can choose whether they want to be tough or nurturing in a situation- one need not possess all traits all the time. To continue, there is importance in securing one gender identity first as this enables one to not sacrifice their masculinity or femininity for the sake of exploring a gender that is not their own. Androgynous males are still aware of their masculinity just as androgynous females are of their femininity, however, illustrating both masculine and feminine traits without this basic concept may leave one having lower self-esteem because of over-doing androgyny and thus being rejected by others. Finding a healthy balance and knowing yourself first enables one to reap the benefits, rather than risks, of behavioral flexibility.
Despite our physical appearance and cultural values, there are other aspects of our lives that can pattern an individual’s lifestyle based on their gender. There has always been a significant difference between men and women. Due to our human anatomy we are expected to follow particular rules and behaviors that determine our social acceptance. I believe that most of us have been influenced since a very young age by the
Lucas Kelbe Ms. Morgan Honors English II 16 February 2023 Narrative/Persuasive Essay Throughout society today, males are looked at through common male stereotypes. Young-age boys are taught to embody certain traits and behaviors that are associated with masculinity such as strength, dominance, and emotional stoicism, and if we lack these traits it can be considered out of relation to the preferred male identity. This process of becoming the perfect male involves learning the norms, values, and behaviors that are expected of men in their culture. I am often faced with situations like this where I am expected to perform better and show minimal emotion compared to a female because of my gender.
Nevertheless, ideas of what are perceived as typically masculine and feminine in behavior and even appearance depend on an individual’s perception of what he or she has. “I want to be near you, got to be with somebody, I can’t be alone!” (Williams 17). One would assume that the quote is a woman speaking because it sounds needy and vulnerable, and they would be right. This is because of the ideas held by masculine and feminine qualities.
“Doing Gender” by West and Zimmerman is similar to Butler’s “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution.” However, West and Zimmerman build upon the ideas that Butler puts forth. Butler focuses on gender as performance and how gender is made up by specific actions. While West and Zimmerman take the concept of performance and constitution and applies it to a new concept, the sex category and how sex categories and gender are intertwined in society. Sex categories and gender, according to West and Zimmerman, are different and interconnected.
In addition, within patriarchy, there exists the concept of androcentrism, which states that the male perspective is dominant, and the female
Girls are taught from adolescents that they only possess feminine qualities; compassion, sensitivity, empathy, dependency, and powerlessness. While boys are taught to be masculine; strong, aggressive, and to suppress any “feminine” qualities. Unfortunately, these qualities that are deemed as feminine are qualities that are not supposed to be gender-specific, since these are qualities all humans possess. Furthermore, women and girls are taught that female empowerment is achievable through sexualizing themselves. Also, many teenage girls believe that if they emulate their role models appearance and attitude that they will be
In our recent history, feminism has become more prevalent in almost every aspect of our lives. One important thing to remember is that each sex has uniquely valuable traits to contribute to society (Maguire, 2014). However, overgeneralizations of these traits have driven a wedge between the different sexes and as a result, discrimination, injustice, and unfair stereotypes plague our society. Key terms discussed throughout each source include, but are not limited to, gender stereotypes, double standards, benevolent sexism, hostile sexism, gender disparities, and female/male injustice. Gender stereotypes encompass the generalizations placed on gender-specific traits.
Men and Masculinity Gender role is generally defined as a set of attitudes, behaviours, and self-presentation methods ascribed to member of certain biological sex. It includes norms for behaviour, which some researchers have stated to call it “the rules of masculinity” or “masculine and ideology.” this includes the gender roles such as strength which refers to emotional toughness, courage, self-reliance and nationality. Honour refers to duty, loyalty, responsibility, integrity, selflessness and compassion. Lastly action which refers to competitiveness, ambition, risk-taking and agency (Barker, 2012).
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.
