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The Mask You Live In Stereotypes

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"The Mask You Live In" is a documentary about masculinity, gender stereotypes, and how males are expected to hide their emotions behind a mask. From a very young age, boys are taught that it is feminine to cry, and they have to fight back the tears in order to fit in society's construction of gender. In modern society boys can't cry, expose their sadness or emotions, they have to be strong, and pick up traits played by male roles in films and advertisements. Day by day, boys aren't constantly under pressure to play by these roles, so thy can be accepted and fit in to society. However, these traits are breaking them apart, and brainwashing them into thinking how they should be, instead of being themselves. From an age as little as three, …show more content…

These are the traits that are expected in men in society, as it is the traditional male stereotype to have these traits in order to fit in. Male's are taught these traits from a very young age, and have no choice but to adapt to them. These traits not only negatively effect men, but women too. Traits such as aggression, and dominance can negatively effect women, because this gives male's the upper hand to the relationship, and gives them the advantage to be controlling over women. Society has constructed the idea that men have dominance, and women are weak and submissive. This also has a negative effect for men even though it may seem they are benefiting from this. By having to follow the traits of strength, dominance, and aggression puts lots of pressure on them. They are pressured to appear strong and have no emotions except anger. By having anger this makes them a "real" man, and being dominant over their partner is what allows them to fit in. However these traits are not good for women or men. It allows men to take advantage of women by being dominant and having control, and it does not allow men to show any other emotion. These are unhealthy for both men and women, and their emotional health. By having these traits is what makes a man masculine, which is placing a negative lifestyle for society. So why doesn't society change …show more content…

Mainstream media representations play a role in portraying ideas about what it means to be a “real” man in our society. In most media portrayals, male characters are praised for self-control and the control of others, violence, financial independence, and physical desirability. The media is a very important part of society, because it is what people follow on their daily lives, and what people rely on these days. Therefore it is crucial to decide what to portray in the media, because people will follow it and do what the media does. If the media discourages men to show emotions other than aggression, then it is what society will follow and go through, which is what has happened that shaped masculinity in the form it is now. In advertisements, men are portrayed as strong and muscular. The media also shows men as sporty at fit. Since the media is showing what the ideal man should be like, this gives the idea that male's have to be like this. This then puts pressure on men to be sporty, and have a career in sports like rugby and

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Society should not base masculinity with these traits since it is learned by observation and demonstration, and this leads men to disconnect their emotions. The author is trying to take away the blindfold on society's eyes because there is an injustice towards men and woman. These aspects of masculinity are how men are taught to be, but if we remove, eliminate, or ignore those aspects and misconceptions men will express their emotions openly without having to restrict themselves and be able to fit in society or at least feel like they are a part of the society. As you can see these views make men disconnect with their emotional side Jensen mentions this when he gives the example of his friend that worked on Wall Street and his friend described it as “coming to work as like walking into a knife fight when all the good spots along the wall were taken” (131). If we stop identifying masculinity as conquest, men would stop trying to be competitive, dominant, and even violent men might not need to always be on their guard to keep this appearance all the

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Not only is this idea of masculinity toxic- it 's also unachievable. Men are constantly needing to prove themselves to society. This feeling of incompleteness can lead to many issues throughout their lives. Young boys don 't develop the kinds of relationships or emotional capabilities that they once had.

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Multiple other places exist where young men learn these behaviors, such as community, school, and in their family; however, Katz argues that one of the most powerful influences is the country’s pervasive media. For example, as movies have progressed, men have grown larger as women grow smaller. Movies such as Rocky, Rambo, and even the Godfather show men as inherently violent, strong, and emotionally underdeveloped, and this becomes the ideal image for boys just as the beautiful, nurturing, thin woman becomes the ideal for girls. Similar to Sapolsky, Katz believes that in order to lessen violence, our society needs to show honest and diverse representations of males rather than blaming

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The effects of gender differences affect men too because they are constructed to be tough, violent, and assertive. These men are valued in society while those who are weak and cowards are never revered. There are some men like shapers that play music instead fight, but as long as a man is willing to engage in battle if the time arises, then they are masculine. If men run away from battle or they make excuses, they become people whose lives have no value. “Things about their fathers and their fathers’ fathers, things about justice and honor and lawful revenge—their throats swollen, their eyes rolling like a newborn colt’s, sweat running down their shoulders.

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In the 21st century, however, there have been many changes. Masculine men are seen as macho without the component of dominance over women. They are instead seen as non-vulnerable men who don’t shed a tear. Toxic masculinity has taken place in the 21st century and has

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If one does not act aggressively than they are not a real man and are scorned by their peers for being weak. Additionally because of this violent stereotype men are seen as aggressors, as people to fear because that's how society has painted them to be. Not only do these views latch on to regular life they also leach their way into our literature and reveal other effects these stereotypes can have on life. In the book to kill a mockingbird jem and scout start to feel as though their dad does not fit the way other dads act; ¨when jem and I asked him why he was so old, he said he got started late, which we felt reflected upon his abilities and manliness¨(lee 118).

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It’s the reason why men feel the need to compete amongst each other and it’s the reason why men need to put down women. This idea of being the most masculine has entered every guy in to a giant race where they must compete to see who is the most manliness. It only takes one person to stop running and to say that the whole race is lame. As more people stop fighting to be the most manliness then problems will disappear for both men and women.

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The idea of hegemonic masculinity recognises that there are multiple types of masculinity but they are not all equal. As well as that hegemonic masculinity is not common because of its unattainability (Gill, 2007:31) . This pressure of compliance is problematic for both which is illustrated by standards set by the media regarding appearance in particular that can consequently effect self-esteem and self-worth. For instance the media is significant as a source for acceptable body image which can be used by men to have certain expectations for females (Behm-Morawitz and Pennell, 2013: 214) and vice versa. These unrealistic expectations in the media images are caused by prolonged exposure to them.

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In the film, the dominant version of masculinity is composed of male violence and male friendship. Those violence actions are seen as

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Gender stereotypes are very common among today’s society. In modern society, a recurring gender stereotype is that men are expected to be tough, aggressive, dominant, and self-confident. This gender stereotype started because of traditional gender roles. Despite the fact that this gender role is no longer necessary for men, society still expects men to follow these roles. However, this is pernicious for the reason that, if men don’t follow this role, they will be looked down upon.

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a) The film argues that the major issues and problems created by masculinity occur by telling young boys to “be a man”, and using a “hegemonic” definition to define masculinity. While the film does not focus on the definition of hegemonic masculinity, the masculinity they describe is very much hegemonic in nature. The film describes hyper-masculinity that is defined by domination and aggression. The film focuses on the “mask” of masculinity, which requires boys to hide their true selves, and instead, put up the front of hegemonic masculinity. The film tries to demonstrate that if we let boys express themselves – their feelings, their fears, their issues- they would be healthier humans.

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This is a strong case to say that males who take on their gender role more so than others are more likely to engage in sexual violence and violent or aggressive behaviour in general. This also shows that individuals who display high levels of masculinity are more likely to be physically aggressive. Gender roles and masculinity give a solid argument for explaining a cause of violent and criminal behaviour, within their findings, however the studies lack a definition of masculinity and how to measure it other than physical displays of aggression. This creates difficulty in testing masculine males against non-masculine males and differentiating between them. Without being able to distinguish a non-aggressive masculine male, these studies can

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Masculinity, according to Kimmel (1994), is not a manifestation of our inner-self but rather a social construct consisting of attributes and behaviors associated with boys and men that are a part of historical culture. While masculinity can vary across the globe depending on cultures, Western society’s common masculinity traits include dominance, assertiveness, sexual ability, and intelligence (cite). Masculinity, from a Western view, has been too narrow, making young men’s interests less valuable by the evolving social conditions in which they live (Clayton, Hewitt, & Gaffney, 2004). From the framework of masculinity, there has been a shift into hypermasculinity, which is an overemphasis and exaggerated adherence to the traditional male gender roles

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Mainstream media representations also play a role in reinforcing ideas about what it means to be a “real” man in our society. In most media portrayals, male characters are rewarded for self-control and the control of others, aggression and violence, financial independence, and physical desirability. Sweetman (1997) further states that the Strong Silent Type focuses on “being in charge, acting decisively, containing emotion, and succeeding with women.” This stereotype reinforces the assumption that men and boys should always be in control, and that talking about one’s feelings is a sign of weakness. Traditional views of masculinity can act as an emotional straightjacket that prohibits men from expressing feelings or urges that are mistakenly seen as "feminine," such as warmth, empathy, and need.

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Since then, men have this powerful belief about how to be a man. O’Neil (1981) coined the term masculine mystique – a developmental process where boys acquire gender roles that lead to psychological distress. For example, the traditional masculinity is that mean should restrict their public expression of affection for other men (Brooks & Good, 2001). This adds to their fear of how society will react to verbal expressions of affection, admiration, or love for other men and some men have learned to avoid these behaviors and exhibit a more tolerant image. Unfortunately, while this can protect a man from negative reactions from others, it can also have negative effects on the closeness of their interpersonal

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