Analysis Of Masculinity By Guante

Society in general has a way of assigning men and women with individual roles that need to be complied with. To clarify, in the 1950s and 1960s, American women were required to maintain their homes while raising their children and making sure the husbands were happy. On the other hand, American men had to provide for the family and protect them. Displaying characteristics not parallel to one’s gender is rarely unobserved and almost always has negative consequences because society seeks to maintain order. In reality, the people cannot conform to society’s “norms” because people have the right to be independent of society, yet be a part of it without sacrifice. An example would be how American society views masculinity as a man who is strong,

Guante uses various literary devices with finesse to effectively raise awareness of people’s perception of masculinity as a social issue. In his poem, Guante uses a combination of analogy, changing tone, and repetition to engage his audience and successfully highlight the misunderstood views of masculinity. Thus, Guante’s poem successfully reprimands the American social construct of masculinity, emphasizing how a wrong interpretation of masculinity dehumanizes men.
Guante’s use of analogy in his sixth response to the phrase “man up” puts an emphasis on how American society’s image of a man holds them to a standard that forces men to conform to, or risk losing, their masculinity. Guante describes the phrase “man up” as an assault on men’s self-esteem because American society’s view on masculinity is that of a male actor in a movie. Guante irritably explains, “[Any] man who doesn’t eat steak, / drive a pick-up truck, have lots of sex with women…are nothing more than, background characters…the strong, stoic, REAL man is the hero” (lines 20-23). Guante uses the movie analogy to reference what society believes to be masculine: that being

Guante explains how he, like other men, wants to express himself freely; however, American society will reprimand him and other men for expressing themselves out of the social norm. Guante criticizes, “I want to be free, to express myself. Man up... I want to be weak sometimes. Man up…I want to be who I am. Man up” (lines 26-32). By repeating “man up,” Guante mimics society’s derogatory response that suggests that men should not display emotions and continue daily life without showcasing their feelings because that is what society determines to be masculine. It proposes that if a man lost his wife in a car accident, he would have to hide his emotions as if nothing happened and “man up.” Otherwise, society will see him as unstable and in need of professional help. However, Guante implies that manning up will not solve problems that arise from life’s realities or suppress emotions and, therefore, society dehumanizes men by ignoring their humanity. Repetition in the quote retains the audience’s attention to the topic at hand, which is masculinity not Guante’s desires, and allows readers to picture the dilemma men have when considering their masculinity. Men who do not conform to social norms face consequences that expose them to unnecessary negative consequences, but if they follow social norms unwillingly, they sacrifice a