Gay Masculinities This unit has been about what gay masculinity means and the struggles gay men face in society. We looked at how gay men coped living in a world that wasn’t accepting of them. How they dealt with self-hatred and the role that race plays in gay communities. In this essay I will be discussing the self-hearted that was shown in the two movies we saw: The boys in the band and Tongues untied. I will also be taking a closer look at the readings that we covered in this unit. I found it really interesting how these men in order to protect themselves used derogatory terms or jokes towards each other and towards themselves. I felt that these men used jokes as a self defense mechanism, in a sense that there is nothing anyone could say that would hurt them because they were already telling themselves and each other horrible things. I will also be discussing the affect that race has on gay masculinity and, I will be discussing on why society in a way considers gay masculinity as a failing masculinity. Self-hatred seemed like a common thing between gay men in the movie The boys In The Band. These men patricianly Michael would make fun of each other but not in a way that was funny or just friends sharing inside jokes, but in a way that would truly hurt someone’s feelings. In a deeming and degrading kind of way. This joking would go far more than just friends playing around it was what they thought about themselves deep inside, because of what society though of them. In this film the characters are gathered together to celebrate their friends birthday. These characters have different personality and different things that they dislike about themselves. Through out this party Michael would make little jokes about almost all of... ... middle of paper ... ...een as woman and there is nothing masculine about women. Women are feminine therefore gay men are feminine; they have feminine traits rather than masculine traits. This unit delta with the struggles that gay man faced trying to live in a society where they were seen as less then men. We discussed the self-hatred they felt because of the way they felt abut themselves. Wanting to be someone they were not just to be accepted. We also looked at African American community and how they treated African American men who were gay. How African American gays were put in a spot where their loyalties were tested, they had to chose if they were gay or black, they had to deal with discrimination from their own race and from the gay community. We also dealt with the idea that being a gay man meant not being masculine. That being gay somehow took away from how much a man one is.
Furthermore, a few of his plays are written about drag queens and others about being gay. Mr. Fierstein grew up in a time when being gay was a very hard lifestyle to be open about. Over the decades the support group lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community or better known as LGBT, has supported the mass movement worldwide. Mr. Fierstein set out to illustrate to the world that it is ok to be yourself and that the LGBT community will not accept any more bigotry. His plays focus on the hardships faced by the oppressed and the tyrants.
Pascoe’s next major study was an eighteen-month research project, which produced the book Dude,You’re a Fag. The book is an ethnography the daily lives of teenage boys in a present day public high school. She finds that masculinity in teenage boys is defined by dominance and control. More so she talks about what she calls “fag discourse”, boys call each other hurtful names to further create domina...
Discrimination has always been prominent in mainstream society. Judgments are quickly formed based on one’s race, class, or gender. The idea that an individual’s self-worth is measured by their ethnicity or sexual preference has impacted the lives of many Americans. During the early colonial period, a social hierarchy was established with white landowners at the top and African-American slaves at the bottom. As equality movements have transpired, victims of discrimination have varied. In the late 1980’s when Paris is Burning was filmed, gay rights were still controversial in society. The lack of acceptance in conventional society created hardships in the lives of transgender women and gay men.
“Everybody’s journey is individual. If you fall in love with a boy, you fall in love with a boy. The fact that many Americans consider it a disease says more about them than it does about homosexuality”. -James Baldwin. In his impressionable quote Baldwin voices the prominent yet tacit unacceptance of Homosexuality. Baldwin indicates that homosexuality or queerness in America is equated to an incurable disease or illness has been a conventional theory that it reveals an attitude of intolerance within American society . This widespread notion has held an augmented presence most notably in the African American community.(Crawford et al. 2002:179-180). In a thorough yet, animated analysis of Floyd, Ayana Mathis reviews popular receptions of Homosexuality and Queerness in the African American community. The characterization of Floyd unveils the ostracization that homosexual Black men face which generates a deceptive performance of hypermasculinity. This false performance is displayed through masking emotion and unveiling an attitude of contempt for anything dearth to the ideology of masculinity while perpetuating Homophobia.
According to Kimmel, the earliest embodiments of American manhood were landowners, independent artisans, shopkeepers, and farmers. During the first decade of the nineteenth century, the industrial revolution started to influence the way, American men thought of themselves. Manhood was now defined as through the man’s economic success. This was the origin of the “Self-Made Man” ideology and the new concept of manhood that was more exciting, and potentially more rewarding for men themselves. The image of the Self-Made Man has far reaching effects on the notion of masculinity in America. Thus, the emergence of the Self-Made Man put men under pressure. As Kimmel states,
Rafe is constantly alienated by the fact he is openly gay in a predominant straight society, and because of this the community of Boulder often responds by justifying the actions and assumptions towards Rafe only because he is gay. Again this is illustrated when Rafe states, “I’m so tired of being a type… I just want to be a human being” (), Rafe exclaims the society treats him in a way of which he is not a human rather a type. He is not equal to the straight people of Boulder, instead just a part of a category. This reveals the community's morals towards gay people, since the people of Boulder do not uphold equal rights of those in the gay community. Not in the sense of legal rights, but rather the rights pertaining to a lack of equality and shunning. In essence, Rafe’s community stereotypically frames him, missing the real Rafe. The community’s alienation, as shown, reveals the the prejudice and categorization of a group and takes shunning gays to a new level. Rather than getting equal treatment and judgment, they’re held accountable to certain stereotypes due to the fact of whether or not someone is gay. Rafe continues to reveal the society’s views towards gays as he proclaims,“Wouldn't it be nice if we lived in a world where no one thought being gay was even something to
The reading, Gay, Latino and Macho, explores four men’s struggles with being gay in a Latino culture. These men share their stories on how they are treated by society for being different. In their communities, men need to show machismo attributes and men who do not meet the standards are not seen as real men. I don’t believe there was a clear thesis to this reading but I do believe there was a purpose, and that is to address how harsh the machismo Latino culture can be to those who homosexual. In order to fix this problem, people need to bring about a more accepting culture for gay people to live in.
For centuries now, men and women have struggled over their sexuality. It has been noted throughout time that several well known and highly regarded historical figures have been free with their sexuality on both sides of the spectrum. Basically, homosexual tendencies have been accepted as a normal part of life in that it has never been regarded as wrong. Only now in our new environment as Americans does the idea of homosexuality bring uncomfort and distaste to people. In fact, American has almost pushed the homosexual populous underground where they now reside as somewhat of a subculture. Americans have put a huge strain on the gay community by persecuting them and demanding that their way of life is wrong. This phenomenon is particularly prevalent in the middle class American society; at least it was a lot more in the past. The novel Giovanni’s Room, written by James Baldwin, depicts a young man caught in the troublesome situation of being a gay American in the middle twentieth century. The character, David, accepts his homosexuality as a boy, but soon learns that his sexual behavior is highly frowned upon by most Americans. With this understanding of homosexual resentment in America, David sets off for Paris in search of an escape from the turmoil’s that lay at home. David cannot and does not accept his homosexuality because of the ingrained middle class American attitude towards homosexuals.
“The unprecedented growth of the gay community in recent history has transformed our culture and consciousness, creating radically new possibilities for people to ‘come out’ and live more openly as homosexuals”(Herdt 2). Before the 1969 Stonewall riot in New York, homosexuality was a taboo subject. Research concerning homosexuality emphasized the etiology, treatment, and psychological adjustment of homosexuals. Times have changed since 1969. Homosexuals have gained great attention in arts, entertainment, media, and politics. Yesterday’s research on homosexuality has expanded to include trying to understand the different experiences and situations of homosexuals (Ben-Ari 89-90).
Even up until now, the controversial issue of homosexuality is still apparent and widely discussed in many countries all over the world. Although many people are becoming more open minded and less skeptical about homosexuality, many more are still reluctant to accept the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) communities as equals. Whilst many may argue that their religion absolutely forbids same sex marriages, thus, rejecting the idea of homosexual relationship, many of them feels it is their right to make the gays and lesbians straight again. For instance, in South Africa, many males practice corrective rape. It is a form of hate crime towards lesbians in order to ‘cure’ them of their homosexuality in order to change them into heterosexuals (Strudwick, 2014). This proves how sick and twisted the minds of homophobes are. As a Catholic myself, even though I was taught that same sex relationship is wrong and not natural, I do not condemn homosexuals or look down on them. In fact, I even have friends that are gay or bisexual. It is good that more countries have now implemented new laws to protect the LGBT community. This ensures the lower crime rate and discrimination of the LGBTs. Despite the fact that a few European countries and several others have legalized same sex marriages, there are still rejection and objection from some parties particularly from the Roman Catholic Church (Bingham, 2005). Why does the Church have such strong objections? Through my research, I will discuss on the views and teachings of the Catholic Church on homosexuality and same sex marriage.
Peter M. Nardi notes in his introduction to Gay Masculinities that there is “a multiplicity of ways of ‘doing’ masculinity that can best be described by the plural form ‘masculinities’” (Nardi 1). While his discussion is specifically speaking to gay men, this idea can be applied across the board. He states that some embrace the most masculine of stereotypes “through body building and sexual prowess, whereas others express a less dominant form through spirituality or female impersonation. Many simply blend the ‘traditional’ instrumental masculinity” (Nardi 1-2). It is this kind of variety of different masculinities that lend support to the notion of masculinity being defined on its own continuum. Rather than the varieties of masculinities, such as female impersonation or cross dressing, that are different than the traditional stereotypes making an individual less masculine, they are included as varying types of
The treatment of the LGBT community in American Society is a social injustice. What most people think is that they just want to be able to marry one another and be happy but that’s not it. They want to be treated like humans and not some weird creatures that no one has ever seen before. They want to be accepted for who them are and not what people want them to be and they deserve the right to be who they are just the same as any other human being. After all the discrimination they have endured they should be allowed to be who they are and be accepted as equals just like people of different skin color did in the times of segregation. We have a long way to go as a country but being the greatest country in the world in the eyes of many great America will make big steps to make things fair.
Most people have their own definition or idea of what they believe femininity and masculinity means to them. Some developed their definition from things they see or hear. Namely, children can develop a meaning of masculinity or femininity based on what their parents say and how they interact with one another. More simply, parents are the first people to demonstrate or mold masculinity and femininity to their children. In addition, school can have an influence on how people interpret femininity and masculinity. Mostly, their peers and teachers will have an impact on how they believe one should show maleness or femaleness. Furthermore, television will give people a different perspective on femininity and masculinity. Televisions provides a visual
In a patriarchal society that enforces the construction of heterosexual citizenship we are policed to follow normative discourses and structures that regulate social policies encouraging heteronormative behavior. Dominant ideologies of sexuality thus regulate and normalize social policies that create this second-class status for LGBT people. Those who fail to comply with conventional male and female behaviors are forced to live on the margins of society, excluding them from social, legal and economic rewards forcing homosexual individuals to live a life where they are required to constantly defend their sexual loyalties. The following essay will be used to discuss the challenges to normative constructions of sexuality by dismantling the naturalization of heterosexuality in analyzing the binary of heteronormativity with the use of the song ‘Same Love’ by hip-hop artist Macklemore. Heterosexuality is a political institution, which disempowers women and men by taking away their right to citizenship. Rapper Macklemore’s track provides a social commentary for the discussion of homosexual love in todays mainstream music. By expressing his support towards the sanction of gay marriage he is challenging normative sexuality, and spreading awareness towards a now-present social issue. By analyzing the song, music video and live Grammy performance it is clear LGBT communities break down taboos by rejecting this idea of a compulsory lifestyle. Using the work and writing of Lord, Ingraham and Concannon this paper will explore the relationship between citizenship, sexual identity and social exclusion.
When one hears the words “LGBT” and “Homosexuality” it often conjures up a mental picture of people fighting for their rights, which were unjustly taken away or even the social emergence of gay culture in the world in the 1980s and the discovery of AIDS. However, many people do not know that the history of LGBT people stretches as far back in humanity’s history, and continues in this day and age. Nevertheless, the LGBT community today faces much discrimination and adversity. Many think the problem lies within society itself, and often enough that may be the case. Society holds preconceptions and prejudice of the LGBT community, though not always due to actual hatred of the LGBT community, but rather through lack of knowledge and poor media portrayal.