After reading the two articles about male aggression it is clearly shown that that society has sculpted the way both genders are seen as bad guys and victims. The articles both show high evidence of dominant power and inequality amongst men and women. Male aggression has influenced issues such as how society perceive men, victim-blaming, bullying, and date rape.
Rape culture is triggered by male aggression and how females are too obedient with doing whatever men tell them to do. This can lead to many toxic and abusive relationships. “Power imbalance between men and women.”(Pearson 1) The power imbalance is why many numbers of women and young girls see sexual behavior as standard behavior. This influences men and women by making them think everything
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“Bullying and victim-blaming is plaguing.”(Melbourne 1) This is due to male aggression because society has put males on top and has sat them on a higher stool making men get more arrogant and cocky. This has affected men and women on daily basis by letting bullying pass off as nothing to fret about and it makes men seem very threatening and it can make women feel very cautious and scared of men. By doing this it is harder for men and women to keep a stable relationship from the fear of getting hurt and there will be no trust in their relationship. “Male aggression dominates the informal power.”(Melbourne 1) Male aggression and double standards has led to women being too scared to speak up due to men’s more dominating power that was created by society. This affects women by not speaking up to men and standing up and not calling out for help when they need it. This also affects men by making all men seem like the bad guy who would take advantage of a girl and a situation. Both genders can be affected negatively and seen as the bad guys of a situation. After discussing the evidence men and women can both be affected by male aggression, by how society see both genders. Some good and some bad either way male aggression has led to male are more dominate and women are seen as lesser and
This also leads into the fact that people interpret male violence and aggression as natural. They’ll pin it as something hardwired from ‘the hunter-gatherer days’. Often times they’ll also blame it on media violence, such as graphic video games, movies and TV shows. This is something much broader than that.
Men are allegedly competitive, aggressive, dominant, and strong and if these attributes are not acquired a man is not a man. When other men recognize a man failing in those four areas of “manliness” they compare him to a female with negative connotation as expressed in the following quote, “The worst insult one man can hurl at another-whether its boys on the playground or CEOs in the boardroom-is the accusation that a man is like a woman.” These actions create perceptions that women are unworthy and pitiful. Jensen mentions that because of masculinity men are thought to seek control over women resulting in an increase of physical violence towards women. However, masculinity has harsh effects on men as well. Men are constantly trying to prove their dominance to each other, while competing against one another for ultimate dominance. This creates a never ending cycle of competition and unease for
Domestic violence has been plaguing our society for years. There are many abusive relationships, and the only question to ask is: why? The main answer is control. The controlling characteristic that males attribute to their masculinity is the cause to these abusive relationships. When males don’t have control they feel their masculinity is threatened and they need to do something about it. This doesn’t occur in just their relationships, but rather every facet of life. Men are constantly in a struggle for power and control whether it is at work, home, during sports, or in a relationship, this remains true. So the only way for them to get this power is for them to be “men”; tough, strong, masculine, ones that demand and take power. Where is this thirst for control coming from? Is it the natural structure of a man or is it a social construct? The answer is that it’s the social construction of a patriarchy that results in this thirst for control due to fear. The fear is being emasculated, whether it is by gayness, or femininity. Men use the fear created from domestic violence to gain control, but yet women do have some control in a relationship it is this vague boundary of how much control that leads to domestic violence.
... that occurs by men upon women is neither stopped nor prevented because our society has yet to decide whether it is within gender roles for a man to act this way or whether this violence must be changed. In society today, violence is accepted by some people, as a way to maintain control, which is why men still believe that sexism is the right way to act like the ideal man.
Cross-cultural research has shown that rape is most common in cultures that are dominated by males and violence. This means cultures in which males dominate the political decisions and cultures adhering to the male ideology of toughness, interpersonal violence and war (Groth 7). In a culture of people with more traditional or sexist gender role, attitudes are more tolerant of rape than are people with more nontraditional attitudes. Traditional men are more likely to report that they would commit rape if they knew they would not be caught; some researchers have found that a traditional man is much more likely to commit a rape than a nontraditional man is. Many attitudes in our culture perpetuate rape, for example: A husband is entitled to have sex with his wife," "A 'real man' never passes up a chance to have sex," and, "A women who 'leads a man on' deserves what she gets (Growth 7). “ Some media depictions may promote rape. Many movies make violence appear attractive and some movies convey myths about rape. Such as slasher films that make violence seem exciting, or movies suggesting that women like to be forced to have sex or that women's only value...
So why are girls so “aggressive?” Nicki Crick, PhD, a researcher at the University of Minnesota says: “Physical aggression isn’t very accepted for girls, so they turn to manipulation and emotional threats as weapons” (Murray, par 3). “In recent research, it indicates that gender differences in aggression disappears when the definition of aggression is broadened to include aggressive acts in whish the victim’s personal relationships are manipulated of damaged-- that is, relational aggression” (Miller, 145).
It is not a topic that is brought up often, especially at schools or at gatherings, yet it is crucial that everyone be educated, or at least informed on a topic that affects women every day. “Given that sexual violence continues to occur at high rates in the United States, it is vital that we understand attitudes and cultural norms that serve to minimize or foster tolerance of sexual violence” (Aosved, 481). Growing rates of sexual violence goes to prove that it is not taken seriously by many, especially when myths excuse the actions of the perpetrator and instead guilt victims into thinking they are responsible for the horrible act. Burt (1980), in her article titled, “Cultural myths and support for rape” attempts to make sense of the importance of stereotypes and myths, defined as prejudicial, stereotypes, or false beliefs about rape, rape victims and rapists- in creating a climate hostile to rape victims (Burt, 217). Examples of rape myths are such sayings as “only bad girls get raped”; “women ask for it”; “women cry rape” (Burt, 217). This only goes to prove that rape myths against women always blame and make it seem like it is the women’s fault she was raped and that she deserved it for “acting” a certain way. McMahon (2007), in her article titled, “Understanding community-specific rape myths” explains how Lonsway and Fitzgerald (1994) later described rape myths as “attitudes and beliefs that are generally
Many of the attitudes, beliefs, and mistaken ideas about rape have been with us for centuries. By looking at myths, such as “women ask for it,” and “it would do some women good to get raped,” from a historical perspective, lead us for better understanding how they evolved. Women are still seen as the property of men, are protected as such. Men and women are still taught to occupy very different roles in today’s world. Men are usually more aggressive, and women are seen as passive. (Vogelman) This socialization process is changing, but slowly.
It seems that hegemonic masculinity does a great deal in explaining male-perpetrated familicide, but it fails to explain female perpetrators. There is a great lack of gender symmetrical explanations of interpersonal violence. However, as the 21st century continues, and there is a continued strive for gender equality, there is good chance that there will be an increasing amount of gender based research on violence.
According to Marshall University, Rape Culture is defined as “an environment in which rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence against women is normalized and excused in media and popular culture.” In American society, it is not hard to find examples of rape culture. In popular movies, music, and current events there is an undeniable notion of victim blaming, and sympathizing with male perpetrators. People have begun to use the term rape as a casual adjective. For example “I just raped him in that game,” could be used to describe two people playing a game and one winning easily against the other. American society uses pop culture and current events to promote and justify the prominent rape culture.
Many of the attitudes, beliefs, and mistaken ideas about rape have been with us for centuries. By looking at myths, such as “women ask for it,” and “women secretly enjoy rape,” from a historical perspective, can lead us for better understanding how they evolved. Much stems back to the idea that women are still seen as the property of men, and are protected as such. Men and women are still taught to occupy very different roles in today’s world. Men a...
For women in modern day society, femininity is viewed as the beautiful matriarch. A woman’s role is to be the homemaker and caretaker of the family under the superiority of her husband. Throughout history women have faced adversity in their pursuit of gender equality. One of the more profound adversities that women face in society is domestic violence. Up until the 1970s, society viewed domestic violence against women as a minor offense. Cases rarely came to court and authority would diminish the issue as being a critical problem. In some cases, society portrays domestic violence against women as a joke under the male gender superiority. “In the past, domestic violence was often seen as a way husbands could legitimately 'correct' their wives” (Anna Clark). Male dominance is variously supported based social class, rank and geographical region. “Since the 1970s, feminists have fought for protection against domestic violence.
Webster’s Dictionary describes rape as the crime of forcing another person to submit to sex acts, especially sexual intercourse. Rape is a crime in which most women cannot defend themselves. The fear of rape plagues every woman at some point or another in her life. The traumatic effects of rape vary from mild to severe, from psychological to physical. This paper will evaluate rape, as well as the effects it has on women, the theory behind male dominance and patriarchy, and differences in demographics.
Fawcett, Barbara, Brid Featherstone, Jeff Hearn, and Christine Toft. Violence and Gender Relations Theories and Interntions. London: Sage Publications, 1996. 12-13. Print.
According to the gender role theory, the victimization of women begins during the traditional socialization of children. During the early years of socialization, girls are taught to be passive to the stronger male. Because of this passivity, girls are then more vulnerable to becoming victims later in life. Girls are also socialized to be sexually appealing to men, more so than men are to women. This leads to a media portrayal of women that can make girls more susceptible to sexual abuse later in life. Boys on the other had are socialized to be aggressive, self-reliant, and in control at all times. This leads to a patriarchy, where men hold top positions and are constantly in charge. By