“Violent, aggressive, forceful, assertive, hateful, arrogant, and stubborn” (Prentice/Carranza 1-2) are all generally perceived descriptions of what is known as masculinity. Traditional masculinity often has a bad connotation when talked about in today's social environment and is said to have no place within the current era of sensitivity and acceptance. Although it may be accurate that some men can and are perceived as hateful and abusive people this isn't the case for all men, and some of the traits that seem to be the most negative in today’s culture, these traits can be good traits for people to aspire to have and cultivate, not to eradicate.
Many people believe that men follow a certain set of traits known as the “man box.” Characteristics
…show more content…
What is overlooked by society, however, is the positive qualities associated with masculinity and how they can help the world progress. Characteristics tied in with masculinity include: “acts as a leader, aggressive, ambitious, analytical, assertive, athletic, competitive, defends own beliefs, dominant, forceful, independent, individualistic, decisive, self-reliant, self-sufficient, willing to take a stand, and willing to take risks”(Doyle 1). All of these traits can be used in productive ways. Instead of bashing all male action and thought, society should take a look at how many masculine qualities prove to be helpful. This way young boys can learn from male idols and become future leaders in government, school, and business. If men are brought up believing masculinity is only toxic, they may be hesitant to adopt any male qualities at all. To prevent this, “we should stop trying to re-engineer the human soul to prevent boys from being boyish” (Newell 3). Stopping young boys from playing competitively, showing independence, or being decisive can be harmful to them in the future. If parents try to prevent competitiveness in their sons, they may not be ambitious later in life which can stop them from being goal-oriented or even competitive in school-life. Decisiveness in males can also be seen as harmful, however if boomer parents try to take this quality away their son could be seen as having less …show more content…
Traits that should be sought after by all and should be congratulated when an individual is found upholding them. Traditional masculinity often has a bad reputation that follows it around, especially in todays social environment. Often said to have no place in todays socio-psychologically sensitized culture. While the the idea of masculinity and men are often under constant scrutiny and used as the scapegoat or the figurehead for antagonists, “if a woman [or femininity] is at the fault there is a great closing of eyes and a great closing of hearts” (Richard F. Doyle 1). This continued inequality and injustice toward the male gender and their descriptive traits is unfair and promotes more feelings of seclusion and isolation in young men in boys and thusly a deeper fall into the “man box”. (Thompkins-Jones 1). Masculinity as anything in this world is only as bad and can only affect as much as you let it. If the world continues to shine men and masculinity in this negative light as they have so well been doing then not only will billions of people feel out of place and ostracized but also shamed into thinking that them being themselves is the worst thing they can do. I hope you do not contribute to this
Whatever we see in movies, television, video games, or any other source of entertainment, there will always be a male figure who symbolizes masculinity to the fullest extent. All that masculinity representing empowerment is what seems to appeal to men nowadays. In Michael Kimmel’s Guyland: The Perilous World Where Boys Become Men the novel presents the irresistible desires that men seek in order to receive the approval of other men. An approval where men gain access to the concept of Guyland, where young men become masculine in order to fit in socially and to feel empowered. However, achieving absolute masculinity leans toward the use of violence that is presented in the media, presenting a message where violence is used for the purpose of
When someone is thinking of a man, what do they think? Strong? Brave? That’s what most people think; in reality that is a very false image. In “Bros Before Hos: The Guy Code,” Michael Kimmel, talks about what it means to be a man and what it takes to be a man in today’s world. Men are pressured into what they “should” be. If they don’t follow certain unwritten rules, which include: not asking for directions, not giving up, not showing fear, or any signs of emotional weakness, such as tears; they are considered less than a man, a wimp. A real man must be aggressive and brave, he must defend his territory: status, family, possessions. Men blindly follow the Guy Code, they believe in order to fit in, they must comply and be part of the pack.
The concept of masculinity is considered as the qualities and characteristics of a man, typical what is appropriate to a man. In this article, A Community Psychology of Men and Masculinity: Historical and Conceptual Review, The author Eric S. Mankowski and Kenneth I. Maton, analyze four main themes: "Men as gendered beings, the privilege and damage of being a masculine man, men as a privileged group, and men’s power and subjective powerlessness. The second and fourth themes are described as
In Kimmel’s essay “’Bros Before Hos’: The Guy Code” he argues that the influence of society on masculinity is equal to or greater than biological influences on masculinity. In the essay, Kimmel uses various surveys and interviews to validate his argument. He points to peers, coaches, and family members as the people most likely to influence the development of a man’s masculinity. When a man has his manliness questioned, he immediately makes the decision never to say or do whatever caused him to be called a wimp, or unmanly. Kimmel’s argument is somewhat effective because the readers get firsthand accounts from the interviewees but the author does not provide any statistics to support his argument.
McMahan’s article “Heartland: Symbolic Displays of Aggression and Male Masculinity in Rural America” stated “how masculinity is understood, defined displayed, identified, and positioned within a social system is created by and reflected within the interactions of social group members.” This indicates that masculinity started and created by the number of people interact in the environment. Masculinity can also lead to judgements when it is performed successfully or not. Despite of masculinity being judgmental, men must play the act of their “culturally specific, symbolic behaviors if they wish to construct a masculine identity in a given culture”. In this article, it gives a study to observe masculinity in a rural setting and how the community members view masculinity. The author who works as a bartender/bouncer found that there is violence that occurred, in which “it is impossible to avoid problematic interactions with bar customers, who might well be drink or under the influence of drugs, and it became to just sit there and observe” (Heartland, qtd: pg. 543), according to Winlow, Hobbs, Lister, and Handfield (2001). This indicates that violence can lead to dramatic problems when handling masculinity in
Good afternoon, today I will be discussing the perceptions of masculinity and the need to take responsibility for one’s own actions.
In one of our class discussions on hegemonic masculinity, we attempted to define a general list of characteristics or behaviors that one should have in order to attain this ideal. However, there was no consensus on these qualities. Frequently, the qualities that we would suggest would be those that were the opposite of qualities associated with women. For example, if we would categorize being emotional as a trait assigned to women, we would assign the trait of being impassive to men. This would also occur when we considered which behaviors would be considered masculine. While we assumed women would perform work inside of the house, we assigned men to work outside of the house, doing activities such as maintaining the yard or fixing the car. Most of, if not all of, the qualities and behaviors we assigned as being a part of hegemonic masculinity perpetuated the idea of gender inequality. When we assumed that those characteristics would be considered aspects of hegemonic masculinity, we restricted them to only being assigned to men because if a woman could possess those characteristics, it wouldn’t be considered a masculine aspect. This also explains how hegemonic masculinity can perpetuate
Men that carry out the “machismo way of life” feel that they have to constantly prove their manhood to the world. This is generally achieved by behaving in an aggressive manner among other men, also females are looked upon as objects and the more women you seduce, the manlier you are. This type of behavior is given praise by other men and by society in general, thus encouraging men to keep on behaving in this macho manner. Another way in which men carry out this macho life style is by a...
... E Glenn, and Nancy B Sherrod. The psychology of men and masculinity:Research status and future directions. New York: John Wiley and sons, 2001.
Boys have to hide their true selves and feelings to fit in, but in society expect men to be both tough and gentle, and be able to express their feeling, try to not hide behind the mask. Regardless, masculinity is an unrealistic expectation of men. Who cares what others think as long as they be their true self. It is apparent through my though that this essay is a good source to research or write an essay and can be teach. This essay helps parents learn more about their children feeling and grow into manhood to become real men.
Realistically, when someone is more powerful, they have the ability to set the rules. Men have historically held power in society, which means that women did not have as much stance or freedoms as men have had in the past. For example, Canadian women did not have the right to vote until the year 1916. This factor has continued to trail into the present day, creating the ‘weak’ image towards women, overall forcing and pushing men to become the opposite of this factor. Thus, cultural ideals of masculinity rely on the ideas of femininity through patriarchy and gender binaries. The emphasis on characteristics of men are being exaggerated, as society is pressuring men with unattainable standards of masculinity such as being tough, muscular and buff. Men continue to conform to these characteristics, in the fear of being oppressed through exclusion, which only strengthens society’s standards even more. This leads to more societal pressures on men, thus leading men to experience more societal pressures in the fear of feeling excluded. These “systems of inclusion and exclusion are divisions or barriers that prevent people from joining and belonging.” (50). For example, if a man wears nail polish, they may be oppressed and excluded through facing ridicule and bullying, because wearing nail polish is considered “girly”, therefore this boy is rebelling against society’s socially
The topics that Joe Ehrmann uses as framework for his Building Men for Others program are quite intriguing and make you really question masculinity. The first topic, rejecting false masculinity, can be interpreted a few different ways. In the book, it states: “As young boys, we’re told to be men, or to act like men” soon followed with “we’ve got all these parents say ‘be a man’ to boys that have no concept of what that means. I completely agree with the statement of Joe Ehrmann and often question the definition of ‘being a man’. Many boys and men will reject the idea of a man being anything other than being big and strong or having power. Overall instead of a true definition of a man, kids and even adults interpret it as athletic ability, sexual conquest, and economic success. The second topic Joe speaks about is the relationships that make a real man. In the book it states “the number one complaint I hear from most wives is ‘My husband has no relationships with other men.’ In other words, most
Hegemonic masculinity surfaced as a critique for sex role theory, stating that masculinity may vary depending on ones socialization. This idea became more evident once women entered the workforce, as men felt emasculated after what was once solely a male-based aspect of daily life, was now open to women. As the world continues to develop so do gender roles. A major aspect of sports is the clearly defined gender order, which governs the behaviours of both men and women as a means of preserving patriarch and heterosexuality. This order is instilled in boys from a young age in the hopes that they follow these strict societal norms expected from them. To help preserve this thinking, institutions continuously attempt to better male athletes by focusing their attention on the male population as oppose to splitting this attention on both male and female
Every culture has different social expectations for men and women. Most of the time traditional norms or stereotypical gender roles are created by society. What they observe seem to be true and convince others to believe it; as a result, the “script” come from stereotypical gender roles about masculine and feminine nature: Hamilton McCubbin and Barbara Blum Dahl states clearly, “men should be brave, strong, ambitious, and aggressive, while keeping the...
Masculinity and femininity are two terms, which have been interpreted differently throughout history. Both the males and the females have responsibilities and duties but these duties differ based on one’s gender. Gender has played a prodigious role in the economy, politics, and the society. Everyone starts making interpretations of the strengths and weaknesses based on one’s gender. These interpretations are not always based on his or her ability but is usually based on his or her gender. Males tend to be judged as extremely strong and unfashionable in terms of appearance. Whereas, females are judged as expensive and very fashionable. Males and females both differ in their abilities and their enjoyments. Fashion, entertainment, and strength are three topics, which are used to define masculinity and femininity in the 21st century.