Men Changing Men Vs Masculinity

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What Does It Take to be A Real Man? From the time we are introduced into society, men are taught to reject the idea of femininity. They are told to dissociate from society’s perceived inferiority of femininity. Both Men Changing Men by Robert L. Allen and Paul Kivel and the documentary Tough Guise examine how media effects the subconscious ideal of masculinity. Gloria Steinem states that “we’ve begun to raise daughters more like sons … but few have the courage to raise our sons more like our daughters.” Steinem suggests that in the same way we are beginning to teach our daughters that masculinity is acceptable, we should teach our sons to reject society’s view of what a man should be and to question what it means to be a real man. In no …show more content…

These family ideals are usually taught to us unintentionally but affect us for our whole lives. Similar to the roleplaying concept in Men Changing Men, young boys are used to a demonizing household and can identify with being told to not act in a girl-like way by superior male figures. In regards to the roleplaying exercise Allen and Kivel state, “[The exercise] gets the boys’ undivided attention because most have experienced being humiliated by an older male.” (73). It is not an absurd idea that young boys are conditioned into humiliation tactics. Likewise, in media, male figures that boys usually gravitate towards are those who are perceived as masculine. This leads young boys to idolize society’s perfect and unobtainable image of what it means to be a man. Relatable cartoon characters like The Lion King’s Simba are perceived to follow the hegemonic ideal. The Lion King, a film most children watch in their vulnerable years further perpetuates the standard that men should strive to be like the most dominant and strong male in their life. This idea of hegemonic masculinity will only become generational if we do not begin to teach our boys the positives of being feminine. We as a generation have been raised to be naturally sexist via our parents who in their time never gave a second thought to the definition of

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