Men’s Angst with Society´s Perception of Masculinity

“…men are unhappy and don't really know why.”

Masculinity in the modern age is changing, so much so that many men feel inadequate. A large amount of men are unable to understand what type of masculinity they fit into and what they want to fit into. In Gurmeet S. Kanwal’s article from “Psychology Today: The masculinity crisis, male malaise, and the challenge of becoming a good man” he says that, “the perception and image of heterosexual men in this country has never been as negative, de-idealized, and potentially harmful as it is now. And lots of men are feeling it.” Men are now feeling that they do not fit into or do not want to fit into popular masculinity. This is similar to the way American men were feeling about masculinity after World War II. Even though the male malaise was not present, many men were not content with the popularized breadwinner masculinity, according to Elizabeth Fraterrigo in her book Playboy and the Making of the Good Life in Modern America. In the time where Playboy was first starting off the most accepted masculinity was the breadwinner, which has now been looked down upon by media. The unhappiness men had at the time towards that one accepted masculinity was mended by Hugh Hefner’s creation of the Playboy lifestyle. Fueled by the male malaise and negativity from the media, masculinity will have to change in the near future even if it means creating a new kind like Playboy did.

During post-war-era America women were feeling something very similar to what men are feeling now. As quoted in Kanwal’s article Betty Friedan defined women's unhappiness as ''the problem that has no name." She wrote, "... many American women were unhappy and did not know why". In her book Fraterrigo talks about how men q...

... middle of paper ...

...society. While there may only be two widely accepted, continually bashed, but nonetheless accepted masculinity, the breadwinner and the bachelor, that does mean there is not room for more masculinities that can be accepted by most.

Men are feeling the malaise and unhappiness frequently, which means that a change will come in which men can feel as they belong to something that defines them as masculine, and are accepted for it. Evidence from our own history in America with both men and women changing the perceptions on the roles of their own gender have proven that in time progression will be made. The real question that is yet to be answered is; what new types of masculinities will arise, and when will they come?

Works Cited

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/psychoanalysis-30/201106/the-masculinity-crisis-male-malaise-and-the-challenge-becoming-good-ma