Masculinity Essay

Masculinity Essay
Masculinity refers to the possession of character traits which are usually associated with men. Masculinity is also referred to as manhood, boyhood or
manliness. Examples of character traits which are traditionally cited as masculine include characters such as courage, the fact or state of being
independent, and confident and forceful behavior. Through masculinity, it has become almost self–evident that the state of either being a man or
woman has become impossible to disentangle in the process of development. The human growth report suggested that if human growth is not gendered,
it is therefore endangered, which a report that was sent in 1955 talks about. (Connell, pg.2). The involvement of establishing new ideas or methods of
feminist...show more content...
The first films following silent films were the first to give characters a voice. This started to take away from the art of configured facial
expressions that were once used, and relies more on the drama throughout the film, and the spoken relationships between characters (Butter).
Actors like Humphrey Bogart began to become widely famous and give a new image to what it meant to be a man. His roles were described as
being fueled with a greater sense of testosterone than actors before him, a "Bad Boy image", if you will (Butter). His films were able to draw in
large number of audiences too. In a 1953 movie, Beat the Devil, Bogart played a character by the name of Billy Dannreuther. Billy is a bad boy in
the film, and during this time, it was most often young juveniles that had difficult challenges presented in their path, sudden realization that helped
shape them, and in the end, it was also the "bad boy" image that would help exemplify masculinity (Wert). In the 1960's, there were films that
exemplified the image of the ideal man. This change came due to the films by Clint Eastwood, and his ideology of the Old West. In all of his starring
roles, Clint Eastwood
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Feminism and Masculinity Essay
In contemporary society, hegemonic masculinity is defined by physical strength and boldness, heterosexuality, economic independence, authority over
women and other men, and an interest in sexual relationships. While most men do not embody all of these qualities, society supports hegemonic
masculinity within all its institutions, including the educational institute, the religious institute and other institutes which form the ideological state
apparatus.
Standards of masculinity vary from time to time, from culture to culture. However, masculinity always defines itself as superior and different from
femininity. For example, gay men and househusbands exemplify "subordinate" masculinities in our culture. They are not considered to be "real...show
more content...
In recent years there have been many assertions that masculinity has been in crisis, supposedly as a result of the feminist movement. The concept of
mail dominance being in the best interests of society is greatly challenged by many feminists. Since the 1970s (find out when feminism first came
about) feminism has had a great deal of impact on society as feminist protested against dominant male unity. Many other critics however believe that it
is women's lives that have changed more so than men's. As Judith Stacey states in her book, Theory and Society (1993), "journalists and academics
share recognition of a problem, a problem that is named not femininity in crisis but as a crisis in masculinity" (Stacey, 1993: 719). So although more
changes are going on in women's lives, men are more affected and the notion of masculinity is therefore resulting in a crisis.
According to Anthony Clare the heart of the masculinity crisis lies within the understanding of "the private and public sphere, the intimate and the
impersonal, the emotional and the irrational" (Clare, 2000:212). Both men and women are both confined to their spaces and the line between the two
has somewhat been blurred, thus resulting in a crisis. The way in which this line is blurred is by masculinity becoming more feminized. There have
been two major shifts in masculinity over

Masculinity Essay
Part A: Bronies and the Social Construction of Masculinity According to Connell, there are four masculinities present in our society: hegemonic,
complicit, marginalized, and subordinate. Hegemonic masculinity is the dominant form of masculinity in society. It is culturally valued as the most
type of masculinity. Connell states that the qualities of hegemonic masculinity include heterosexuality, whiteness, physical strength, and suppression of
emotions. When men do not fit the characteristics of hegemonic masculinity but they do not challenge it means they belong to the complicit
masculinity category. These men often admire the characteristics of hegemonic masculinity. Marginalized masculinity is when men cannot fit into the
hegemonic...show more content...
Bronies experience gender policing by family, friends, and the media. "Gender policing is the responses to the violation of gender rules aimed at
promoting conformity (Wade 355)." In the film Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My Little Pony, some Bronies could tell their
stories about telling their friends and family and how other peers viewed them when they came out as a Brony. Lyle told his story about his Brony
journey. One–day Lyle asked his mother what she would think if he liked the show My Little Pony, and she said she would be worried about him so
he played it off as a joke. He felt his own mother would not accept the fact that he liked the show. He did not want his father to ever find out because
he did not want his dad to think he was gay or a man–child. He did not want his parents to view him differently all because he liked a show aimed
for younger girls. Alex was another guy from the video sharing his story. Alex lives in a place where a people believe that if a guy is not masculine
that means they are homosexual. Alex was bullied at a gas station because he had pony decals on his car. The guy who bullied Alex about his car
smashed his back window where the decals were at. Then the guy "playfully" pointed a gun at Alex and told him to stop with the gay girly shit. The
media only criticizes Bronies by calling them weird, gay, creepy, pedophiles, disgusting, feminine, etc. Bronies face

Masculinity Research Paper
Masculinity is a topic that has been debated in today's society extensively. It is defined as consisting of a certain types of behavior, languages and
practices which exists in a specific cultural and organizational locations, which are commonly associated with males, thus culturally defined as not
being feminine. In popular literature, movies, television, advertising, music and other form of American commercial entertainment, the Western genre
has been governed by the traditional male 'hero' and its masculine stereotypes. Cowboy has been constructed as the epitome of what is supposedly are
archetypal American values of masculinity. The central place of the cowboy in the dominant ideology of gender and what amounts to the civil religion
of

Masculinity Essay
Main idea: High school boys practice compulsive heterosexuality to ensure their masculinity and social status. Compulsive heterosexuality is not
particularly associated with sexual orientations, but more to do with behaviors, social interactions, and institutional structures. Male students
expressed and measured their masculinity by objectifying girls and their bodies, relentless remarks about sexual conquests, desiring girls, and
desired by girls. Being in control of girls' bodies, overpowering them to alter their bodily functions and inflicting pain were revered as a sign of
masculinity. They also thought to believe that forceful coercion to overcome girls' resistance to boys' desire was part of a good practice of masculinity.
...show more content...
Question: Should sexual harassment classes to be incorporated into a mandatory high school curriculum?
Theory: Pascoe's writing illustrates Connell's hegemonic masculinity. Pascoe discusses Chad Rodgers, a tall, good–looking senior football player,
popular among girls, thinks that the world revolves around him is a typical hegemonic masculinity. Chad has a girlfriend and having sex with her
proves his heterosexuality. Darnell who is an African American boy is marginalized of his masculinity because of the intersection of his race,gender,
and sexual identity. He proclaimed that the mixed girls are for him. In ways, he was expressing his frustration of limited choices of girls, and he must
compete with white boys. Pascoe also employees the essentialist theory where other boys want to be Chad Rodgers and girls want to be with him, all
because he is muscular, has a nice body who is a stud at sports. The essentialist theory is based on picking a feature and identify that feature to be the
definition of masculinity. Often, strong and powerful physical attributes are associated with masculinity, thus Chad's athletic abilities and his muscles
contribute to his manliness.
Question: If certain physical attributes are determining factors of masculinity, and the current over exaggerated media's exposure influences how boys
conclude normative of masculinity. Should there be stricter legal restrictions on the national network

The article "The National Conversation in the Wake of Littleton is Missing the Mark" By Jackson Kats and Sut Jhally is about finding the cause of
violence and relating it to students who dispense harm to society, as well as other students. There is a focus on masculinity, along with behavior and
how that behavior is being influenced by the environment. The article focuses on factors such as peer exclusion, the prevalence of violence in the media
and most importantly, violence in relation to gender. .
In relation to gender, masculinity plays a crucial role in shaping ego and self–esteem. While answering the question "how does violence relate to
masculinity?" it is important that we examine the pressures of both societal and cultural norms....show more content...
This may alter children to act violently in order to keep up with the norms they are being presented by influential, popular celebrities.
While studying a topic which has a cause and effect relationship to societal norms, we can apply two major theories to help understand the
influences shaping our perceptions and mental processes; the first being conflict theory. Conflict theory focuses on society as a whole. While
trying to find correlations between violence and masculinity, the role of society has a large influence. It decides whether or not you meet societal
norms and if you do not, you are seen as unequal and less than those who do. This is demonstrated in the Columbine section of the chapter where
Katz and Jhally mention "dominant male athletes did not hide their distance for those who did not fit in." ("gender and sexuality") This implies to
us the shooters most likely acted out by using violence because they were deemed less than the jocks and a separate social class. In this chapter,
there is also a focus on dominance, power and control. There is a relation to conflict theory in this idea because it acknowledges the desire of
"privilege." As many try to increase theirs and be viewed as equal, they may feel the

Essay On Toxic Masculinity
Toxic In the world people idolize the idea of the aggressive and powerful man, but this is a dangerous icon to present to children. Taken to an
extreme it can cause the cycle of toxic masculinity to begin. Toxic masculinity is a dangerous set of ideals and beliefs, it provides a dangerous
mindset of violent behavior to young boys, leads to anger issues, depression, and a severe urge to compensate for perceived inadequacies by the use of
violence in the teenage years, can lead to an adulthood filled with violence towards family, and others, and allows the cycle to repeat. At an early age
boys are presented the idea of the hyper–aggressive male by family, friends, media, and the young boy is taught, or feels the need to fill into that...show
more content...
What was just imagined was a simple game of dodgeball, but in the mind full of toxic masculinity it is inseparable, it is not a game, it is the real
deal, the final stand. The need to feel adequate can overtime cause a deficit internally, making a hollow feeling that the teen cannot express,
because it is a sign of weakness, this leads to depression, and possibly suicide. On the flip side, if the boy does try to acknowledge the problem,
then he does show his weakness, and others make fun of the boy for it, because he was weak. When the teen reaches adulthood, it is more likely
than not that they will appear in the typical wife beater attire, because with the ideals of toxic masculinity with him, that is precisely the next step.
He stays out late and does cocaine and picks up working girls after his construction job, he comes home to his wife who has waited for him so he
can eat, he grabs her and yells at her, he calls her names and accuses her of being unfaithful, he beats her until she is black and blue and leaves her
crying on the kitchen floor. The man falls asleep, and the next day, the boy messes a chore up, and he yells and smacks his son around, and when
the boy cries, he yells even more, telling him to toughen up, stop being a sissy; the boy learns his lesson, and a few years later winds up beating a kid
he was picking on until he's got a few broken ribs, and a swollen eye,

Essay On Masculinity
Differences in gender roles of men and women have been a topic of debate for years. People argue whether there is still masculinity and femininity in
today's society. Masculinity can be defined as being protective, aggressive, assertive, competitive, confident, and independent (Gordon). Femininity can
be defined as being honest, loving, kind, empathetic, and nurturing (Dalla–Camina). Masculinity is mainly found in men and femininity is mainly
found in women. These differences in gender play a vital role in the workforce. Men and women should have different jobs in the workforce, but there
are exceptions.
Men and women should have different jobs because of the way their brains work. Brain studies have shown the differences in the...show more content...
Men understand exact sciences, which means that they easily understand data that is given to them and can use it. Women understand social sciences,
which means that they understand people and how to act around them ("Male Brain vs. Female Brain"). As well as brain structure, physical structure
plays a role in the jobs of men and women.
Men and women can find strength in jobs by how they are built physically. Men are naturally built heavier and stronger than women. This allows for
men to complete jobs that involve brute strength. Some of these jobs include being a crew member on a ship, train, or plane. Women don't normally
have as much muscle as men do, they are daintier. A role that women have is to be a mother of her family which involves caring for her children.
When children are young, it is best to be gentle with them since they are so fragile. A mother is physically built so that she doesn't have to worry about
crushing a newborn child. This makes women the best choice for nurses who deal with newborn babies. Along with physical structure, how men and
women work with or without others can help distinguish jobs meant for them.
Different kinds of jobs require you to work with or without people. Men are more inclined to work by themselves rather than with others. This is the
case because men tend to work in more

Masculinity
In Paul Theroux's essay "being a Man" Theroux describes the detrimental effects of gender roles on the individual, specifically focusing on males and
their quest for masculinity. "Even the expression 'Be a man!' strikes me as insulting and abusive. It means: Be stupid, be unfeeling, obedient, soldierly,
and stop thinking."
Theroux continues by describing society's idea of manliness as destructive. Amale's desire to be "manly" fuels anti feministic beliefs, and without
disposing of this traditional idea of manliness, males are doomed to repeat a cycle of insecurity and dependence on others to boost their own egos.
Theroux builds on the idea of the grotesque mature of manhood in America by describing how masculinity "Denies men the natural friendship of
women." He uses his own experiences in order to expand on this point. Theroux claims that at the age where he craved the attention of girls, he was
sent off to boy's cam. Furthermore, Theroux blames sports for teaching boys to forsake...show more content...
On the contrary, he describes it as "an unmerciful and punishing burden." While women have to deal with a variety of problems, men also have to
deal with their own set of problems and pressures placed on them, merely based on the fact that they're males. He closes with a justification for men
objecting feminism, "And this is also why men often object to feminism, but are afraid to explain why: of course women have justified grievance, but
most men believe– and with reason– that their lives are just as bad." This statement is a critical point in the essay because it drives home the idea that
both men and women have their own set of grievances.. However, the issues women face are much more prominent, therefore the problems that men
face are overshadowed by the problems that women face. While Theroux acknowledges the struggle of women, he wants to shatter the illusion that men
live carefree

Masculinity Essay

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Masculinity Essay