I've always wondered to myself, what is masculinity? What does it exactly mean to be
“masculine”? When thinking of
masculinity, what phrases or words come to mind? When asking various
individuals this question, the responses I came across were quite interesting.
The most commonly used words expressing masculinity were: aggressiveness,
restricted emotions, desire for status/power, self-reliance, dominance, and
strength. The interesting correlation I found was that all of these words were
very similar in expressing one main premise: “masculinity” is the exact opposite
of what is deemed “feminine"
In
deeply studying the concepts of femininity in the past, I found that
masculinity and femininity seem to be the perfect opposite of each other. Where
the traditional woman was gentle, the man was aggressive. Where the traditional
woman was emotional and sensitive, the man exuded no emotions. Where the woman
was passive, the man was aggressive, and so on.
Because
masculinity was made out to be the perfect counterpart of femininity, we can
get a general understanding of why it’s looked down upon for the two to ever
interlope. For a man to posses’ gentleness and sensitivity, traits that are typically
deemed feminine, he would be referred to as a sissy or a weakling. And that’s
just it, to be anything like the woman, in any shape or form, is to be fragile
is to
be passive
is to
be "weak".
And I
found that very concept to be so intriguing.
Of
course, because men were the bread-winners and women were the bread-makers; we can get an understanding of where these personality traits and stereotypes originated from. But needlessly to
say, society has advanced, and is still continuing to advance. It’s 2014, and
we’re constantly undergoing positive change in many aspects of life (work,
home, technology, equity/equality)
So...
while we’re aware of these prehistoric
beliefs
Have
you ever wondered how they're being promoted and endorsed today? How exactly is “masculinity”
portrayed today?
Let’s zero in on one of the biggest
contributors of our understanding today:
The media
(DUN DUN DUN)
Yes
the good old media
Of
course, with the help of growing technology, the influence of the media has
grown rapidly. But how has the media merged those prehistoric beliefs
regarding masculinity into our society today?
However, let’s take a closer look at an interesting study conducted by psychologists Megan Vokey, Bruce Tefft and Chris Tysiaczny from the University of Manitoba. Through extensive research of advertisements in men’s magazines (ex. Playboy, Field and stream, game informer etc) they concluded that the main messages promoted by these magazines were:
a) Violence will always be manly
b) Men must exude toughness
c) Danger is exciting
d) Toughness is a form of emotional
self-control
Furthermore,
they also found that these messages were likely to appear in magazines targeted
towards younger, lower-income, and less educated readers.
And this is where it becomes interesting. This is where we begin to understand how the media plays a role in how young boys...young men feel about themselves today.
And this is where it becomes interesting. This is where we begin to understand how the media plays a role in how young boys...young men feel about themselves today.
From
a young age, boys were told to “man up” in many different occasions and situations. But have we ever stopped to consider
what this phrase actually means or implies? Essentially, A boy/man will always feel their manhood is put in danger, put in stake, if they choose to show their
emotions in any way or form. As a result, boys will never truly feel confident and satisfied with themselves.
An as sociologist Dr. Michael Kimmel put it so accurately:
“We've constructed an idea of masculinity that doesn't give young boys a way to ever feel secure in their masculinity, so they have to go out and prove it all the time”
Please
continue, and watch this 3 minute clip. *DO NOT SKIP*
Time to ponder...
(Answer at least 3 of the questions)
(Answer at least 3 of the questions)
Despite
the media having a role in the damaging of our youth; do you feel, as a individuals, we are failing our boys?
Do
you agree with Dr. Michael Kimmel (quotation)? Why or why not?
What
other ways does the media promote masculinity and manliness?
What
long term affects can the “bottling up of emotions” have on young teenage boys?
Does
your definition of masculinity correlate with the media’s definition? Why or why
not?
Lastly, do you believe culture has an impact on our views concerning masculinity?
Citations:
Bahadur, Nina. "Be A Man: Macho Advertising Promotes Hyper-Masculine Behavior, Study Finds." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 7 May 2013. Web. 7 Mar. 2014.
"Gender & Gender Identity." Gender Identity. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.
First of all, thank you, someone finally looks at men in media and society. I was worried no one would because it is a rarely touched upon subject. I felt you did a pretty good job of conveying your thoughts and really represented well how men are in portrayed in society today.
ReplyDelete1. Yes I truly believe that not only the media, but us as individuals negatively impact boys everywhere. This damage is done by any type of person. Parents (especially fathers) tell their children at a young age they are to be strong, be a man. If they have younger siblings they are told to be a protector, but never support. The largest stigma for boys is if they cry. Crying is frowned upon by their parents once they have passed the age of 6-8. Friends, both female and male, tell boys to be manly and cause large amounts of shame if they are caught being emotional. In a relationship they are made to be the care-givers, to their children they are to be someone who protects and provides, even to strangers they would look oddly at you if you a male broke down emotionally. Everywhere you go you need keep this mask of limited emotions (being anger, happiness to extent, but never sadness).
2. I do agree with parts of this quote. I do believe we have fabricated an idea of masculinity in males and I do agree they attempt to prove this false idea, but I don’t believe they should feel secure in their masculinity. That proposes the fact that being a male is something to be proud of. You are either 1 gender or the other it should not dictate how you act. In that way it is the same as being secure in femininity. So I believe you should feel secure in whom you are, with no basis of race, age, gender, etc.
6. Yes I believe 2nd to the media, a person’s culture is what gives them a sense what a male is. In many cultures, especially in Asia, it is tradition for the man to be emotionless and to bring bread to the table and to be the “king” of the family. This gives a notation to their sons this is what is a man is like and I have to grow up this way. It is hard to convince someone otherwise that males don’t have to be this way because they have lived in a culture that nurtures this image for their whole lives. This form of “brainwashing” is very dangerous because it stops change, men will make their sons follow the same ignorant path as them with every generation. Unless we break the ties of the traditions of culture we will continue to make the same mistakes for our boys in the future. Culture should dictate who you grow up to be.