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In “ The Appeal of an Androgynous Man” an article written by Amy Gross, she compares the characteristics of the masculine brute, to the humble androgynous man. An androgynous man is a man who possesses qualities of both genders. For example, an androgynous man would still have manly traits, but would also be more feminine than other males. In her essay, Gross claims that the androgynous man possesses closely similar traits, in comparison to herself. Gross finds it more difficult to communicate with masculine men than androgynous men, simply for the reason that androgynous men are more sensitive and compassionate.
Gross claim that androgynous men are more sensitive and compassionate for many reasons. She starts off by saying that androgynous men are not “effeminate nor hermaphroditic,” meaning that they are perfectly normal men, but they have certain traits that others of society would classify as feminine. (Paragraph 2) FIrstly, she exemplifies manly men to be a primitive, ape like brute who has no taste in any of the arts.
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All-men men were concluded to be the “least supportive, responsive, or humane.” (paragraph 10) While on the other hand, androgynous men passed with flying colors. He not only knows about the feminine culture, but takes it to the next level and become a part of it. He is one who “cuddles kittens, and bounces babies, and has a sympathetic ear for someone in distress. For a sexual partner, Gross concedes that women would prefer the jock over the friend of an androgynous man. However, the masculine man would seem to portray a person resembling your opponent, having to try to “win you over.” The androgynous man would not be an “opponent” per say, but rather your teammate. Rather than a race to finish first, to the androgynous man, sensuality is a pleasure to
In the essay, “The High Cost of Manliness,” writer Robert Jensen discusses the harmful effects of having male specific characteristics, such as masculinity. Jensen realizes that men’s actions and ways of living are judged based upon the characteristic of being manly. He argues that there is no valid reason to have characteristics associated with being male. Society has created the notion that masculinity is the characteristic that defines males as males.
Hegemonic masculinity is the belief in the existence of a culturally normative ideal of male behavior. This ideal among other things includes the belief that men should be big, strong, and athletic. Sports, especially contact sports, reinforce this idea, as an athlete is seen as the ideal of what it means to be a man. The general belief associated with gay men is that they posses none of these traits and are thought to be feminine. These normative beliefs are not the case and are actually st...
Aaron Devor’s essay “Becoming Members of Society: Learning the Social Meanings of Gender” describes how despite popular belief, gender and sex are not directly related and how social norms affect individual’s choice of gender. Devor‘s main argument is that gender is not determined by genitalia, but instead by the individual's own choices. Michael Kimmel’s essay “Masculinity as Homophobia” claims that gender equality is a positive thing for males and that social norms force men to act a certain way. Kimmel’s main argument is that men are always having to protect their masculinity in order to prevent themselves from appearing weak. Both authors present compelling arguments for both gender equality and for how social norms influence individuals’ gender choice. However, the two authors approach the same topic in different ways. Kimmel takes a more laid-back approach to the topic by using simple words and a conversational tone that relates to the casual gender sociologist. Devor writes a more sophisticated essay using complex terms and a more formal tone that relates to the serious sociologist that research gender studies.
An article entitled “How Boys Become Men,” written by Jon Katz was originally published in January, 1993 in Glamour, a magazine for young women. This article details the process of a boy growing into a man and mainly focus on the lesson boys learn that effect their adult lives. These lessons are about how to hold back emotions and never appeared sensitive. The author includes examples of his own experiences as a boy to convey to the reader the challenges of growing into a man. Through the various stories of young boys, the author is trying to prove that the men are insensitive because they had to learn to hide their feelings during the stage of growing up with other boys. The purpose of the author is to explain the women of the world, why men appear to be emotionalist and “macho.” The author’s main idea of this article is to explain why men are insensitive and to help women understand why men sometimes seem “remote” and “uncommunicative.”
Society has taught its people that men are supposed to have certain and different characteristics than women and vice versa. What is difficult to understand is why society split the uncomplicated human characteristics in to two categories. Jensen brings up two important questions in this text pertaining to the separation of characteristics, “What makes these distinctly masculine characteristics? Are they not simply human characteristics?” These questions are really important to discuss because whether an individual is male or female they are still a human and all humans have access to the same set of characteristics. Males and females can express masculinity and they can both express emotions because they are each human. Jensen’s main point about characteristics is that any characteristic can apply to males or females because characteristics are not sex based, they are human
Robert Bly explains that the ideal image of masculinity depicted by our western views is said to be the 50’s males. “These men had a clear image of what a man was, and what his responsibilities of a man were, but the isolation and one-sidedness, of his vision were dangerous.” By the sixties, males became aware of the feminism movement that the 50’s males tried so hard to ignore. With the changing times, the combined influence of feminism and the gay movement has exploded the conception and uniform of masculinity and even sexuality is no longer held to be innate. Men during these movements felt threatened by the newfound power of these individuals and sense of self. The 70’s brought upon an era of the ‘soft’ male, who were not interested in starting wars or harming the earth. Yet they remained unhappy, and lacked energy because they are providers and not procreators. Even through the chain of events in American society, the view of masculinity is still ever
When this thinking is applied to the discussion about men, it helps us to understand where the ideas about a “natural” masculinity that is same for all men comes from. If “man” is the physical representation, “masculinity” is the essence that defines him. So for example, if “masculinity” is defined by the society as behaviour that is sexually and physically aggressive, dominant, confident and avoiding the show if emotions, men that do not conform to these qualities are arguably less manly.
Psychological androgyny means that one individual can be masculine and feminine at the same time. In certain situations, a person can be assertive, independent and emotional or concerned of the welfare of others (Bem & Martyna, 1976). They also found that college students had more nontraditional responses, meaning that they did not necessarily stick to traditional gender role expectations, and women reported less traditional responses regardless of whether they were among the college group or non-college group. ...
Over time, the image of men has changed. This is due mostly to the relaxation of rigid stereotypical roles of the two genders. In different pieces of literature, however, men have been presented as the traditional dominate figure, the provider and rule maker or non-traditional figure that is almost useless and unimportant unless needed for sexual intercourse. This dramatic difference can either perpetuate the already existing stereotype or challenge it. Regardless of the differences, both seem to put men into a negative connotation.
There is no such thing as a less superior race or the other because even though we are created differently as man and woman, we are still created equally, of which we deserve to be given equal opportunities in order to attain our full competence as human beings. In time, with the growing feminist movements striving for gender equality, women will no longer be seen and treated as the weaker gender and being a man will no longer be the norm anymore. Society will learn to accept how women are created with their own set of capabilities and their contributions as both men and women are needed in society because characteristics that are lacking in men are said to be present in women and vice a versa. We need one another as we are created for a purpose to complement one another and to continue on improving society for the better.
Wilton, Tamsin. "Which One's the Man? The Heterosexualisation of Lesbain Sex." Gender, Sex, and Sexuality. New York: Oxford University, 2009. 157-70. Print.
Masculinity only exists in coherence with femininity. If a culture does not treat men and women as carrier of polarized character types, at least in principal, is not able to have a conception of masculinity, like it is found in contemporary European/American culture. Attention has to be brought to “historical specificity and historical change,” because it “illustrates the social construction of masculinity, the multiplicity of ways in which masculinities can be enacted or lived and the existence and potential of change” (42). A good basis to start discussing what masculinity and femininity constitute out of, is by investigating what men and women do (or how they behave). If gender is cultural, then men and women are able to step into and inhabit masculinity as well as femininity “as a ‘cultural space’, one with its own sets of behaviors” (43). These behaviors include a number of culturally defined characteristics. Male competiveness, aggression, and emotional inarticulateness are said to have their own place in the economic system and stand for masculinity. Still widely accepted is the view that men and women differ fundamentally and that men as well as women have a distinct set of fixed traits that characterizes one as male or
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.
Gender roles and identity are constantly shifting throughout different societal generations. Men and woman both have notable similarities and differences in genders and they each contribute to their personalities and actions. In the past men have been viewed as a more dominant sex in society over women, both in careers, home life, and sexually, however, today women have bridged many of the gaps and society is accepting a more equal view of genders. The following examines the similarities and differences between men and woman by looking at biological characteristics, gender roles, and sexual responses.
behaviors, and social conditions that we call masculinities are “hard-wired” into males through biology (see Thorhill & Palmer, 2000) and/or the heritability of human psyche (see Jung, 1959/1989; Bly, 1990). They view masculinity as static, transhistorical, cross-cultural, and cross-situational. From this perspective, gender change is either impossible, or it involves the use of powerful force to constrain what is seen as “naturally” male. (Masculine Self pg. 19)