The media is a very influential aspect of our daily lives. The media is everywhere we look, everything we listen to, and everything we talk about, we cannot escape it. It only makes sense that the media would have an affect of the construction of how we view masculinity and femininity. The media has the ideals or standards of what it means to masculine or feminine which with our changing times do not represent a majority of people. These standards are set so high that no one can reach them, which makes people feel defeated since they do not meet these expectations. With many people not fitting into these generalized norms we set for a “man” or “woman” it is time we get rid of these norms, or at least update them to the times. People are changing …show more content…
By taking a look at Laurie Ouellette’s look on a popular magazine Cosmopolitan, and Elizabeth Fish Hatfield’s look on Two and a Half Men we can see these are not just some made up ideas but in fact they are very real and are all over the media. Femininity is defined as the quality of being female; womanliness. This is why anything that is perceived as “feminine” is frowned upon for a man to do those acts because in a sense he is acting like a “female” and females are looked at as inferior to men who should only find their worth in a man. The information found in Cosmo Girl further represent these standards. Cosmopolitan enforces the ideals of the upper class but it also teaches that class roles can easily be changed. It talks about how women should fake being in the upper class in order to attract a man that is wealthy. It encourages women to change everything about their identity as long as the man goal is to get a man and to move up culturally and socially. The Cosmo Girl stated that the main goal is to date and marry up in class when you have nothing going for you such as; …show more content…
The things that make a man “manly” have changed greatly in the past couple of decades. The show Two and a Half Men represents this perfectly by showing the alternative portrayals of modern masculinity. They performances of hegemonic sub ordinance masculinity on Two and a Half Men reconstruct and reinforce the dominance of hegemonic masculinity within our society as the only acceptable performance of manhood. It has been said that for men the breadwinner ethic is the only acceptable state for an adult male do be in, and failure of this makes you not “fully male”. This statement is inferring that if you are a stay at home father or not the one with the highest paycheck you have ultimately failed at being a male, which is completely unacceptable. To continue, feminized masculinity is known as a “soft man”, and shows traits that are not usually tied to masculinity such as housework and emotional literacy. When males show traits such as these they are typically assimilated to a gay identity. Most heterosexual males do not want to be seen as a feminine, gay identity so they stay clear of anything that would infer that, further implementing these ideals of masculine traits and roles. This is shown in Two and a Half Men when Alan has more “feminine” traits like showing emotion by mourning his divorce, and doing the housework. Alan’s representation of
Before men’s magazines become a part of popular culture this realm was dedicated to the female consumer, but in 1933 Esquire set out to change that stereotype. Kenon Breazeale’s purpose in writing ‘In Spire of Women’ is to make people understand that men’s magazines, specifically Esquire promote a sexualized image of women solely for a man’s satisfaction. In doing so Brezeale argues that Esquire contributed to the growth of the male consumer by making women an object of the male fetish that serves as only an annoyance to society. Breazeale is able to argue that Esquire is a rejection to the power of femininity by explaining how Esquire adapts to a consumer-based culture where it emphasizes the difference between masculinity and femininity
Several individuals within society typically follow social guidelines that they are unaware of performing. Social guidelines such as stopping at a red light or saying thank you when someone has done something for you. These social guidelines or norms give society a script to follow regarding their behavior and actions. Although norms are the acceptable actions and behaviors that society is taught to perform, there are occurrences where individuals stay away from those in which they are now enacting deviance. To act deviant is considered to break away or do something different of a social norm. There are several forms of deviance that occur frequently within society that violate social norms and hinder society’s overall function.
In a comparison of the content "When Masculinity Fails Men" written by Dr. Nerdlove and the video called "why I am doing trying to be" man enought ". Both refer to male identity, it is constructed in negative terms: attending to what it is not to be a man. Not being an identity defined by itself, men have to continuously demonstrate that they are, can not relax masculinity, and that is exhausting. Therefore, homophobia and the complex are two pillars of the construction of the masculine, they are used as an electrified gate between the human being and the non-human being. For example Dr. Nerdlove states "when manhood is something you do rather than part of who you are, that means that it can be taken from you".
Myers mentioned in his article that this generation of young discouraged, angry men feels abandoned with the today’s norms. Male movie stars and athletes have further influenced the masculine norms. In males perspective, liking a feminine color, doing feminine actions, listening to specified girl music is considered to be less manly. These have greatly affected the likes and dislikes of many men. The entertainment industry has created a big gap between what is masculine or feminine. This has caused a big separation and it's getting worse. Male are taught to be man of the house, strong, and powerful, but sometimes they’re belittled by society that they can’t do certain things and all the power is
On a daily basis people are exposed to some sort of misrepresentation of gender; in the things individuals watch, and often the things that are purchased. Women are often the main target of this misrepresentation. “Women still experience actual prejudice and discrimination in terms of unequal treatment, unequal pay, and unequal value in real life, then so too do these themes continue to occur in media portraits.”(Byerly, Carolyn, Ross 35) The media has become so perverted, in especially the way it represents women, that a females can be handled and controlled by men, the individual man may not personally feel this way, but that is how men are characterized in American media. Some may say it doesn’t matter because media isn’t real life, but people are influenced by everything around them, surroundings that are part of daily routine start to change an individual’s perspective.
In today’s society people are becoming more open about their gender. Celebrities are becoming trans-gendered and this is affecting society because it leaves people in confusion on if the person is male with feminine traits. This causes society to view a trans-gendered person different than others because they chose to change their gender from what they were born as at birth. Changing from male to female allows people to view that person to be weak because generally the male is the dominant sex in life. In culture women are marked by wearing dresses, their body structures and having the title “Mrs.” while men remain unmarked by their clothing and appearances.
In things fall apart the theme masculinity vs. femininity is strongly represented by the main character Okonkwo. Okonkwo is described as a powerful man in the beginning of the story. He is considered a very strong leader. His character reflects from of how his father was. His father was considered very feminine, because EJ he didn’t have the power and strength of the other men in the village. He was very soft towards his son, making Okonkwo wanting to be the opposite of his father. In the beginning of the novel Okonkwo can be seen as the spokesperson for masculinity and is superior to all women in the village. As the plot thickens, we can use foreshadowing to see his future downfall as well as losing his masculinity.
Reluctantly spreading sunblock over each uncovered inch of my fifty-three pound body, I arranged rationally for the challenging undertaking that lay in front of me. After a few hopeless angling wanders which had left my skin red and my snare exposed, I felt sure that, finally, my day had arrived. I stood prepared to clear the primary obstacle of masculinity, triumph over fish. At seven years old, I was sure that my tough, strapping body could overcome any impediment. Feel sorry for the fish that would turn into the woeful protest of the primary showing of my male ability.
For my topic I chose masculinity, I chose this topic because it was different from my everyday perspective. Learning about new perspectives in the research made the reading easier and more interesting. When thinking of a topic I wanted to learn about something new and learn about how others live their daily lives. When considering this topic, I thought it was interesting because I have two brothers and would have never considered that they would have these struggles. I didn’t think that men struggled like women do. I thought it was interesting to read that men have similar struggles.
Ignoring the gender roles placed on them at birth, over time women learned to provide for themselves. Society being more open to gender fluidity over the years but , men are threatened. No longer accepting the outdated matra “ boys will be boys and men will be men”. Gender fluidity paralyzes the binary definition of masculinity. Hypermasculinity pushed through media, family and school ,in attempts of perverting the definition of masculinity.Advocating for the binary gender roles , men are blind to the damage of these roles. "..men are society's official scapegoats and [should be] held responsible for all evil, including that done by the women they have deluded or
Almost every week, the news covers a story involving sexual harassment or sexual assault. Whether it is a group of fraternity members yelling slurs at a homosexual couple, President Donald Trump talking about the power he had over females because of his celebrity status, or a college athlete that rapes an unconscious girl at a party, these types of stories seem to have one one commonality: men are the perpetrators. Not to say that females do not participate in actions of sexual violence, just recognizing the fact that the majority of perpetrators of sexual assault are male (Greenfeld, 1997). In order to get a better understanding of why males tend to participate in sexual violence, this essay will examine the pressures put on males to prove their masculinity. This essay will detail the ways in which I have witnessed and even committed acts of sexual violence to prove masculinity; it will also display how I intend on erasing the idea that participating in sexual violence
“Man-hood is not the manifestation of an inner essence; it is socially constructed. Manhood does not bubble up to consciousness from our biological makeup; it is created in culture. Manhood means different things at different times to different people”(Kimmel,81). Not every male is credited with manhood. Some numbers of the LGBTQI community are deemed too feminine or not manly enough to have a manhood. Masculinity is an attribute expected of men. Bringing home the bacon, being intellectual, being fit, tale and a overall neanderthal, being a player or ladies’ man are some characteristics of masculinity. "Marketplace Masculinity describes normative definition of American masculinity. It describes his characteristics of aggression,competition, anxiety..."(Kimmel,84). Some gay men are often called Queens or are seen as women because of their sexual orientation and attraction to men. Being attracted to men makes gay and bisexual men being attracted to men makes gay men seen as feminine which is in turn that thing in our patriarchal society. Men often call other men derogatory female terms as in pussy, bitch, hoe etc to lower than masculine stance. "Historically and developmentally masculinity has been defined as the flight from women the repudiation of femininity" (Kimmel, 85). Since members of the LGBTQI community are seen to have a connection with feminine ways they are not seen as masculine therefore they are in incorporated into American
Mass media has encaptivated the lives of the people living in this era. It has become a way to show the norms and expectations that you should expect to see everywhere you look. Except for the fact that it is not. Mass media actually shows people what they should probably never expect to see in any real life situation. The way that we portray people of both genders is above any level of “beauty” that anyone could ever hope to see. In twenty-first century media publications, one will now only ever see what is now being termed as “Barbies”. These are people that have had their images manipulated to have a physique that is physically impossible by the bounds of human anatomy. Both men and women are made to look more appealing in most mass media publications as to make more sales, and more money for the companies that produce them. The way that the media presents both men and women creates many stereotypes and expectations that destroy the self-esteem of American citizens, while also putting money into the pockets of the companies of Wall Street.
The differences between women and men are not solely biological. Our society’s culture has established a set of unwritten cultural laws of how each gender should act, or in other words society has ascribed a stereotype. Men’s gender identity has been one of masculinity, and masculinity is defined as referring to a man or things described as manly. What does manly mean though? Is a male manly if he is “Mr. Fix-it”, or the jock, or if he sits on the couch on Sunday watching football? This latter statement is a stereotype of men, that has been around for decades, and is current as well, but starting with the 1960’s a man’s role started to change, despite the stereotype not changing to accommodate it. For the past 40 years one can see how men have taken on roles stereotypically ascribed to women, such roles including being the “stay-at-home mom”, which we can find an excellent example of in the 1980’s film “Mr.
Outline and assess the view that patriarchy is the main cause of gender inequality (40 marks)