Misery men
Gender inequality has always focused on women struggles. Such a stereotyped role receives a lot of attention from media and press because females are viewed as a minority group. However, society fails to shine light on the unjust gender profiling within the male community. The novel Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky recognizes male oppression and the difficulty of accommodating to stereotyped gender roles.
In the 1990’s those of distinct sexuality such as Gay, Lesbians, etc., were not publicly accepted. Often times, these individuals would hide their sexual identity and inflict self-hatred upon themselves. Among these characters is, Brad. Having a homophobic father hinders him from accepting who he is, and who he chooses
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Now Brad didn’t have to use illegal substances to be with him. The only times Patrick and Brad would fool around was “at night …show more content…
As first exemplified, Charlies dad does not allow himself to openly display any emotional signs of weakness, such as crying, because it ruins his masculine image. This occurs when Charlies entire family “was sitting around, watching the final episode of M*A*S*H” (18). Everyone was shedding tears, with the exception of the dad. At one-point, Charlies dad “left during one of the final scenes to make a sandwich… I walked to the kitchen and saw my dad…crying. He was crying harder than my mom… He… stopped crying and wiped his eyes and saw me…and trusted me to keep his secret” (18-19). Research shows that social norms placed upon men and women make it difficult for each gender to be accepted for who they are. It is suggested that gender roles play a key role in men and women’s behavior, affecting each groups ability to seek help. Expectations are more rigorous on men, because they must accommodate to what is appropriate and what is not. Violating these norms often lead to shame and public humiliation creating personal distraught upon males (Juvrud,
As we grow up, people experience different ways of how to express themselves as an individual, especially how to express their emotions to others. Depending on how we are raised, we stereotype boys to be strong and sturdy while girls are gentle and sweet. In both their respective articles, “Defining a Doctor” and “His Marriage and Hers: Childhood Roots,” Zuger and Goleman compare and contrast the different ways of how each gender showcases their behavior and emotion to others. In “Defining a Doctor,” Zuger observes two interns and notices how differently they approach their patients by using their emotion. In contrast, Goleman in “His Marriage and Hers” defines the separate emotional worlds between boys and girls and how their upbringings are
“Books give a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything” (Anonymous). Books are the most patient teachers there could exist in this world; they are the best sources of imagination ever created by humanity. That’s why books and movies are totally two different worlds. “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” is a very special and instructive book where is perfectly suited to the adolescence or teenage times. This specific book that was assigned for class reading was at first sight very ordinary and kind of a boring type, but as one reads on and on, one will realize that is a very realistic and educational type one. It is that one book that one will identify oneself in more than one occasion, where
Cultural meanings of gender can play heavily into therapeutic effects of the client. A female client who is in therapy with her male partner may not have the “right” to speak against what he is saying if she disagrees; some cultures forbid the woman to go against her male partner or even speak in the presence of a male stranger, which could be the clinician. On the other hand, a male client with the above cultural custom may view a female clinician in a nega...
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.
Every teenager has the same exact problem: high school. The conflicts, drama, and social assemblage is a part of every high school student experience at his or her different campus. While most students determine that there is no single adult that has any idea of the situations and circumstances that each person faces in their daily life, they are unbelievably mistaken. Novelist and screenwriter, Stephan Chbosky, perfectly captures these issues in a mature, thematic experience that every teen can relate to. And for some odd reason, some individuals feel that this coming-of-age story needs to be banned from public libraries and schools throughout our nation.
His work also sheds light on why different gender roles are hard for people to accept, due to the way they were brought up, and the culture they are surrounded by (Devor 8). With the belief that gender role behaviors are concrete, teenage boys believe that they must act according to their gender.
First, men, like teenage boys, are expected to be “aggressive, brave, confront danger, and protect their loved ones.” The expectation to hold true to these qualities deteriorates the physical well-being and mental state of men, leading to more injuries in the long run. The mentality taught to young boys to “suck it up” when injured fosters the idea that they should not seek medical attention for injuries, which can lead to major problems in later life. Gender socialization teaches men to conceal their feelings because it is seen as feminine. Hiding emotions leads to stress and the complications that come from stress. Women are gender socialized to be the “responsible ones, the nurturers, and the caretakers.” Caretakers are known to have high levels of stress associated with attending to the needs of young children and sick relatives. High levels of stress are known to cause weight changes, depression, and sleep disorders. Second, women who have day jobs are also expected to also be housekeepers and nurturers of their families, causing added stress to women. (Day) Gender expectations of adults, set onto them in their adolescence, cause great strain and stress throughout their lives. Socialization of the genders from adolescence may have lasting impacts on the well-being of adults, but there are simple changes parents and society can make that will ease this
Gaunte challenges the perceived benefits from engaging in hegemonic masculinity and its relevance to a person’s well being. Benefits are strictly social, whereas the costs are internal and limits how one can behave based on guidelines of masculinity. The phrase “man up” imposes gender expectations, exaggerating perceived differences between men and women such as physical strength and emotional absence. Mora concludes that puberty is a social accomplishment because boys can enact hegemonic masculinity, but Gaunte evokes the alternative where boys do not enact hegemonic masculinity and are penalized for it. Due to society’s expectations of engaging in masculinity, a boy’s freedom to express himself is limited, and being “strong in a way that isn’t about physical power or dominance” implies femininity (Gaunte). This is important because criticisms toward marginalized masculinities lead to internalized self-hatred that is projected onto self and relationships. Gaunte emphasizes the importance of addressing problems that arise from this, such as boys committing suicide, women being assaulted, and trans people being
Holding back tears takes a lot out of any persons’ emotions. University of Manchester’s Billie Andrews reveals that the constant force for a boy to be emotionally repressed, hiding any emotions that negatively impact the boy, eventually leads to boys keeping events of sexual abuse to themselves (“Boys Don’t Cry”). After being consistently told to be “tough”, boys tend to ignore the magnitude of how much danger they are in for the sake of “being a man”. For example, the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center of the University of Michigan provides statistics on male sexual assault encounters; roughly 16% of males have reported sexual assault according to the US Centers for Disease control in 2005 however, there are estimations that declare males report sexual assault even less than females (. A contributing factor to males not reporting sexual assault is because it is hard for society to believe males can be victim to assault because males are always “tough”. Masculinity implies that a male should repress any negative emotions and being a victim is a negative emotion. The fact that the idea of masculinity is so powerful it can force a boy to hide events of sexual assault spells that the male gender role is in need of attention; regardless of gender, sexual assault victimizes
Therefore, the constrictive American ideals of male and female gender identities inhibits growth and acceptance of gender expression. Each gender is separated by rules and guidelines that they must abide by. This, in turn, creates inner tensions that inhibit personal growth. For males, this may be, or is, an extraordinarily arduous task. More often than not, it is other male figures, such as the father, that administer and enforce these certain rules.
Gender role conflicts constantly place a role in our everyday life. For many years we have been living in a society where depending on our sexuality, we are judged and expected to behave and act certain way to fulfill the society’s gender stereotypes. The day we are born we are labeled as either a girl or boy and society identifies kids by what color they wear, pink is for girls and blue is for boys. Frequently, we heard the nurses in the Maternity facility saying things like, “Oh is a strong boy or is beautiful fragile princess.” Yet, not only in hospitals we heard this types of comments but we also see it on the media…
Throughout today’s society, almost every aspect of someone’s day is based whether or not he or she fits into the “norm” that has been created. Specifically, masculine and feminine norms have a great impact that force people to question “am I a true man or woman?” After doing substantial research on the basis of masculine or feminine norms, it is clear that society focuses on the males being the dominant figures. If males are not fulfilling the masculine role, and females aren’t playing their role, then their gender identity becomes foggy, according to their personal judgment, as well as society’s.
Fresh from the womb we enter the world as tiny, blank slates with an eagerness to learn and blossom. Oblivious to the dark influences of culture, pre-adult life is filled with a misconception about freedom of choice. The most primitive and predominant concept that suppresses this idea of free choice involve sex and gender; specifically, the correlation between internal and external sex anatomy with gender identity. Meaning, those with male organs possess masculine identities, which involve personality traits, behavior, etcetera, and the opposite for females. Manipulating individuals to adopt and conform to gender identities, and those respective roles, has a damaging, life-long, effect on their development and reflection of self through prolonged suppression. This essay will attempt to exploit the problems associated with forced gender conformity through an exploration of personal experiences.
This article was written to bring attention to the way men and women act because of how they were thought to think of themselves. Shaw and Lee explain how biology determines what sex a person is but a persons cultures determines how that person should act according to their gender(Shaw, Lee 124). The article brings up the point that, “a persons gender is something that a person performs daily, it is what we do rather than what we have” (Shaw, Lee 126). They ...
An article entitled “How Boys Become Men,” written by Jon Katz was originally published in January, 1993 in Glamour, a magazine for young women. In this article the author claims that the men are insensitive because they have had to learn to hide their feelings during the stage of growing up with other boys. The author defines his claim by analyzing the process of boys growing into a man with the focus on the lesson boys learn that effect their adult lives. The author describes these lessons with the code of conduct imposed upon boys, for example “never admitting fear”. He explains these codes with several instances and by including his own example to convey to the reader the challenges of growing into a man. Through the various stories of young boys, he intends to explain why men seem so insensitive to help women understand why men sometimes seem “remote” or “uncommunicative”.