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I agree with Kimmel’s thesis that the ways the rules of manhood have been constructed that only a few believe that they are truly the most masculine. Disempowers the majority of American men through discrimination. The reason I agree with his thesis is because it’s true the way that we as men are taught from how a man dresses, talks, and walks is ingrained into us at very early ages. That those that don’t follow the status quo are seen as un-manly. Personal story my father like most grew up being taught the usual men don’t show emotion and men dress a certain way almost militaristic only wearing colors like navy’s, blacks, and greys. An if you were to wear another type of color it had to be a very dark form of that color. So if you were going to wear a green or purple they would have to be dark couldn’t be …show more content…
My girlfriend at the time notice I only had dark cloths so she bought me this bright almost sky blue t-shirt and I liked it. My father on the other hand did not and every time I would wear it would call it my “gay” shirt. I continued to wear it and it wasn’t until I got to college that I started buying brighter types of cloths an my father just accepted it. He even changed himself because funny story last summer my father bought those types of shorts mentioned in Kimmel’s essay. So because I went outside of the rules of masculinity my father was there to police me and try to put me back on them just like Kimmel says a man’s friends police him and let him know when he is being un-manly. Richard Fayerweath Babcock, Join the Navy poster I think does a good job illustrating what Kimmel was saying about manhood being equated with power over other people and things. The poster is clearly supposed to be like a cowboy on one of those mechanical bulls. Showing a sailor trying to get power over a torpedo. This is evident by the reins being seen on the torpedo but, in reality the torpedo has the power over the
In “Kim Possible”, Saul Elbein reports on the story of a women giving a false confession and detectives failing at not seeing past their own idea of what happened, and looking at the details. The podcast was published on October 11, 2013 on This American Life. In the podcast we are introduced with the murder of a man along the river. His personal belongings were stolen including his credit cards which led them to surveillance of a woman using a ATM which looked like a woman named Kim. A man named Jim Trainum who is the lead detective on the case was the one to start the interrogation, and she denied everything she was being accused of. Eventually during the afternoon of that day she admits to only finding the credit cards and signing the credit card receipts.
In Gail Bederman’s Manliness and Civilization, she aims to describe the concepts of manliness and masculinity at the turn of the century. Bederman explains that the concept of what it means to be a man is ever changing as a result of the ideology of the time as well as the material actions of the men. During the Progressive Era, many forces were at work that put pressure on the supremacy of white, middle class men. Some of these forces included the growing move toward empowered women, the unionization of the working class, and the move from self-employment to big, corporate business. She delves into the way that both racism and sexism were used to build up the concept of masculinity and the turn of the century discourse on civilization.
The results reflect opinions from people in the general public who support his argument. The fact that he took the time to conduct these interviews shows that he is informed on the topic and is trying to gather credible information to support his argument. He also quotes social psychologist Robert Brannon’s four basic rules of masculinity in the text. This shows Kimmel took the time to research the topic and learned from the work of other researchers. The author acknowledges the expectations that society has for a man to be considered masculine but he does not think society should have these expectations. Kimmel does not reveal his masculinity or lack of in this essay, so we cannot be sure if his character influenced this writing. If he were extremely masculine he would probably be more likely to side with society’s views but if he were more on the feminine side he would be more likely to oppose society’s views. Kimmel has some credibility because of his use of interviews and surveys but lacks some credibility because of the lack of statistical data on this
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.
Both Shotgun Lovesongs by Nickolas Butler and Population: 485 by Michael Perry explore ideas of masculinity and manhood, but I think Butler shares a more diverse representation of masculinity through his different characters. What it means to be a man The concept of masculinity is considered as the qualities and characteristics of a man, typical of what is appropriate to a man. In this article, A Community Psychology of Men and Masculinity: Historical and Conceptual Review, the authors Eric S. Mankowski and Kenneth I. Maton, analyze four main themes: "Men as gendered beings, the privilege and damage of being a masculine man, men as a privileged group, and men’s power and subjective powerlessness. " The second and fourth themes are described as paradoxes that have created difficulty in efforts to analyze and understand men’s gender and masculinity." However, the point of view of masculinity that Perry raises in population 485 has a different aspect.
In one section of “Men and Women’s Studies: Premises, Perils, and Promise,” Michael Kimmel discusses how men have helped women to gain equal rights within the educational system (Kimmel, 26). He explains that as pro-feminists, men who made efforts to understand feminism and support women, as well as implement equal rights for women, realized the importance of women’s education (Kimmel, 26). According to his essay, many American men, as well as women, helped to create an educational system for women, which was seen as a “revolt” against inequality and the subordination of women (Kimmel, 26-27). Kimmel argues that pro-feminists tried to provide an opportunity for every woman to study; one such example is Henry Durant, an American pro-feminism activist, who established Wellesley College for
...cks’ discussed above do portray masculinity as a troubled, anxious cultural category as they hide behind a humorous façade through their unglamorous jobs, male bonding, homophobic comments and insults, and the pressure to change and become a ‘real man’ in order to live up to their successful female interests.
Manhood had not always existed; it was created through culture. Depending on the era, masculinity claimed a different meaning. But in all of its wandering definitions, it consistently contains opposition to a set of “others,” meaning racial and sexual minorities. (pp.45) One of the first definitions was the Marketplace Man, where capitalism revolved around his success in power, wealth, and status. A man devoted himself to his work and family came second. Although this is one of the first standing definitions, it still finds its spot in today’s definition, where masculinity consists of having a high paying job, an attractive young wife, and
When look at the video “Tough Guise” I see Katz central argument being that the definition of manhood being communicated to our young boys and men is the problem within our society. Katz brings up the issue of men being taught not to express emotion or show vulnerability. Our society has taken the compassion and feeling out of our men; men must live up to the standard of being cold and emotionless otherwise they will be assumed to be gay and ridiculed for
In chapter 1 of his book, Kimmel discusses how these differences are applied to men and women. We are
In the views of Micheal Kimmel “hegemonic masculinity” is a socially constructed process where men are pressured by social norms of masculine ideals to perform behaviors of a “true man” and its influence on young male’s growth. It is the ideology that being a man with power and expressing control over women is a dominant factor of being a biological male. The structure of masculinity was developed within the 18th to 19th century, as men who owned property and provided for his family with strength related work environments was the perfect example of being a generic “American man.” Kimmel introduces Marketplace Manhood and its relation to American men. He states, “Marketplace Masculinity describes the normative definition of American masculinity.
When someone is thinking of a man, what do they think? Strong? Brave? That’s what most people think; in reality that is a very false image. In “Bros Before Hos: The Guy Code,” Michael Kimmel, talks about what it means to be a man and what it takes to be a man in today’s world. Men are pressured into what they “should” be. If they don’t follow certain unwritten rules, which include: not asking for directions, not giving up, not showing fear, or any signs of emotional weakness, such as tears; they are considered less than a man, a wimp. A real man must be aggressive and brave, he must defend his territory: status, family, possessions. Men blindly follow the Guy Code, they believe in order to fit in, they must comply and be part of the pack.
I have read several studies comparing the male and female brain and showing that there is no difference between male and female brains. I think the mere existence of transgender people show that sex and gender are not to be equated with one another. Transgender people were assigned their gender at birth based on sex and socialized a certain way but grow up to be another gender. If gender were rooted in biology this likely would not happen. I do agree with Kimmel’s idea that masculinity is rooted in fear. There is very little discussion of how sexism hurts men, but I feel his ideas could possibly use more discussion of women as you cannot talk about how men are hurt by gender roles and sexism without talking about
We’re living in a society that expect men to be strong, bold, and protective. Men are not supposed to be vulnerable because vulnerability shows weakness. They are expected to be powerful, resilient and brave. A leader who rules by the exercise of threats, force, or violence, proving manhood means as unfeminine as possible. Manhood is described as a fragile state that needs to be earned and which can be easily lost or taken away. That is why boys are forced to develop a sense of shame over any kind of feminine act; one of the stereotype between gender starts at an early age, growing up boys are supposed to wear blue and girls wear pink.