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In the Macho Paradox Katz explores the issue of violence against women, but emphasizes the importance of men taking this issue personally and understanding its relevance for themselves and the women in their lives. Katz creates a personal connection to violence against women for the male audience of his book by emphasizing the statistical likelihood of them each knowing a survivor of violence. Katz uses the idea of knowing a survivor to make the issue of violence both personally relatable and relevant for men, with the intention of using this relatability as a catalyst for action and as a means of creating pathways for men to understand their importance as allies in the fight against gendered violence. I think the Macho Paradox reading is a very important entry point for men unfamiliar with the issue of violence or unsure of their …show more content…
role in ending violence against women. However, I think that during our class discussion this point was missed completely. In my small discussion group my peers expressed that the emphasis on the male role in violence against women as illustrated in the Katz reading served to take agency away from women and delegitimized the claims of women by making their validity dependent upon the involvement of men. I believe that these students missed the functional intention of Katz book which is to essentially serve as a guide for men as they navigate the problem of violence against women. To say that violence against women should never be framed in terms of the male perspective is to perpetuate the myth that as a “women’s issue” this issue can’t understood or aided by male allies. Katz does an exquisite job of finding and emphasizing relatability for men from all aspects of life and illustrates small-scale ways in which men can act as agents for change. The simple exercise of pointing out everyday behaviors that perpetuate violence helps men familiarize themselves with the ways in which they may contribute to the problem of violence against women. This series of scenarios was reminiscent to the reading from Johnson in which he lists various forms and experiences of privilege, without a list of these things men may be unaware of the impact and importance of their actions because they aren’t necessarily forced to be fundamentally aware of their micro-level contributions to violence. The Katz reading creates a relevant framework from which men can understand violence against women as it relates to them and their daily lives. Rachel Remen’s piece “In the Service of Life” explores the nuances of languages related to volunteering and the way word choice can create and perpetuate dichotomies between volunteers and the communities they aid.
Remen points out that “helping” a community makes the indebted to the helpers, while serving one requires engaging in the unity with the community, creating a common ground. She also focuses on the assumptions implied by certain words, for example, for one to fix a problem or community implies that it was, before your assistance, broken or lacking. I agree that it is important to be conscientious of words choice and understand the disconnect that sometimes happens between intentionality and reality. However, I had a difficult time grappling with Remen’s preference for the word “service” which I feel implies the one serving is inferior, which doesn’t so much fix the initial dichotomy but simply reverses the roles. Furthermore I felt that her definition and emphasis on service had religious overtones that made me uncomfortable with what she was presenting and made it more difficult for me to relate to and digest her
argument.
Jackson Katz is the founder of Mentors in Violence Prevention which is an education program that has been focused on military and sporting organizations in attempts to put a halt on gender violence. Other than being an educator, Katz is also an author and filmmaker. In 2013, he produced the film Tough Guise 2. In this film, Katz reviews the normalization of male jurisdiction in America. The film looks at the messages of gun violence, sexism, and bullying that are sent to men throughout their entire life. Tough Guise 2 argues the statement that male brutality is a rooted back to our cultural standards of manhood. A pivotal point of the film is that a male’s masculinity is not just handed to them, it must be earned. During the course of the film, this point is supported by examples such as gun violence, homophobic messages and mass shootings.
"Violence against women-it's a men's issue." Jackson Katz:. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2014. .
Domestic violence has been plaguing our society for years. There are many abusive relationships, and the only question to ask is: why? The main answer is control. The controlling characteristic that males attribute to their masculinity is the cause to these abusive relationships. When males don’t have control they feel their masculinity is threatened and they need to do something about it. This doesn’t occur in just their relationships, but rather every facet of life. Men are constantly in a struggle for power and control whether it is at work, home, during sports, or in a relationship, this remains true. So the only way for them to get this power is for them to be “men”; tough, strong, masculine, ones that demand and take power. Where is this thirst for control coming from? Is it the natural structure of a man or is it a social construct? The answer is that it’s the social construction of a patriarchy that results in this thirst for control due to fear. The fear is being emasculated, whether it is by gayness, or femininity. Men use the fear created from domestic violence to gain control, but yet women do have some control in a relationship it is this vague boundary of how much control that leads to domestic violence.
Hasselstrom. Instead of talking about sexism she was born into she confronts the sexism that is learned and forced upon woman Hasselstroms essay directly confronts the violence woman face every day when they go outside their homes. “According to the 2008 national crime victimization survey more than 200,000 women reported being sexually assaulted in this country” (354). Many assaults also go unreported. The author uses personal experience to convey the issue of sexism and how carrying a gun is the only successful way that she has found to protect herself. “Several events in the past ten years have convinced me I’m safer when I carry a pistol” (354) She tried finding other possible ways to protect herself such as learning Kung Fu but found it took too much time to master and even after becoming efficient, Kung Fu still requires close range in which she wants to
Examining different scenarios, such as toy proportions, outlook from inmates in jail, and the ideas portrayed of what the ideal man consist from the viewpoint of man, the movie depicts these things to show how pop culture, social constructs, and masculine identities influence their opinions. Consequently, men believe they can gain respect and admiration from others from their use of violence and threats. Katz asked inmates about their ideology of masculinity; they said that masculinity is about having power and respect. Furthermore, they showed concerned about what the other inmates thought of them and their masculinity. Boys and men have to carefully shape their persona to fit the ideal standard of masculinity, no matter the cost. Katz and Earp break down the social constructs of masculinity by looking at the ideas of the “ideal man,” violence leading to masculinity, and degradation of masculinity by attacking individuals with the notion that they are acting
“‘Instrumental’ violence, however, murder for a purpose, - political power, rape, sadistic pleasure, robbery, or some other base gratification – remains the domain of the male. After all, every male is a potential killer in the form of a warrior – and he only becomes a murderer when he misuses his innate physical and socialized capacity to kill for ignoble, immoral, and impolitic reason. While the male is built and programmed to destroy, the female nests, creates, and nurtures. Or so the story goes”.
Hunnicutt illustrated that the concept of patriarchy is a useful tool in the theory of feminism. She also made use the concept of patriarchy to show how it can be employed to explain violence against women in society. Hunnicutt’s article presents an alternative way to understand violence against women by employing patriarchy as a core theoretical concept. Hunnicutt believed that in the society, women are typically oppressed and men also have been historically dominant over them, and most times it results to violence against these women. Hunnicutt stated that the theories of violence against women mostly focus on male power but via situating that power within a patriarchal order. This article is important to the topic of feminism because for its theoretical background to help ground my
He gives little credibility to the "not all men statement, addressing that while informative on an oppositional attitude, it does not do anything to address the sometimes toxic aspect of growing up as a man. The two stories are alike in the sense that people agree men can be, and sometimes are, violent. There are certain expectations placed upon a man as he grows and strives to be masculine. However, the stories diverge on a course of action.
Greer, Germaine. "Masculinity." A World of Ideas: Essential Readings for College Writers. Ed. Lee A. Jacobus. 8th ed. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins, 2010. 889-902. Print.
The Bro Code: How Contemporary Culture Creates Sexist Men. Dir. Thomas Keith. Media Education Foundation, 2011.
"How Fight Club Relates to Men's Struggles with Masculinity and Violence in Contemporary Culture." HubPages. Web. 22 Feb. 2011. .
This paper examines Patriarchal Terrorism, a form of domestic violence against women. In the United States has being more prevalent among different races, social level, marital status, and educational level. The current increase of domestic violence rates globally have led researchers to study the importance of the rates in the United States for better methods of policy implementation. The theory that explains the causes of domestic violence is the Conflict Theory developed by Karl Marx. Conflict Theory explains how domestic violence emerged due to the result of gender inequality in patriarchal societies. In this societies, men were superior to women in the ability to obtain education, employment, financial income, creating law, and vote. As
“The concept of toxic masculinity as used in the social sciences indicates that traditional American and European society tends to promote a certain set of masculine behaviors that can be harmful to men, women, and society overall”. It is associated with detrimental social and psychological effects. This norms includes dominance, devaluation of women, extreme self-reliance, and suppression of emotions. We all know that the gender based violence is a systemic problem that has historically conformed to masculinity norms in the society. But according to the theory of toxic masculinity no one can claim that all men are rapist or abusers; rather it states that men have the capacity to become violent if they are pushed into a role of masculinity
If we open our lives and give service to those less fortunate than ourselves, we allow our hearts to receive immeasurable happiness. When we sacrifice our time to help someone in need, whether it is a great or small need, we become a part of their life and can help alleviate heavy burdens. Making time to help people in need creates opportunities for us to develop new and lasting relationships. Serving our fellowmen allows the best in each of us to shine through and we can become examples to our children.
In order to tackle the issue of gender based violence, one must first understand the root of the issue. According to Peterson and Runyan, gender refers to the socially learned behavior and expectations that distinguish between masculinity and femininity. However, sex identity is known as the genetic and anatomical characteristics. Meanwhile, socially learned gender is an acquired identity gained through performing predetermined gender roles. Understandably, Society places different values on masculine and feminine behaviors. Gender has now become the basis for relations of inequality and is a powerful lens that we all use to experience and organize reality.