Masculinity Reflection

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What is masculinity? What does it mean, exactly, to be a “real man”? To put simply, masculinity is a socially constructed notion. It specifies how a man should look and act like based on social expectations. Being conventionally masculine includes being muscular and physically strong, being brave and dominant, never expressing emotion. The typical man enjoys sports, cars, and beer. But what if a male does not embody these qualities or enjoy these things? Is he still considered a “man”? In this reflection, the many nuances of masculinity are analyzed. Jackson Katz’s take on masculinity, “Advertising and the Construction of Violent White Masculinity: From BMWs to Bud Light”, details how white males are portrayed in the media. Katz makes a …show more content…

Katz lists a number of examples in ads, and even seemingly harmless companies like Captain Morgan seemed to glorify violence, especially against women. I was familiar with a few of the other advertisements Katz described, and even recalled another ad not mentioned that I had seen before, which revolted me in the way it degraded women. It was for Calvin Klein’s Autumn/Winter 2010 campaign, and it illustrated a woman lying nearly naked on the ground while one shirtless man was looming over her and another was gripping her hair. A third man was also present, seemingly playing the role of the “look out guy”. The controversial image appeared to suggest gang rape and was pulled shortly after publication. In addition to advertisements, Katz also references Hollywood films. What do icons like Arnold …show more content…

Somehow, even though King was clearly a victim, the jurors interpreted it as King being “in total control” of the situation, a body threatening the police rather than a body being threatened. They saw the actions of the police as reasonable in an act of self-defense. This article can be linked to “Booty Call”, as the author touches upon racial profiling, which is what happened in the King case. Racial profiling is the “potential threat caused by African American men’s bodies” (Collins, 2004). This means that racial profiling acts in a racist “what if” scenario. This leads to the belief that if the police did not hurt King, maybe he would be hurting the public, as the black body is seen as “always already performing within white racist imagery” (Butler, 1993). This reminds me of the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown, in which a white police officer shot a young black man after he allegedly robbed a convenience

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