Negative Masculinity

Men are supposed to be the heroes, to be aggressive, and to be strong. If a man shows emotion or weakness in any form he isn’t a man, according to the stereotypes and gender roles that men are put in by our society. Today the general public focuses on vanity; everything must be beautiful (the definition of beauty is set by culture of course, depending on the time). Everyone, men and women, must meet these standards. The way men are depicted in movies, magazines, music, and every other medium constantly screams at our youth that this is the way they must be, anything less will not do. Men are depicted by the media as strong, powerful leaders; by constantly throwing this image into the minds of our adolescents, we are teaching them that if a

To be a man, as defined by James Emry a M.A. from USC. Masculine Psychology, Social Behaviorism & Marriage emphasis, “…masculinity is defined by the EXISTENCE of positive traits like strength, honor, and resilience. Negative masculinity focuses on the ABSENCE of softer traits like compassion, understanding, and caring” (Emry 1). If a man shows the slightest bit of feminine traits they are criticized and judged harshly by those around them. The U.S. in particular has created this unrealistic standard for men that will never be reached. Everyday a boy/man, “…feels inferior because he is unable to fit the standard” (Olson 1). Some men take this complex standard on as a full time job. They constantly workout to maintain the physique that is acquired of men and feel that they have to constantly be emotionally distant in order to seem

Most of the articles are about how to build up certain muscles, how to ‘please your partner,’ and how to ‘be a better man’ (according to them). Although men are not as vocal about being under pressure to look a certain way, they most certainly are, to the same extent as women. Women are supposed to be tan, skinny, and muscular; men are under pressure to look the same way. And even though most feminists will say that men are the ones that pressure women to look that way, the same can be said for women. Women want what they see in the magazines, not a scrawny, super pale, nerds. Society wants the impossible: perfection.

America’s youth walk around constantly seeing images of what they should look like, but what they see in the mirror is completely different and this can be devastating to their fragile egos. For males they are constantly told to act tough, to be emotionally distant, and to not show any weakness, but suppressing those emotions can be devastating and can lead to unruly