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.
Jensen proposes three ideas on why masculinity must be terminated: masculinity is harmful for both men and women, men are surrendering their humanity by conforming to masculinity, and that all characteristics should simply be human characteristics, not male or female.
Jensen, having the perspective of a male, is
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disappointed by the burden of masculinity that lingers over men. He proclaims, “Maybe this masculinity thing is a bad deal, not just for women but for us” (131). This statement starts to express the assumption that masculinity is not fair to either sex. Men are assumed to be competitive, aggressive, dominant, and strong, and if these attributes are not acquired a man is not considered a man. When men recognize other men failing in the four areas of “manliness,” they compare them to a female with a negative connotation, as expressed in the following quote, “The worst insult one man can hurl at another-whether it’s boys on the playground or CEOs in the boardroom-is the accusation that a man is like a woman” (131). These actions cause society to create perceptions that women are unworthy and pitiful. Jensen mentions that because of masculinity men are thought to seek control over women, resulting in an increase of physical violence towards them. However, masculinity has harsh effects on men as well. Men are constantly fighting to prove their dominance to society, while competing against each other for ultimate dominance. This creates a never ending cycle of competition and unease for males. The continuous cycle of men proving to society that they portray the characteristic of masculinity prevents them from expressing their humanity.
This means that their feelings and emotions are suppressed, and deep relationships are not created. Jensen states, “But we live our lives in that system, and it deforms men, narrowing our emotional range and depth. It keeps us from the rich connections with others…that make life meaningful but require vulnerability” (132). This declaration implies that men who comply with masculinity sacrifice the ability to cry, show sensitivity, and express emotion because those are actions that women, who are fragile, take part in. Throughout the text, Jensen makes a point to compare males to females because he is representing how society does not want their characteristics to overlap. Therefore, men hold back from showing emotions because being compared to a woman will damage their image in society. The actuality of men holding back emotions is unfortunate because men are holding back their innate self. Jensen makes a valid point that expressing feelings and emotions is part of being human, and when men do not allow themselves to be human they lose their
humanity. The loss of humanity, for men, and human characteristics is due to society’s separation of characteristics into either male or female attributes. Instead of humans obtaining characteristics on an individual basis, they are gaining characteristics solely based on their sex. Society has taught its people that men are supposed to have particular characteristics that strongly differ from those of women. It is difficult to understand why society splits the uncomplicated human characteristics into two categories. Jensen brings up two important questions pertaining to the separation of characteristics, “What makes these distinctly masculine characteristics? Are they not simply human characteristics” (133)? These questions are really important to discuss because whether an individual is male or female, they are still human and all humans have access to the same set of characteristics. Males and females can express masculinity and express emotions because they are each human. Jensen’s main point about characteristics is that any characteristic can apply to males or females because characteristics are not sex based, they are human based. The overall message of this text is that culture should not use gender specific characteristics to define males and females. All characteristics are equally applicable for males and females because characteristics are based on humans, not sex. Society needs to discontinue labeling men as masculine and women as emotional because gender does not automatically determine their characteristics. Plenty of men are emotional and have the right to express it, whereas many women are tough and competitive. The sex of an individual does not determine their characteristics, but being human does. As humans, we have the option to be ourselves instead of conforming to what characteristics society wants males and females to display. Jensen concludes the text with a very powerful quote directed towards men, but it truly speaks to all human beings, “We men can settle for being men, or we can strive to be human beings” (133). Eliminating the stigma that masculinity is only for men will release men and women from suffering, will allow men to uncover their humanity, and will define characteristics as human characteristics, rather than gender specific characteristics.
Good afternoon, today I will be discussing the perceptions of masculinity and the need to take responsibility for one’s own actions.
The topics that Joe Ehrmann uses as framework for his Building Men for Others program are quite intriguing and make you really question masculinity. The first topic, rejecting false masculinity, can be interpreted a few different ways. In the book, it states: “As young boys, we’re told to be men, or to act like men” soon followed with “we’ve got all these parents say ‘be a man’ to boys that have no concept of what that means. I completely agree with the statement of Joe Ehrmann and often question the definition of ‘being a man’. Many boys and men will reject the idea of a man being anything other than being big and strong or having power.
In Kimmel’s essay “’Bros Before Hos’: The Guy Code” he argues that the influence of society on masculinity is equal to or greater than biological influences on masculinity. In the essay, Kimmel uses various surveys and interviews to validate his argument. He points to peers, coaches, and family members as the people most likely to influence the development of a man’s masculinity. When a man has his manliness questioned, he immediately makes the decision never to say or do whatever caused him to be called a wimp, or unmanly. Kimmel’s argument is somewhat effective because the readers get firsthand accounts from the interviewees but the author does not provide any statistics to support his argument.
The concept of masculinity is considered as the qualities and characteristics of a man, typical what is appropriate to a man. In this article, A Community Psychology of Men and Masculinity: Historical and Conceptual Review, The author 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
Boys have to hide their true selves and feelings to fit in, but in society expect men to be both tough and gentle, and be able to express their feeling, try to not hide behind the mask. Regardless, masculinity is an unrealistic expectation of men. Who cares what others think as long as they be their true self. It is apparent through my though that this essay is a good source to research or write an essay and can be teach. This essay helps parents learn more about their children feeling and grow into manhood to become real men.
Jensen believes that ideology of manliness is dangerous to both men and women. Manliness is seen as something that needs to be eradicated from society, like the black plague. Jensen is directly addressing the demands on men under the notion of manliness. Jensen lays out the key traits that are associated with the idea of manliness. Control, conquest, aggression, domination, and more. He admits that men can sometimes have traits that are predominately associated with females, such as caring and compassion, but states that the only traits that really counts in the end is the traits that over power the female like aspects. Culturally society has predetermined
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.
Jensen provides evidence throughout the text for three assumptions on why masculinity must be terminated from pertaining to just males. It is proposed that masculinity is harmful for both men and women, that men are surrendering their humanity by conforming with masculinity, and
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
An article entitled “How Boys Become Men,” written by Jon Katz was originally published in January, 1993 in Glamour, a magazine for young women. This article details the process of a boy growing into a man and mainly focus on the lesson boys learn that effect their adult lives. These lessons are about how to hold back emotions and never appeared sensitive. The author includes examples of his own experiences as a boy to convey to the reader the challenges of growing into a man. Through the various stories of young boys, the author is trying to prove that the men are insensitive because they had to learn to hide their feelings during the stage of growing up with other boys. The purpose of the author is to explain the women of the world, why men appear to be emotionalist and “macho.” The author’s main idea of this article is to explain why men are insensitive and to help women understand why men sometimes seem “remote” and “uncommunicative.”
... E Glenn, and Nancy B Sherrod. The psychology of men and masculinity:Research status and future directions. New York: John Wiley and sons, 2001.
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.
The essay explains how society judge men because they have to be strong and never show emotions nor weakness when they are having problems. According to Kimmel, “No Sissy Stuff! Being a man means not being a sissy, not being perceived as weak, effeminate, or gay. Masculinity is the relentless repudiation of the feminine.” (Kimmel) In 1976 men were taught to man up in everything they had to deal with in life.
According to Julie Zeilinger in Guys Suffer from Oppressive Gender Roles Too, society forces men to be powerful and tough. On the other hand, in order to be powerful and tough, plenty of guys are forced to hide their true emotions. However, hiding one’s emotions can be unsatisfactory or harmful. Men will feel disconnected, seeing that they have detached themselves from their true feelings.
Masculinity refers to set of attributes, behaviors and roles generally associated with boys or men and constitute of biologically created and socially defined factors. There are three main characteristics attributed as masculine according to David Gilmore (1990) – protect, procreate and provide. Protection implies that men need to establish and defend social and physical boundaries. This role requires them to have physical strength and endurance. A man’s physical capabilities affect every aspect, from self-preservation to mating preferences. Physical and emotional stoicism is expected from them – men are expected to suppress their feelings to enable themselves to maintain an objective view. Intellectual capabilities take precedence over emotion or intuition. Their role in procreation is as the aggressor in finding a mate and is recognized in most cultures. It is required of men to possess virility and potency, the ability to sexually satisfy a woman, fecundity and having progeny. As providers, men work primarily to feed and create an environment of comfort for their