The Mask You Live In Joe Ehrmann

901 Words2 Pages

Christina Gao
P.2
"No one is as fragile as a woman but no one is as fragile as a man."

Fragility is defined as the quality of being easily broken or damaged. It is usually associated with children and especially women. Throughout the decades, women have been slowly gaining their confidence to show the world that they may not be as soft as society portray them as. Additionally, men have been more expressive about their soft sides. Although they have always been seen as the stronger, less emotional gender, males are in fact much more fragile than women are.

Man has always been portrayed as a no showing emotion macho man. He should not reveal his true emotions because it will overpower his masculinity. Little boys are taught from a young age to “be a man.” In a 2014 documentary, “The Mask You Live In,” Joe Ehrmann, …show more content…

His father, an ameture boxer, was Ehrmann’s first educator on manhood. Ehrmann describes how his father taught him that to be a man, one must learn to control and dominate people and situations. When his brother was diagnosed with cancer, Ehrmann stated that he felt like he was no use to the situation. All his life he was taught to “man up” and power through the situations. Ehrmann did not know how to help his brother. Additionally, he had to force himself to become emotional, loving, and nurturing. Man has always been considered less fragile and it is deeply rooted in his upbringings. He is taught that he cannot show his emotions and must be a man, even through the toughest situations. Men like Ehrmann have to force themselves to show emotions, something that should naturally come out of men and women. He is taught that masculinity does not include true emotions. Although he is taught these ways, man is deeply fragile. However, this fragility is covered in a shell of masculinity that society has placed upon

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