In the article “What is Toxic Masculinity?” produced by Amy Morin and others. The article explores toxic masculinity, a pervasive and harmful concept that has gained increasing attention in recent years. As a college student, delving into the topic has provided me with valuable insights into the damaging impact of societal expectations on men's behavior, mental health, and overall well-being. Toxic masculinity is the set of cultural norms and expectations that prescribe how men should behave, often leading to harmful consequences for both individuals and society. The three primary components identified by researchers are toughness, antifemininity, and power. Toughness in the article is defined as “The notion that men should be physically strong, emotionally callous, and behaviorally aggressive.” This societal expectation not only perpetuates harmful stereotypes …show more content…
A shocking aspect that I found interesting is that toxic masculinity is a glorification of unhealthy habits. The belief that self-care is for women contributes to men neglecting their physical and mental health. This is evident in a 2007 study mentioned in the article, which shows the reluctance to seek preventative health care and engage in risky behaviors, such as heavy drinking and tobacco use, that are normalized under the influence of toxic masculinity. Toxic masculinity leads to considerable mental health stigma. The traditional expectation that males be strong and avoid discussing their feelings prevents them from obtaining mental health treatment. Those who hold traditional ideals of masculinity have negative views about mental health services, which contributes to a culture in which males might suffer
Good afternoon, today I will be discussing the perceptions of masculinity and the need to take responsibility for one’s own actions.
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.
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
In today’s American society there seems to be an ever-growing pressure for young males to adopt the “tough guy” persona. The want to adopt such an identity can be rooted to the way media portrays male masculinity to young boys and pre-adolescent males. With an ever-increasing message of violence, hegemonic masculinity, and inferential sexism, being rooted in Television and films it seems young males are being wired to be view these characteristics as normal because of the cultivation theory. As Jackson Katz from “Tough Guise 2” argues, our epidemic of male violence is rooted in our inability as a society to break from an outmoded ideology of manhood.
In the article “Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt,” by Jean Killbourne, she discusses the culture of male superiority over females. With the rise of feminism and exposure to media being at an all-time high, the two topics seem to be overlapping more and more. Daily, society is flooded with sexist, violent, and inappropriate ads and messages that usually degrade women and praise men. This is an issue which only recently gained traction while the “feminist” movement increased in popularity. Women are wrongly objectified for the sake of tradition and a male-driven agenda. This thought has been held on for far too long.
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
The movie, Tough Guise: Violence, Media and the Crisis in Masculinity produced by Jackson Katz and Jeremy Earp, deconstructs the concepts that create the social constructs of masculinity. Masculinity, a set of behaviors, roles, and attributes correlating to men, is earned, not given (Conley 190). Starting from television shows to children’s toys, the idea of masculinity has infiltrated their minds starting at a young age. Moreover, the concept of masculinity has physical attributes, such as muscles, a deep voice, and be able to protect themselves. Masculinity, for boys of any races, socioeconomic classes, or ethnicity, has grown up with the same stereotypical image of what a man should entail. Since many media outlets show that a form of masculinity
For centuries, the ideal masculinity has been seen as the provider, the macho man, the cowboy and the emotional rock, but new representations of manliness in the media have been challenging this idea (Watson 2015, p. 270). Within these new depictions, there lies a hierarchy where one form of masculinity is more accepted than the rest (Kluch 2015). Macho masculinity has been seen as being dominant in the hierarchy for generations, however, in recent years, there have been an influx of new representations of masculinity that disrupt traditional hierarchal ideas. The masculinity of the twenty first century includes emotions, sensitivity, discipline, and intelligence. These new aspects of the hierarchy have been introduced by movies such as Brokeback Mountain, 22 Jump Street, The
Robert Jensen, a journalism professor at the University of Texas, describes in his essay, The High Cost of Manliness how society has seen men and what behavior is acceptable. Many people perceive men as, “naturally competitive and aggressive” (Jensen). Jensen show how men are not supposed to show any, “struggle for control, conquest and domination.” Instead, what needs to be seen, however, that is not always the case, no one is made the same way, everyone thinks and interprets information differently. Robert expresses how, “hard (it is) to live up to the demand that come with the dominant conception of masculinity.” Not all men need to be the textbook definition of masculine. Room for diversity is a must, it separates each person from the other.
... 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 our society we see two forms of masculinity, hegemonic, and subordinate, this is known as the sociology of masculinity. Hegemonic is a very honored form of masculinity. This is the alpha male example, the man that protects all things, he is more superior than others both male and female, he has the chiseled chin, and the six pack you could wash your clothes on. Subordinate masculinity, on the other hand, defies the hegemonic norms society is so fond of. These males posses feminine qualities that put them below the hegemonic males on a hierarchal scale. Although what we find in our readings is hegemonic masculinity is policed by the worry that one may become subordinate if any sign of weakness is shown.
about the damage inherent to the institution of masculinity as it manifests through the hubris
98 percent of mass murderers are men. According to Time in 2014, almost all rampage killers are men.This statistic startled me as I read "Toxic Masculinity and Murder" by James Hamblin of The Atlantic. In essence, this one figure demonstrates that masculinity is "a more common feature than any of the elements that tend to dominate discourse—religion, race, nationality, political affiliation, or any history of mental illness."
Human beings have a tendency to avoid problems and suffering in their lives, searching for the “perfect world” in which every individual may constantly feel happy. However, is this “perfection” ascertainable by any individual or mankind as a whole? In Brave New World, Aldous Huxley offers his ideas and interpretations of a utopian society in which each person has the ability to always be happy. In Huxley’s vision, pain and suffering are completely avoidable through the use of a drug called soma. Soma functions as an opiate, allowing its consumers to escape all of life’s hardships almost instantaneously by entering into “another world.” People of the World State heavily depend on soma to live their daily lives each day without
We live in a world where society has defined masculine and famine characteristics and features that have influenced our culture. Men are seen as: