How Do Rigid Definitions Of Masculinity Contribute To Homophobia?

In modern times, feminism and the yearning to become more than a traditional “housewife” have been topics of fierce discussion; however, often neglected is the fact that men, too, are expected to fulfill a role in society. In Michel Marc Bouchard’s Lilies, the characters are heavily influenced by the Catholic, Quebecois society of Roberval, which promotes heteronormativity and a certain masculine mold, resulting in tense relationships with oneself and with others. This can be seen as Simon struggles internally with who he is while Bilodeau and Timothee express discontent in the increasing visibility of homosexuality and the breakdown of the masculine “norms.” Although this play takes place in the early 20th century, the advocacy of what a man should be according to Catholicism, which often leads to homophobia, still prevails heavily today, as seen in Katherine Dugan’s “Gendering Prayer: Millennial-generation Catholics and the Embodiment of Feminine Genius and Authentic Masculinity” and in Wayne Martino’s “Policing Masculinities: Investigating the Role of Homophobia and Heteronormativity in the Lives of Adolescent School Boys.” These articles show the extent to which the toxic outlook on masculinity is seen in Lilies while providing insight into how the public is expected to adhere to heteronormativity. These struggles perceived in Lilies can also further be analyzed through the works of Roy Brooks-Delphin, Lowell Gallagher et al., and Wolfgang Palaver.

Is the threat of bullying a real threat to kids today? Bullying has been a threat for a long time in schools and adding the new advances in technology such as cell phones, twitter and facebook bullying is now being done online and school learning is being affected. Schools should have the power to limit students’ online speech because the percent of boys and girls being cyberbullied is raising, teachers teaching ability is being affected, and students learning in class is being affected. One reason schools should have the power to limit their students online speech is cyberbullying is now a problem in the United States. The Cyberbullying Research Center posted statistics in February 2010 saying 16.6% of males between the ages of 10-18 have been cyberbullied and 25.1% of females ages between 10-18 have also been cyberbullied (Doc A).

Essay 4 in The Matrix Reader “Masculinity as Homophobia” by Michael S. Kimmel explains the definition of manhood and how it has helped to create the concept of homophobia in a societal sense rather than a scientific one. Kimmel states that “Manhood is neither static nor timeless; it is historical,” and “…not the manifestation of an inner essence; it is socially constructed,” and “…does not bubble up to consciousness from our biological makeup; it is created in culture.” (pp.44) In today’s society, being a man has many stereotypes, and the legalization of gay marriage puts those stereotypes to test.

Bullying has been around since the beginning of time. Parents may remember when they were kids and the bully would pick on them or their friends by stealing lunch money or just getting beat up, and that was the end of it. The victims remember the hurt, frustration, and sadness it caused. However, these days, bullying is not just happening on the playground or at the bus stop, it is happening on the Internet and on cell phones, making it possible to bully a child 24 hours a day with multiple bullies and thousands of kids watching. Cyberbullying follows children nonstop and into the safety of their house. Sometimes kids are afraid to inform their parents about the cyberbullying that they will think its there fault. Or that their parents will call the bullies parents or other parents, making the bullying worse. However, the effect and pain that comes from cyberbullying is real. People underestimate cyberbullying, just because it is happening online and not in person. Cyberbullying can lead to many different factors like drinking, and drugs, poor grades, depression, eating disorders. Many students have even taken their own lives because of another student saying something to them online. Cyberbullying has been taking place a lot more in middle and high schools because of the increased usage of social media networks and technology. Cyberbullying is worse and more harmful than traditional bullying.

Now that all of the details, background, and evidence have been laid out, a straightforward synopsis would be appropriate. It has become obvious that heterosexual men are not just afraid of gay men but also of themselves. Men have this major motivation of wanting to prove masculinity to himself and to everyone else. It seems that this can be rooted to something even deeper into the depths of man's natural instinct and desire for power. Because masculinity is known as the dominance over feminism, it is a natural feeling for men to want to be masculine in order to be more dominant so that they may be on the verge of obtaining some form of power.

As this reading "Masculinity as Homophobia", it shows and proves that the "History of Masculinity", "Power Relations", "Flight from Feminine", "Homosocial Enactment", and "Homophobia". As guys are raised to being always told that they shouldn’t express themselves and it’s something only girls do. The physical embodiment manliness is above all else. That animosity, sturdiness and rivalry trump sympathy, expression and coordinated effort. Also, manliness is not the issue all by itself. Manliness — as a rule connected with rivalry, rationale, reasonable considering, intensity, activity and quality — is just an issue when it's working in overabundance. Essentially when you treat the general population, as particularly folks saying you are a man,

Stereotypes and false media portrayals of gay and straight male interactions are inaccurate and allowing people to believe that these interactions are true. In society’s standards, masculinity is reserved only for those willing to deny all effeminate traits.

focused on the impacts of masculinity in the form of the Gender Role Strain (2015). There are three main components of the Gender Role Strain: a discrepancy strain, a dysfunction strain, and a trauma strain. The discrepancy strain refers to the psychological distress that occurs when one does not meet either external or internalized masculine expectations or manhood ideals. This was described by participants as the feelings of discordance between homosexuality and rigid male norms, and the feelings that surrounded important people in their lives seeing homosexuality as a threat to masculinity and associated with being weak and effeminate (Fields, et al. 2015). This resulted in a conflict because: “…losing one’s standing as a man also threatened social positions and relationships within families, peer groups, and communities,” and an internalization of antihomosexual constructs of masculinity (Fields, et al. 2015). Next, the dysfunction strain refers to the negative effects the result from adhering to normative masculine expectations; while these expectations may appear desirable, they have potential side effects on the men themselves and those close to them (Fields, et al. 2015). This was especially prominent among black men who have sex with men because they have stronger vigilance to maintaining a desirable level of conformity to masculine norms to camouflage their homosexuality. This resulted in greater levels of stress associated with upholding this disguise and the fear of their sexuality being discovered (Fields, et al. 2015). Lastly, the trauma strain refers to the psychological strain from experiencing the masculine socialization process, particularly during childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood. Many of the men in this study defined masculinity as simply “not feminine”, and that being a man means pursuing women sexually and being physically strong and aggressive (Fields, et al. 2015). The culmination of these various stressors impact

Men fear humiliation or weakness because they always have to present everyone this image of being though, dominant and dependent; men despise anything that goes against these traditional views of masculinity. This traditional thoughts lead to homophobia. The media is constantly portraying men in a violent or dominant way in the movies, TV shows, etc. Asians are almost always portrayed as martial artist or violent criminals and Latinos as boxers, criminals or though gangsters.

This masculinity actually affects Homosexual among Black people because since their stereotype that they made for themselves, majority of African American show homophobic attitude on gay sexuality. In Black community Black gays and lesbians fear of violence because of their effeminate male and masculine female

The difference between bullying and cyberbullying is important and maybe not be as simple as originally thought.

Most homophobism stems from people not understanding what it means to be queer. “An estimated 3.5% of adults in the United States identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual, and an estimated 0.3% of adults are transgender”(Gates 1). Since so few people identify themselves under one of those categories, not many people understand what it means. Someone who is a lesbian is a girl attracted to a

Cyberbullying is different from schoolyard bullying. Teachers can't intervene to the internet. Teens spend the preponderance of their day online just scrolls down seeing objects that may be harming other students, however, students refusal to show their relevance to this important title of cyber bullying. While the internet is an essential mechanism, numerous people compose it a dilemma. The internet is a comparable a reward, once you recognize it you are excited, however having the internet for a while, you tend to comprehend and being tired of doing the same opponent material so you start looking up different objects to accomplish on the internet.

Some of the stereotypes that homosexuals face are: that they have made a choice in being gay or lesbian, lesbians are masculine, there is a cure for homosexuality and that gay men are pedophiles 9. Homosexuality is in actual fact just a different form of sexuality 16 and therefore those who are homosexual cannot change their sexuality or be cured of it. While some women do fall in a category of being seen as masculine is not a defining feature of lesbians as they are just women who are sexually attracted to other females 8.

Homophobia refers to fear of or prejudice and discrimination against lesbian, gay and bisexual people. It is also the dislike of same-sex attraction and love or the hatred of people who have those feelings. The term was first used in the 1970s and is more associated with ignorance, prejudice and stereotyping than with the physiological reactions usually attributed to a ‘phobia'. While homophobic comments or attitudes are often unintentional, they can cause hurt and offence to lesbian, gay and bisexual people.