Masculinity As Homophobi Fear, Shame, And Silence

Historically, masculinity in the United States has been constructed as being White Protestant Anglo-Saxon, furthermore heterosexual and in charge of all matters, and this definition sets standards against which other men are measured an evaluated. Michael Kimmel provides a good definition:

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word Masculine as “Male: having qualities appropriate to or usually associated with a man” (Merriam-Webster). While another source, the popular comedic Urban Dictionary, presents a more satirical definition of the word Masculine, "Often defined as aggressive, strong, and unfeeling or stoic. Being masculine means in modern times, at least, no shows of emotion, no flamboyance, no hugging or even looking at other men, must be interested in sports and physical/violent activity” (Urban Dictionary). Obviously the Urban Dictionary is a comedic source and should not hold the same weight as the definition that comes from the academic source of Merriam-Webster, but the truth that is within the comedy, the absurd structure of what a man should be, is brought out into the light. A question many before us and many after us have and will attempt to answer is how is masculinity defined? The unfortunately anticlimactic answer to this is that masculinity is simply what a man chooses to do. In a world of both gender inequity and rapidly shifting gender roles, the term masculinity is becoming more and more simple in definition. In a video made by the Huffington Post to show how modern men described the word masculine, most used dominant diction such as “power,” “dominance,” “strong,” and “alpha” (Genuske). It wasn 't long ago when the word Presidential was synonym to masculine, but with the upcoming 2016 election and the first female to run for a

The definition of masculinity; Is the fact of being a man or having qualities considered typical of a man.

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.

In Michael Kimmel’s non-fiction academic book chapter: “Bros Before Hos: The Guycode” is an excerpt from his critically acclaimed book Guyland released in 2008, that addresses the ideals and fundamentals of where masculinity stems from and society’s direct effect on young men and the creation of the modern day masculine male. Michael Kimmel’s combination of credible resources, informative personal research, and real-life personal narratives that help to establish and support his strong and feasible argument, of societies effect on male masculinity, that readers alike can relate to and understand.

1. In “Many Boys Today Define Masculinity Negatively”, the author Leonard Sax writes about how the meaning of masculinity has become redefined in a negative way. Sax states that the phrase “Be a man!” didn’t always mean to not be feminine, the phrase originally meant to be courteous, respectful, and competent. The original intention of this phrase to have boys emulate the wholesome family men in popular culture but in recent years the men portrayed in pop culture have become less principled. This change in role models has led masculinity to be seen as a negative aspect in society today. Sax believes that the best solution for this issue is to give young boys the guidance they need by connecting them with gentlemen from past generations who actually learned what it meant to be a man.

Masculinity has changed very little over time. By definition, to be masculine is to be tough, having little or no emotion, and having great physical strength and endurance. Men are thought to be natural leaders and should accept the role of dominating the household (both his wife and children. “Inequality between women and men is a worldwide social phenomenon”. (Schaefer, R., 2012. p354)

One of the key concepts detailed by Pringle (2007), is the idea of hegemonic masculinity, which was originally coined by Connell (1995). Connell suggest that the concepts of hegemony and masculinity have been intertwined, which has created a social form of a masculine ideal, developed around male dominance, power and patriarchy over groups who are deemed “weaker” such as women and homosexual men. Hegemonic masculinity is essentially a socially elite or desirable status, with which the “performance of ‘masculinity’” can be legitimately practised within society.

On June 26, 2015 the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage across the nation. This impacted many people, in both good and bad ways. Many of those from the older generation learned to despise same-sex marriage and homosexual people, and then that generation proceeded to teach their children the same thing. Although many views have changed, homophobia is still a big issue in society, no matter whom it is learned from.

Not surprisingly, the article analyzes the differences between men who are womanizers and ones who are gentleman. This article was written in response to the author, Laura Merten’s, experiences regarding the collateral damage caused by masculinity in the United States. In this article, she highlights her desired characteristics in a gentleman. In other words, she is describing her ideal characteristics of masculinity. Some of those characteristics include, “Love, understanding, vulnerability, respect, loyalty, and concern” (Merten). Interestingly, these traits are all qualities one would look for in a best friend. In reality, men seem not to focus on the aspects, in which women desire, but the socially constructed aspects, sought out for men’s approval. First of all, this inherently demonstrates the lack of respect devoted to women. Additionally, this desire for men’s approval only reinforces the continuous cycle, which devalues and even dehumanizes

As with a great majority of men in the world today, it is easier for me to give hugs than to accept them. This is not my own doing, but rather centuries of men before myself being taught that the outward expression of emotion, in any facet, was a direct form of weakness. This has led to adverse affects in regards to a new generation of man that I find myself apart of now. This belief has forged a lack of sentiment within men, all in the name of “being a man.” Do not take it the wrong way, as if to say a lack of compassion is a bad thing, they teach young men. It is actually the contrary in a growing market economy. As we shift to a more global marketplace, empathy of any sort is the cog in the wheel that holds a man back in an attempt to

Defining Masculinity is what this essay is about. In society, masculinity means being brave, strong, dominant, have a higher power, which is what what most men are expected to have. Most men are raised a certain way, completely different than how girls are raised. Men are brought up to be brave, to be strong, to be hard workers, to “be a man.” and take whatever is getting thrown at them.

The nature of the self is what controls one's instincts like reacting violently and it is largely influenced by internal and external factors including destructive societal pressure. In the documentary The Mask You Live In, it provides the idea that masculinity in modern society is highly emphasized, causing several destructive effects. For example, males from a young age are often taught to behave like a "Real man" who is not allowed to shed tears publically. As a result of these masculinity "Rules", men always tend to hide away their emotions afraid that it will challenge societal beliefs. Over a long-term, boys who endure these external pressures experience longlasting toxic outcomes including becoming self-enclosed.

As Connell suggests that every society has cultural notion of gender, but not every culture has the concept of masculinity. In modern usage, the term masculinity ultimately relates to how one behaves i.e an unmasculine person would behave differently than what is considered ‘normal’ in many cultures. In other words, an unmasuline person behaves peacefully, non-dominating, and has less sexual desire signifying that a masculine person in contrast is violent, dominating and interested in sexual conquest (Connell page 68-69). Such cultural influences link masculinity in the opposition of what is called ‘feminity’ having characteristics such as emotions, inactive and tolerant (Lucas 139). In simple terms, if maleness is understood in terms of biology,

According to Anthony Clare the heart of the masculinity crisis lies within the understanding of “the private and public sphere, the intimate and the impersonal, the emotional and the irrational” (Clare, 2000:212). Both men and women are both confined to their spaces and the line between the two has somewhat been blurred, thus resulting in a crisis. The way in which this line is blurred is by masculinity becoming more feminized. There have been two major shifts in masculinity over