Masculinity At Its Straightest Essay

When someone thinks of a man the first thing that comes to mind is a large man, the epitome of strength and toughness, but where did they get that idea. More often than not people get their ideas of masculinity from the shows and movies they watch throughout their lives. In the article Hegemonic masculinity in media contents, by Peter J. Kareithi, he focuses much more specifically on how the media has presented it to the public, and less of the why, and how it started. The paper by Connell and Messerschmidt, Hegemonic Masculinity: Rethinking the Concept, does a much better job at explaining the history of hegemonic masculinity and how it came to be. Though together the two articles give the reader a complete sense of what the focus is, and

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

Pascoe discusses how masculinity can function as a regulatory mechanism of gender in American adolescent boys. It has been found that the word ‘fag’ is not necessarily directed at a homosexual boy, but has taken on a new meaning in school age boys. It is being used as a disciplinary mechanism to police certain behaviors “out of fear of having the fag identity permanently” (Pascoe p.330). This kind of teasing and harassment can temporarily be place on any boy who shows signs of weakness or femininity. The high schoolers in the study told Pascoe that calling someone a fag was like telling them they were nothing or stupid (Pascoe p. 335). Boys could be called a fag for anything that he did that was opposite of masculine, even when it had nothing to do with his sexual preference. The fag discourse seemed to be just another way for the contest of masculinity to take

C. J Pascoe in his book titled “Dude You’re a Fag” answers the questions revolving around masculinity and sexuality in high school identifying the school setting as the primary site where masculinity is defined, defended, and asserted. Further, the book explores the high school daily life of male students and how they assert in terming those who fail to express their masculinity as “fags.” Through Pascoe, readers get a glimpse of how masculinity is upheld and constructed not just by the students but the institution as well thereby fostering an atmosphere of permissive sexual harassment, gay-bashing as well as homophobia. Most importantly is the fact that while the author illustrates how masculinity is constructed and upheld within the school

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.

Cultural attitudes towards masculinity have transformed in recent years. Boys are taught the “values” of this attitude early on and it is reinforced throughout their lives. As a result of these changes, the pressure to display and assert one’s masculinity has been amplified. The “traditional” definition of masculinity requires males to establish homophobic attitudes, be clean shaven anywhere below the neck (much like women) and have rippling muscles. These expectations can greatly affect a boy’s self-esteem and well-being as he is growing up in a society that is increasingly obsessing over the concept of the “ideal man.”

At the break of the day I wake up before the sun has even settled itself back into the sky, I repeat my dreary morning routine, and I go somewhere. I go somewhere by myself, quite alone, maybe in my car, maybe just for a walk around the neighborhood. While I’m out on my walk or after I’ve driven somewhere and gotten out of my car (that seriously needs a run through the car wash), I become aware. I become vividly aware of all the people around me and feel unsafe, I feel unsafe in my own neighborhood because I heard a woman was held at gunpoint not far from here, I feel unsafe because I’ve binge watched Criminal Minds and I know how easy it is for unsuspecting women who feel safe in public, at stores and in parking lots, to be abducted.

To read Babio without recognizing the gender politics at work in the play would disregard much of how the play itself creates meaning. So much of the play’s plot and character dynamics are related to the way gender functions in this play. One major theme of Babio is the idea of masculinity and how masculinity is defined. Through the portrayal of Babio as an effeminate character, Babio is able to define masculinity through absences in Babio’s Character. Consequently, Babio makes the additional point that lovesickness is not an intrinsic aspect of medieval masculinity, despite the fact that love sickness is often attributed to men.

Gay male culture is by far the most talked about among the LGBTQI community — it has been talked about greatly by the media. And, arguably, it is the most influential. In politics, social values, and peoples’ perceptions, the gay male culture has changed the way many think of the gay community, and the LGBTQI community as a whole. Queer, fag, bear, twink: gay men promptly made their voices heard. After Massachusetts become the first state to legalize gay marriage, and the entire United Sates following nearly 10 years later, gays have instantly became a “sensation” of sorts.

First, let’s start with the LGBTQ+ community. LGBTQ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer. This community is amazing, and I’m glad that more and more people are accepting them today. Unfortunately, there are still individuals who stand for homophobia. A homophobe is a person with an extreme and irrational aversion to homosexuality and homosexual people. A man or woman, who likes their own gender, identifies as another or none at all can be a victim of homophobia. Homophobia tends to be more prevalent among men than women. In the minds of many people, gay men are inherently not masculine. That is of course, completely false. Sadly, society projects an image of what is acceptable to be if you are a man, gay not being one of them. In the eyes of many, males are not supposed to act feminine. Males aren’t allowed to do things like wear feminine clothing or makeup, or act feminine to say the least. Obviously, being a man is accepted and promoted in our society. Women who are more masculine or present themselves as men sometimes have an easier time than men who present themselves as women. That's because what is projected to society is that to be male is to be powerful and to be female is not. In my opinion, the stereotypes when it comes to gender roles are horrible. Men and women should be able to express themselves without the fear of getting judged or

On a basic level, men are taught that it is unmasculine to express emotions, and so this leads to emotional suppress and a division between emotions and actions such as sex (Sabo 591). The only emotions that aren’t rejected are aggression and anger; additionally, Sabo elaborates on male aggression to explain that “Anger is a by-product of aggression and toughness and, ultimately, part of the inner terrain of traditional masculinity.” (Sabo 597) This aggression and anger not only leads to psychological problems, but it also takes a physical toll as it leads to “fighting, gang clashes, hazing, gay-bashing, intentional infliction of injury, homicide, suicide, and organized warfare.” (Sabo 598) These facts lead into the truth that homicide is one of the leading causes of death among young males, so this evidence makes it clear that masculinity is nor only mentally and emotionally dangerous, but a physical threat. The other hazards of such a specific and exclusionary concept of masculinity is that people who don’t fit within the perimeters are forced to lie or try to change themselves if they wish to fill the necessary requirement. For example, gay and bisexual men are forced to keep their identities a secret because they are viewed as being the opposite of masculinity is, and this secret-keeping can cause “anxiety and stress” which “can tax emotional and physical health.” (Sabo 590) This exemplifies the way that the current model of hegemonic masculinity can be a struggle to ascribe

T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land explores modernism, specifically focusing on the troubling of binaries and the breakdown of the traditional. The boundaries between life and death, wet and dry, male and female, and more are called into question in Eliot’s conception of modernity and the waste land. The blurring of gender boundaries—significantly through Tiresias and the hooded figure scene in “What the Thunder Said”— in the poem lends itself to Eliot’s suggestion that traditional masculinity breaks down and decays in the waste land. Traditional masculinity is further challenged through Eliot’s criticism of hyper-masculinity and heterosexual relations in the modern era through allusions to the myth of Philomela and the “young man carbuncular” scene in “The Fire Sermon.” Along with this, Eliot stages scenes charged with homoeroticism to further challenge ideas of traditional masculinity. Homoerotic scenes such as the “hyacinth girl” scene in “The Burial of the Dead” and the Mr. Eugenides scene in “The Fire Sermon” suggest an intensity and enticement towards male-male relations, while also offering a different depiction of masculinity than is laid out in the heterosexual romance scenes. Through scenes depicting queer desire and homosexual behavior, Eliot suggests that masculinity in the modern era does not need to be marked by aggression and

Main idea: High school boys practice compulsive heterosexuality to ensure their masculinity and social status. Compulsive heterosexuality is not particularly associated with sexual orientations, but more to do with behaviors, social interactions, and institutional structures. Male students expressed and measured their masculinity by objectifying girls and their bodies, relentless remarks about sexual conquests, desiring girls, and desired by girls. Being in control of girls’ bodies, overpowering them to alter their bodily functions and inflicting pain were revered as a sign of masculinity. They also thought to believe that forceful coercion to overcome girls’ resistance to boys’ desire was part of a good practice of masculinity.

Standards of masculinity vary from time to time, from culture to culture. However, masculinity always defines itself as superior and different from femininity. For example, gay men and househusbands exemplify "subordinate" masculinities in our culture. They are not considered to be "real

Masculinity and femininity are unescapeable. We are taught how to be masculine or feminine from birth but for men, the highest form of masculinity achievable is hegemonic masculinity. In this essay, I will define hegemonic masculinity, discuss how it perpetuates homophobia by restricting the way men interact with one another and by the use of the word fag, and how it perpetuates gender inequality through the expectations of violence, no emotions, and being breadwinners.