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Masculinity In America

Decent Essays

As Ehrmann states in the opening scene, “If you're going to be a man in this world, you better learn how to dominate and control people and circumstances.” This quote summarizes the never-ending goal men must meet in our society. This goal, of maintaining masculinity, has lead to the violence, depression, and confusion among males. In the film, they examine the cause and effect of male gender-policing in our society. Through personal anecdotes and expert testimony, the film sheds light on the painful cost of masculinity in America.
The behaviors and societal norms we associate with male and female are socially constructed. As Dr. Thompson states in the film “boys and girls are far more human and far more the same than they are different.” However, …show more content…

For example, my swim coach was always giving positive critiques to the boy swimmers and promoted the feeling of family within our team. However, for my brother when he played football, I remember how demeaning the coaches’ language was to the players. One organization he played at only allowed certain people to play while the other boys rarely played. Whereas, the second organization he played for managed to balance the spirit of football with being positive with the players. In this organization, I rarely heard negative things from coaches. Thus, the influence of a coach has a great impact on their players not only in their performance but also their ideas about …show more content…

For young males, “suicide is the third largest cause of death.” Also, at 15 “boys begin to have five times the rate of suicide as girls. Everyday 3 or more boys commit suicide” (Dr. Way, The mask You Live In). One example was the story of Luis and his mother. His dealing with depression and how he turned to drugs because of the loneliness he felt spoke loudly to not only white masculinity but minority masculinity. As a minority, he faced the pressures of being a man and being a first-generation American; having to make his mother proud of him. Another heartbreaking moment was during the mask exercise Ashanti Branch had his students perform. Hearing the things some of them were going through and the clip of the boy crying in his lap because of the burden he carries every day, speaks to the need to allow young males to express their emotions in a judgment-free environment. Through this, as shown in the San Quentin program, men are able to not only understand where their anger and depression stems from, but also how to deal with their issues and become better

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