Robert Bly 's Iron John

Holloway begins her essay by stating the traditional standards for both men and women, stating that “If we are honest with ourselves, we have long known that masculinity kills men” (1). She then defends her argument with a brief description of struggles the men go through with their health and mental health that are indirectly caused by masculinity. Holloway then dives into fields of scientific data to break down how the idea of masculinity is built into a child’s mind and how this process is damaging to the young boy’s mind. Holloway ends her essay by reentering her earlier idea that most of the problems that men face with their health and their mental health is caused indirectly by masculinity. However, this time she includes more detail and more scientific evidence to reinforce her idea. Holloway states “ We have set an unfair and unachievable standard, and in trying to live up to it, many men are slowly killing themselves. We have to move far beyond our outdated ideas of masculinity, and get past our

In Paul Theroux’s article “The Male Myth” Theroux makes a point that he does not like the stereotypes placed on men in today’s society. Theroux’s article is focused on exposing the stereotypes that men face and the reasons for their occurrence. He claims that writers and many others are directly affected by the expectations of masculinity that are thoroughly incorporated in America. The ideas of masculinity are deeply rooted in high school sports, in the view of the president, and in many other areas. Theroux attempts to prove that being a man in American is, “…pitiful, a little like having to wear an ill-fitting coat for one’s entire life.”

Masculinity has changed and evolved since the beginning of human creation. Males have had to adhere to the social norms of their time to survive without undue persecution. In the beginning of the 19th century, there was a shift in the way men could attain manhood. It was no longer easy for a man to enter into manhood with straightforward expectations and rituals. The state of manhood became difficult to obtain because of its precarious nature. During the same period, the industrial revolution was in full bloom giving birth to mass information outlets like newspapers, magazines, and advertisement: media. This set a prevailing state where boys and men alike could gain material on how to become or be men

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.

Masculinity is not a single-definition trait; it relies on an ever-changing spectrum which can never be truly measured because of all the different factors having to be considered. The “manly” man of the 1800’s, who’s emotions were hidden to display strength, would no longer be considered the “ideal” male in society. As shown in the ads of Suistudio; feminist ideals have permeated into the “thick coating” of the masculine archetype. No longer is “femininity” in need of the male protectorate as a sturdy platform to build a steady life on in an ever-changing world, for they are becoming one in the same. Suistudio’s recent ad campaign shows that preferred-masculinity is changing from its traditional firmness to a strength shown by a man’s emotional comfort within an evolving world while protruding the outward appearance of physical health.

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)

Back in 1987, Raewyn Connell coined the term hegemonic masculinity in a seminal text, Gender & Power. Hegemonic masculinity refers to the dominant form of masculinity that exists within a particular culture. Relative to this ever changing, idealized form of masculinity are different subordinated masculinities – those within a culture that do not live up to the so-called masculine gold standard. Put simply, there are “real men” and then there are all other men.

No matter how well a man is raised or represented, a little hypermasculinity is a part of his nature due to “biological…universal tendencies”. Sommers end her article by encouraging people to stop blaming masculinity for the cause of everything and help men with suicidal and depressive thoughts. “Rather than blaming “masculinity”…provide health services that better meet the needs of men” (Sommers 2014) Sommers later in the text, uses an Australian study to explain how mental fitness can help males dealing with negative thoughts. Sommers’ sets her focus on the men themselves while Moseley and Gomes’ tone is the

Men that carry out the “machismo way of life” feel that they have to constantly prove their manhood to the world. This is generally achieved

Masculinity, as defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary, is the “possession of qualities traditionally associated with men.” These qualities include physical and emotional strength, courage, assertiveness, and a lack of emotional attachment. While all of these qualities are useful in small doses, American culture has, throughout history, driven these qualities into men to the point of negative responses. These negative responses include higher incidents of mental illness and suicide, among other things. According to the Journal of American College Health, “traditional masculine role socialization produces a wide range of interpersonal patterns and behaviors that are profoundly harmful to society and to men themselves.” (Brooks, 5) O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried” is set during the

In order to fully understand a more in depth evaluation of both why and how men conform to this social phenomenon, one must know how hegemonic masculinity is defined. This term was made popular by Connell’s work Gender and Power which critiqued the male social role and how hegemonic masculinity has developed (Connell 830). Scholars agree that hegemonic masculinity is characterized by “being emotionally detached and

     In my own view, the term of ‘hegemonic masculinity’ is whether or not a man acts ‘correctly’ — as a society we put constant pressure on men to act “gendered …. [as if] the ideal of masculinity …. must be constantly proved”. (Ashgate, 2013). In other words, hegemonic masculinity is “one masculinity norm [that] dominates multiple masculinities”. (Ashgate, 2013). We expect them to act manly and men’s magazine’s are notorious for perpetuating this ideal of masculinity. This type of analysis of masculinity “reveals that male power is exercised over other men as well as over all (or nearly all) women”. (Ashgate, 2013). This analysis is not only harmful to men, as men are expected to act a certain way that is totally unachievable;

Masculinity, a seemingly simple concept. Yet, when examined more closely, it is clear that masculinity is constantly changing in its definition as well as in its most basic essence. Throughout the years, one can see this evolution firsthand by looking back at the men who have been portrayed in popular media in the United States of America. From the suave Don Draper types of the 1950s to the more casual, educated, and easygoing men- with perfectly chiseled abs, of course- that are portrayed in media today, the difference is clear. This drastic, yet unsurprising, shift in ideals, as well as the exponential increase of media consumed every day, has led to a change in how “masculinity” is perceived, as well as how it is enforced by society in the modern day. Alarmingly, this trend has led to the birth of so-called “toxic masculinity”, a bastardization of the original ideas behind masculinity which has created an enormous, detrimental effect on society as a whole. As defined in the article The Difference Between Toxic Masculinity and Being a Man, toxic masculinity is “manhood as defined by violence, sex, status, and aggression. It’s the cultural ideal of manliness, where strength is everything… where sex and brutality are yardsticks by which men are measured,” (O’Malley) This is a clearly displayed truth, and it’s astounding to see how even from a young age boys are taught not to show emotions other than anger, conditioned to believe that being “like a girl” is the worst possible

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

The archetypes, which is one of the eight psychological types from Jung’s theory explains the dissonance that Peter is having. The anima and the animus archetypes refer to Jung’s recognition that humans are bisexual in their psyche. He defines the anima as the psyche of the man what contains the feminine aspects. His anima is persuading Peter to assume the traditional female role, and to care for the children and to care for the house. At the same time, Peter’s masculine characteristics of being the breadwinner is exhibited. The animus is responsible for this behavior as it is masculine aspects of the psyche. The interplay of the anima and the animus is causing Peter to continue to work and earn money for his family and to quit his job and to stay home with his family.