The Evolution Of Masculinity By Ken Gillam And Shannon R. Wooden

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

When attempting to explain something as intangible and complex as human behavior it is difficult to devise experiments that lead to conclusive results. Sometimes complex problems are easier to solve when they are broken down into smaller pieces or into simpler problems that are more approachable. Using human evolution to explain human behavior is such an example. Evolutionary psychology reaches for the roots of human development when they were in their most basic stages to explain why people behave the way they do. Specifically, explaining human masculinity through science has been a major focus of evolutionary psychology. This paper seeks to explain why masculinity cannot be explained by sociology alone and will present

Masculinity can be defined as the behaviours, social roles, and relations of men within a given society in addition to the meanings that are attributed to them. The term masculinity stresses gender, unlike male, which stresses biological sex. Despite, this we often times see masculinity being represented as directly correlating to men with an inability to adhere to this is shown making you less of a "man". As put by Katz (1999) there is an expectation that men on screen must be void of emotion, not backing down from a fight, tough and an embodiment of the male gaze. Katz (1999) argues that essentially what

For a long time, men and women have been dealing with the controversy of gender roles. In modern day, the battle for gender equality has been more known. In the story “Guys Suffer from Oppressive Gender Roles Too”, the author Julie Zeilinger explains how males are held to a more macho standard, but do have prevalent emotions. If we were to let go of these rigid rules about what is manly, there would be no standard for any gender. If that was reality, men shouldn’t have to feel humiliated about staying home, and if their companion makes more money than they do. Zeilinger talks about how males detach themselves from some emotions, and live a “life nub to a true range of human emotion” so they can meet this masculinity standard. However if males

Dave Barry, a humorous author writes “Guys vs Men” to try to enlighten the term “man”. He focuses on certain aspects that separate guys and men to separate stereotypical characteristics. Barry entertains readers as he uses funny comparisons, analogies, and entertaining punch lines to support his what he thinks the distinct differences between guys and men really are. Barry argues the idea that “man”, is a term that comes with responsibility and unwritten expectations for guys. The intent is to stress that there is another way to look at males, perhaps not characterize as characteristically masculine, but just as a “guy”.

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.

The movie surveyed a wide array of the troubles faced by boys and men as they try to navigate the realm of masculinity. A common theme was the command “be a man” and the cultural baggage that comes with living up to that ideal. To “be a man” means to not cry, to not be sensitive, to not let people mess with you, to respond with violence, to be angry, to drink, to womanize.

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)

In today’s society, masculinity has changed throughout time. Fast forward one hundred years ago, masculinity is defined as being strong and having a good paying job. But as the world is changing so is the representation of manliness. You don’t have to show your dominance over men or women today, but you should support your family nowadays and we have all been brainwashed by the thought of masculinity from our ancestors. As men our reputation is always being valued but now it isn’t so much about our reputation but about caring for one another and especially for our families. Perspective of manhood is also a significant factor in portraying what masculinity is in the eyes of other people. Masculinity has been shown through money, appearance, and providing protection for your family members but as we shift into the modern world, masculinity is not seen as displaying the most discipline but caring for one another by taking out some of your time to help one another. Throughout the paper, I will be writing about my interviews from a broad spectrum of ages from one of my younger sisters to my dad with not friends not at Seb’s in between so I can get what it really means to be a man from all ages.

Masculinity Throughout time, men and women have had specific assigned roles that they play in society. Though these gender roles are very specific they have changed some over the period of time. Masculinity has changed throughout the Renaissance, Restoration and the Eighteenth Century period. The most altering time for Masculinity is from the Restoration period to the Eighteenth Century period, when the Scientific Revolution really became prosperous.

The essay by Gillam and Wooden attempt to prove that in many Pixar/Disney films, the often male protagonist goes through a change where they are “stripped of their identity” and made into a new more female like character (470). The two authors assert that Pixar has been making movies that create a new model of masculinity – one that does not follow the ideals of the “ubermacho Gaston” but rather a gentler and more understanding man (471). Gillam and Wooden assert this to appeal to the reader who has seen all or some of the movies they are refrencing not only to prove a point but to make the reader aware of what has occurred in the movies.

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy” (SOURCE). Manhood and being a “real man” is defined in many different ways depending on the person. However, most of these things that men are defined by can be done by any gender and there are people that make it their work to prove that. The social construct of manhood has overall negative consequences on society; however, not all men uphold this construct, and can prove to be advocates of change.

Thesis: The constructs of masculinity found in most Disney movies create an environment of images that shape and define what young boys view as masculinity. By

Traditionally, the notion of “masculinity” has been tied to physical attributes of men: conceived as biologically determined, masculinity was considered a “fact of nature” which legitimized and perpetuated male power (Saco 1992:23; Stibbe 2004:32). However,

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