In the film Rocky Horror Picture Show the character Dr. Frank-N-Furter sings the words, “So I’ll remove the cause, but not the symptom” (O’Brien). In this cult classic musical written by Richard O’Brien follows a newly engaged couple through a sexual journey as they lose their innocence and start to conform to traditional gender stereotypes. Today the youth of America are being bombarded with conflicting ideas about gender, race and sex. These conflicting ideas can lead to skewed visions on what defines masculinity and furthermore what defines femininity. Furthermore, sexual assault on college campuses by men and particularly student athletes have come to the forefront of many news headlines in recent years and while some believe that sexual assault stems from “locker room culture”, rather it stems from a skewed sense of masculinity that has been created over the years of consuming media. Many try to educate these same men on what defines consent and how to properly act in sexual situations, but this is merely trying put a temporary solution on a much larger issue. If people wanted the systemic issue of sexual assault to be reduced, then the root cause must be removed. A twisted view of masculinity is the root cause of many sexual assault because a twisted view of masculinity causes unhealthy understanding of sexuality and consent.
Three main terms will be used in this essay and require a definition as to avoid confusion. Masculinity is defined by Merriam-Webster as,
No matter varying ideas as to success, it is difficult to ignore that American culture has undergone immense changes since the 1950s. The Civil Rights movement, the emergence of feminism, and gay activism have literally revolutionized the society and how it functions, with many changes going to the promotion of equality and heightened awareness of the needs of others. At the same time, unfortunately, sexual criminality and violence remain critical issues, with women being the primary victims. The patriarchal foundation of the society has diminished, yet norms still providing men with entitlement remain in place, and this is a reality supported by modern research still referring to a “rape culture.” This same research also presents disturbing evidence of how young college students widely maintain norms affirming male dominance and aggression. No simple solution is then possible, and any effective course must rely on as in-depth research as may be conducted. To that end, the following assessment of study on the subject concludes with a research proposal, and one utilizing Structural Functionalism Theory and the innate value in interviewing students in both collective and individual ways.
The definition of masculinity; Is the fact of being a man or having qualities considered typical of a man.
Masculinity is a quality of a man, a man who empowers strength and expertise to achieve goals easier. The essence of being masculine, illustrates powerful behavior, such as courage, and audacity. Stephen, fifteen-year-old pulp-cutter trying to fit into an environment, feeling extremely honored, as his father modeled, "become a man", impels a decent reputation in his father’s
The traditional definition of masculinity include such qualities as independence, pride, resiliency, self control and physical strength. It can be change into qualities such as competitiveness, toughness, aggressiveness and power. For example, he says that the boy who doesn’t show these qualities and might be called a “fag”. The boy is most likely becoming aware of having feminine qualities.
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
The concept of femininity and masculinity is mentioned many times throughout the essay to highlight it
Last week, the White House released a short, celebrity packed, 60-second public service announcement (PSA) on the topic of sexual assault. 1 is 2 Many addressed those who are in control of preventing sexual assault as its intended audience was those who can put a stop to sexual violence: the perpetrators or would-be offenders. Although this one minute announcement completed the task of bringing sexual assault to the forefront of discussion, it failed to encompass the central issues concerning the culture of sexual assault: societal misperceptions, the victims, and the justice system. Sexual assault is a phenomenon that has been around for centuries; the culture of sexual assault is rooted in both legal practices and societal perceptions.
University of Tennessee Knoxville was recently involved in a lawsuit for enabling athletes to sexually assault women by silencing the victims and failing to provide disciplinary actions or even investigation onto the accused. While this is a recent case, this is not the first time this sort of behavior involving a school has been brought into light. One in four women will be sexually assaulted by the end of their undergraduate career (Posluszny). Sexual assault happens throughout society no matter what the gender or age, seeming to be in increasing epidemic over the last few years. While the idea of sexual assault is largely met with public hostility in theory, actions often contradict this. This contradiction lies heavily in a culture that is unwelcoming to the victims and often leads to the perpetrators being tolerated. The existence of rape culture in western society occurs due to the preservation of violent media, patriarchal standards, and the state of the criminal justice system. This culture cannot be improved until we confront each of these problems to their roots.
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)
Sexual assault is defined as any vaginal, oral, or anal penetration that is forced upon another, regardless of sex and sexual orientation, using any object or body part. The issue of sexual assault in America is primarily encouraged by rape culture. Women Against Violence Against Women is an organization that defines rape culture as a complex set of beliefs that encourage male sexual aggression and supports violence against women. The acceptance of rape culture, rape myths, and the disregard for sexual consent also allow for the perpetuation of sexual assault against women on college campuses. Recent examples of sexual assault on college campuses show how prominent this issue has become and how hostile campuses have become for female students. Some examples include the University of Southern California’s “Gullet Report,” Miami University of Ohio’s “Top Ten Ways to Get Away with Rape,” and a sexual assault on the campus of Kansas University. Sexual assault is perpetuated by the acceptance of rape myths and rape culture, lack of effective sexual education, and the disregard for consent. The solution to this issue lies with defeating rape culture, increasing awareness and funding for campus sexual assault crisis centers, and enacting more prevention programs on campus.
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.
The topic of sexual assault has always been a tough subject to discuss because it is a heinous crime that can and has happened to men, women, young and old. It is a topic that is disturbing and heart wrenching, especially when involving children. In the past few years, our media outlets have captured the images and stories on sexual assault, focusing mainly on College Institutions and how sexual assault cases have been handled within those institutions. Sexual assault is a very important topic to discuss, since this can happen to anyone you know, man or woman, adult or child, or yourself. This paper will touch on the different types of sexual assault, stigma of sexual assault, treatment of sexual assault, and understanding the perpetrator. There will be a brief discussion of the current social issue of college campus sexual assault. Sexual assault is such a wide topic with many areas to discuss, but this paper will outline the basic understanding of sexual assault and what can be done to overcome this stigma of sexual assault and how we can help the victims/survivors.
Sexual assault on college campuses has always been a problem (Dick, Ziering, & Mattheissen, 2016). It has been repeatedly established in dozens of national and single school studies that one in five or more women are sexually assaulted while in college and, as stated previously, 5 percent of men who attend college also experience sexual assault (Cleere & Lynn, 2013; Dick, Ziering, & Mattheissen, 2016). But recently, the issue of sexual assault has been brought to the attention of national media (Maurer, 2016). This increasing attention may have led President Obama, in 2014, to sign a memorandum creating a task force to help address sexual violence on college campuses, “The charge of the task force is to identify recommendations for best practices
Over the course of modern history women have sought for equality. Men, for all of time, have had more power and opportunities. Women have never been afforded the same rights men have. Recently as the feminist movement once again gains steam, women’s rights are finally being discussed at length. The United States of America has become more progressive as a nation, and gender equality is now something we are striving for. The feminist movement has a great hand in our ability to finally reach gender equality. Again, due to the country becoming more progressive, we are also addressing the pressing issue of sexual assault on college campuses. This is an especially concerning matter because it is continuing to be a growing issue, and seemingly little has been done to halt its growth. Through a blend of greater sexual assault education, and the curriculum of said education, we will be able to educate our youth on such a serious issue. Finally, when teaching our youth on the topic of women, we must make sure they are being taught the correct subjects. Only when we recognize the inequality at hand, and are willing to do what’s necessary to stop it, can we have a fair society.
Masculinity, from the very beginning, was associated with the set of attributes, behaviors, physical and emotional strengths projected by men. There were a certain qualities which were observed and reserved for men. The more such qualities men possessed and the stronger they were, the more masculine they were considered. When traits which did not belong to the so called masculinity were observed in men, they were expressed as "unmanly behaviors". Gender assumption were made during the olden days, which was part of the labeling ceremony of the society. Some believed that masculinity was linked to the male body, whereas others suggested it to be a cultural construct, which was initially influenced by the biology. In many cultures, boys have to