The Importance Of Masculinity In Society

My study looks at how all my texts are connected by portrayals of masculinity and conformity. All of these texts have main characters who struggle with the demands of masculinity and the pressures to conform to society’s view of masculinity. The texts that I am using are Foreskins Lament by Greg McGee, The Godfather by Francis Ford Coppola, Kite Runner by and The Tomcat by James K Baxter. This interests me because I am a young man beginning my adult life and I feel a lot of pressure to conform to what society thinks is a good man.

The idea that manhood represents a fixed, inevitable; some natural state of being is a myth. It is a twist in its origin: Men created the concept of “masculinity” in order to cage himself in it. What became a norm for “masculinity” in a society is largely a made cultural frame, not something a male’s shared trait. One way to understand the

Masculinity can range drastically in the level, shape, and or form it takes in each individual’s mind, but this phenomenon is formed as a complex experience through social construction. Masculinity has never been an ideal or a code I found myself reflecting on growing up, but my subconscious was constantly battling the juxtaposition of my experience at home, school, and on basketball teams. These factors would eventually shape my idea of masculinity surrounding home, particularly through the communicative aspects of athletics and academics.

“When I 'm talking to groups that are all men”, said Gloria Steinem, writer and political activist, “we talk about how the masculine role limits them. They often want to talk about how they missed having real fathers, real loving, present fathers, because of the way that they tried to fit the picture of masculinity” (Steinem). This particular idea of masculinity is a much more modern interpretation that has changed drastically over the centuries. Masculinity used to be defined as a male who was a man’s man that exemplified President Theodore Roosevelt’s idea of pulling one’s self up by the bootstraps. Over the years, especially in literature, the evolution of masculinity can be directly traced through careful and considerate evaluation and analysis. As we explore the evolution of masculinity, the key elements to fully understand include what exactly it means to be a man, how this concept has changed over time, and what it means to be a man in today’s society.

This paper is devoted to the research of masculinity, in particular, to the way men lead conversations, putting major focus on gossiping. For a long time they suggested that gossiping refers exceptionally to females, but the research proves that men gossips much more frequently than women, taking a great pleasure from this process.

As I grew up, my childhood was heavily surrounded in a boy's world where all of my cousins and my two younger siblings were all males. A household full of males taught me to embrace the "masculine" way of life because at a young age I was exposed to sports and play fighting as a way of displaying strength and superiority. On the other hand, part of embracing the masculinity of being a male also meant respecting females -- a lesson that was taught to me by my mom. In addition, Gender Role Behaviors and Attitudes by Aaron Devor stated, "The clusters of social definitions used to identify persons by gender are collectively known as femininity and masculinity."(505) It is said that gender roles is characterized with great differences and both genders

Since the day you’re born, society has told you what you can and cannot play with, wear, and even say.The United States has designed an unrealistic definition of American masculinity. For men, society has told them how they are to fit into society’s mold of masculinity. They are bombarded with rules and restrictions, and are told that if they do not conform to fit the picture of the ideal man, they are deemed “different”, a misfit. Being a “real” man has never been harder, and many people and companies are starting to see that. In recent news, Mattel, the worldwide company that is behind the Barbie doll, is a symbol for young girls and feminism. Recently, the Barbie company has embraced that not only young girls like to play with their dolls but also boys can enjoy them without feeling like their masculinity is being challenged. They released their first commercial that features a boy playing with their newest barbie, “Moschino Barbie.” Their ad allows men of all ages to change the way society defines their masculinity through changing the way “female” activities are viewed. Boys are born loving creatures, but at a very young age they are taught the traits, diminutive language, and mindset that aligns them with society’s concept of what it means to be a man.

Masculinity is a topic that has been debated in society quite often. Many wonder what is means to be masculine and if there can truly be one definition to a term that can vary so widely. Traditional masculinity has certain characteristics assigned to it such as strength, power, control, to be tough, and show no emotion, etc. These traits and thus masculinity have been traditionally assigned to the male body as “the male body is the most common purveyor of masculinity, but that does not mean that masculinity is entirely contained within the male body” (Reeser 17). While the male body might appear to be the most natural element of masculinity “masculinity has no natural attachment to the male body, even if is it commonly considered a male belonging” (Reeser 131). Transgender men, individuals who have transitioned or in the process of transitioning from female to male, embrace cultural ideals of masculinity as a means of being accepted into society as male. In this sense, masculinity can be perceived as a performance that transgender men give in order to successfully move through the world as male. Masculinity offers a sort of camouflage that allows transgender men to function as men without having to reveal their transgender status. The camouflage that embracing traditional ideal of masculinity and visibly passing as cisgender allows a sense of relief and safety for transgender men. This essay will examine how transgender men perform masculinity as crucial aspect

This is the second in a series of posts exploring modern masculinity. Last week, we talked a little about some of the groundwork for our present expectations of manliness. These were codified around the turn of the century as women as a group began to more successfully assert themselves in society, and men made a generally defensive rather than a jointly innovative response. Today I want to consider a particular area of this response, found in our popular media.

Encarta dictionary defines masculinity as “those qualities conventionally supposed to make a man an excellent specimen”; but what exactly are those qualities? Many would say that physical strength, ability to compete in sports, or even the ability to hold liquor are all parts of masculinity. In ancient Greece, they called this quality andreia, literally meaning “manliness”. In truth, masculinity is a much deeper trait that can be viewed differently by a variety of people. Realistically, masculinity cannot be defined universally. A man who is considered masculine in France would most definitely not be considered masculine in the Middle East, simply because the cultures in those areas of the world are vastly different in their beliefs and

What does it mean to be male or female? To you, masculinity is probably playing sports, drinking beer while watching football games, and wearing a suit and tie. Masculinity is probably short hair and bulging muscles. To you, femininity is probably dressing up in fancy dresses and jewelry, putting on a face of makeup, and going to the nail salon. Femininity is probably long, flowing hair and a slender body. This is not the truth, however. These images have been fed to us by society since the day we were born.

The concept of masculinity and attempts at its definition in the previous decades has been continuously re-evaluated and critique by many (Connell, 1995; Kimmel, 1987; Morgan, 1992). However, the challenges to masculinity have come from a number of different social and economic forces including rationalisation o f the work force, the women’s movement and women’s entry to the work sphere and also unemployment. Arising from these challenges came a certain crisis of masculinity where traditional and previously unproblematic notions o f masculinity were now being seen as problematic(Page,

In Paul Theroux’s essay “being a Man” Theroux describes the detrimental effects of gender roles on the individual, specifically focusing on males and their quest for masculinity.

From the minute we are born, we have our paths decided for us. We are pronounced either male or female by our doctors, and such outlines the rest of our lives. With the sex we are given, we then are forced to subscribe to either masculinity of femininity, with no room for anything in between. This is where the trouble begins. Masculinity is described as a “physical, strong, tough and intimidating” person according to the documentary produced by Jackson Katz, a quick google search of the word will tell you the same. Most importantly, it represents the opposite of feminine traits such as emotion, vulnerability and silence. However, within many cultures the idea of masculinity take a dangerous and unrealistic turn. Men are often portrayed in multimedia as violent brutes hell-bent on securing respect and envy. Othello and O are prime examples of classical and modern violent masculinity.

The majority of men are led to the believe that the ability to show weakness is regarded as the most un-male components; this means that vulnerability and openness which are absolutely important for self-exploration or personal development, are recognized as weak behaviors. After all, the modern men still deal with relatively archaic messages related to the meaning of being a male or a man. For instance, the society predicts men to be strong at all costs, to be stoic and unemotional, to be rescuers, and, of course, to consider own work as a key priority (Vermunt). Thus, it is important to provide a thorough investigation of the current ads in order to identify both positive and negative aspects in terms of modern masculinity and define