World War II Recruitment Analysis

After World War I came to an end, American citizens predominantly desired to maintain a laissez faire, or “hands-off”, tactic in regards to foreign politics, especially as the possibility of a second world war loomed in the air with rising tensions overseas. For the sake of the United States, Congress heavily endorsed this neutrality and isolationism, but President Theodore Roosevelt, on the other hand, wished to be engaged in global affairs. In fact, Roosevelt took an assortment of both subtle and evident actions to mobilize the nation for war, and each action caused a reaction that would affect the relationship between business and government (Berkin 638).

Kimmel claims that men face insurmountable pressure when their manhood is questioned and must do anything to prove how much of a man they are. A real man is described as someone who values power above all else, while suppressing his emotions in order to avoid ridicule from other men. According to Kimmel’s findings, the worst kind of ridicule a man can experience is being called a homosexual because of the association with femininity. In order to avoid this fate, men are peer pressured to partake in manly activities, avoid exposing weakness, and live life on the edge. The pressure men face to maintain their masculinity, can begin at a very early age. Little boys adopt their male role-models’ perspective on what it takes to be a man, which can

If a person where to go out on the street and ask people that they see to describe the traits that they associate with masculinity, they would likely hear terms such as strength, bravery, or any number of other power-related words; moreover, it is for this reason that sayings such as “be a man” are synonymous with taking control of a situation of facing what a person is afraid of. These concept are not, at first glance, directly dangerous to society, but, when studied more closely, these mainstream ideas of masculinity present themselves to be quite problematic due to the fact that they rely on negative aggressive actions in addition to subverting other groups of people in order to be a true masculine man. To clarify, hegemonic masculinity

In addition, Bly states that boys need to learn their masculinity from their fathers instead of mothers, or boys would become men with an incomplete psyche without wildness. In ancient Greek, societies believed that “a boy becomes a man only through ritual and effort-the “active intervention of the older men”, meaning “older men welcome the younger men into the ancient, mythologized, instinctive male world” (15). Also in American culture, “the boys have a continuing need for initiation into male spirit” proves the necessity of boys leaning their masculinity from male figures, especially from their fathers (14). All boys need a second birth from men to see their genuine being, or they may have no male face or have no face at all if they are

What images come up when you think a man? Many people would think short hair, beard, and sixpack. Because these images of men have been, many men maintain short hair, trim beard, and do workout for having sixpack. Many People say, “Men have to be strong themselves to endure hardships that you face,” or “don’t cry. You have to always protect girls, and ladies are first,” to young boys. Recently, only men who follow the established masculine concept are regarded as real men with respects from other people in this society. However, a lot of men are suffering from being looking down by these misrepresented images of masculinity. They try to hide their real mind and emotion for showing that they are strong. “The Representation Project”, a nonprofit organization, effectively persuades the audience of their film, “The Mask You Live In,” which asserts that the America’s narrow definition of masculinity should be changed for a healthier generation of boys and young men through the use of well described visual images, face-to-face interviews of real struggling men, and

Three generations ago, if you stopped and told an American boy to “Be a man!” he automatically knows what that meant. It meant that he should try to be like the men he saw in the popular culture, as portrayed by the family guys Fred MacMurray in My Three Sons Or by Gary Cooper in High Noon, or Robert Young in "Father Knows Best." These men shared certain behaviours in common. For starters, they were courteous, respectful and competent.

Are men perceived in a demeaning way in today’s society? There are a lot of people that would agree and say men are overly aggressive and or too manly. Others would say kids are being raised in the wrong ways. In today’s world there are so many different people that there is no way to avoid conflict. In the stories Running While Female, Being a Man, and How Boys Become Men, the men in these stories are professed as either too manly, tough, or harassers.

The term ‘masculinity’ connotes certain attributes that are associated with men. In today’s postmodern world gender theorists prefer the more fluid term ‘masculinities’ because male attributes change throughout “space and time” (Reeser 2). Discourse shows that “masculinity is a fabrication or a construct of a given historical cultural context” (ibid.).

At what point does a boy become a man? Rudyard Kipling defines manhood as a “stiff upper lip” or the ability to hold one’s own in life, without needing much support from others. However, no one word or phrase defines what it means to be a man in 21st century society. There are several characteristics and qualities that a male must show to reach manhood. Over time, a man’s role has changed. Society no longer expects young men to enlist to prove their manhood and more men enter traditionally feminine fields such as nursing and teaching than ever before. Still, the same traits define manhood as they always have. “A stiff upper lip” remains as the essence of manhood today because it encompasses the virtues a boy must display in order to become a man.

Since junior high, I have always been curious as to why males felt the need to carry a tough façade. This unauthentic behavior persuaded me to view the documentary, The Mask You Live In. Certainly, after watching The Mask You Live In, my curiosity in men unnecessary macho persona; was relieved. For years, I wondered, why are most males so aggressive? Why are some vulgarly forward while flirting with women? What is wrong with men? Overall, I never could grasp why most had a really challenging time fully expressing themselves. Whenever I would ask my male friends, their vague response sounded like “That is just how we are”, as if there were innately programed for emotional disconnect. Of course, their response would cease to satisfy my itching ears. However, after watching this documentary, the internalized oppression of young men was clearified. It noted that they were generally forced to suppress their feelings as young as the tender age of five, simply to gain approval from their fathers or peers. It was disheartening to see the great pressure boys experience, simply to reach the title of “being a man”. What exactly is meant by the term, ‘be a man’? Does it imply one’s ability to maintain a numbness to feminine equality or engaging in violent tendencies? The documentary addressed the question and enlightened one on the damages that such a short phrase can cause as a generational curse on manhood.

For generations, one question has been asked and continues to be asked by males all around the world. What does it mean, for one to become a man? Man, a term defined as “an individual human; especially: an adult male human” in the Webster Dictionary seems like a straightforward concept, but, like most words, has more than one meaning. Man is not just a word for the human race or one geared toward males, but rather a coming of age term. We all start out as children, with an immense amount of immaturity, as we all grow older, we begin to lose the immaturity bit by bit, and ultimately our choices and results of our choices build us into men and women. Becoming a man means; to grow up, to become mature, to be the best version of yourself. However, many have trouble becoming a man and rely on others for some ideas to jump-start their brains. Leading to the creation of society's idea of “Manhood”, but just because there is a generalized idea of manhood does not mean that there isn’t room for some individualization. There are many ways for one to interpret the criteria they have to meet for one to be a man, this could be anything from owning a gun to having a successful career. However, three areas are crucial in them determining what it takes for one to become a man: values, past experiences of men, and what kind of life they want to live.

Experiences in life reveal a lot about ourselves and others. We have witnessed a dramatic shift in our world. Divorce is widespread and no longer shameful. Fathers are not fathers, and mothers have to act like fathers. When fathers are physically present, they have removed themselves mentally and emotionally. Boys in the armor of men are sleep walking through existence. Most men have been feminized, they are proudly confused. A deadly combination of self-importance and bewilderment, make for an overwhelming tirade of masculinity.

Manliness (2006) begins with the author, Harvey C. Mansfield, explaining how the concept of “manliness” has become outdated due to the concept of a gender-neutral society being increasingly more prevalent in today’s times. The book explores the idea of manliness being a stereotype and ends with the idea that there are still certain traits that are expected of men.

Through role models and examples, male children are taught at a young age what manhood is. By ingraining behavioral ideas into the mind of the young, society is able to draft what the model man and woman should be like, and whether it’s because we don’t know any better or chose not to see it, it becomes every person’s duty to fulfill these gender norms. Eventually, when new kids are born, it is then the now man’s job to pass on these ideas of masculinity to his sons. “The breakdown between father and son had happened largely as a result of the two men’s culturally conditioned inabilities to communicate with each other. It was a curse that fathers had been handing down to sons for generations: emotional remove, hypercritical expectation, silent judgement, abandonment,” (Vincent 241). The idea of manhood comes from the broken relationship between father and son; fathers show their sons what it is to be a man through

Google defines masculinity as a possession of qualities traditionally associated with men, using, "handsome, muscled, and driven, he's a prime example of masculinity" as their example. Although this definition of masculinity is common, it is undeveloped and exclusive to other forms of masculinity. Sociologists such as Raewyn Connell, Eric Anderson and Michael Kimmel have formed their own theories and definitions of masculinity. In this course, we have read an excerpt from Eric Anderson’s, Inclusive Masculinities, Raewyn Connell’s, Masculinities and Gender; In World Perspectives, and Michael Kimmel’s book, Manhood in America; A Cultural History to answer questions about the social construction of masculinity, how it is performed, how it