The population of the United States is a combination of people from many ethnic, racial, and religious groups from different backgrounds and countries. As a result, the American Identity revolves around a set of ideals, not a common ethnic identity. The core belief in the American Identity is that the U.S. is a place of freedom and equal opportunity for all. Everyone has the resources to reach their full potential and deserves a voice in their governing body. Due to the pre existing gender hierarchy and beliefs about society that the original settlers and explorers brought from overseas, masculinity has been the driving force in the creation and development of the American identity. Throughout the evolution of the United States as a country,
To understand the linkage between sexuality and gender, it is important to reimagine the relationship between sexuality and gender and the rapport they hold with self-identification. Not long ago, sexuality was tied to procreation - becoming the core of one’s identity. Gender had always been tied to biological sex. However, a crisis of gender identity emerged and blurred the gender and sexuality binaries that had become commonplace social facts. A fluidity was created that allowed individuals to not feel the pressure of fitting inside distinct identification categories. Steven Seidman’s Revolt Against Sexual Identity provides anecdotes that describe the liberation that comes with rejecting these norms, “...her identities as transgender, female,
There are many arguments individuals may make regarding the history of gender-neutral pronouns. Arguments may include the fact that gender-neutral language has not been around for a long time and therefore professors can do without it, as they have since the beginning of time. In fact, individuals such as professor Jordan Peterson claim, “‘I will never use words I hate, like the trendy and artificially constructed words ‘zhe’ and ‘zher’” (Lecture 10, p. 40). In general, especially in the 21st century, there has been a rise in ‘slang’ language, which has not been around since the beginning of time, or even in last century. For instance, the term ‘selfie’ recently got popular in the past decade. Prior to the era of internet and technology, not
It is impossible to say that words do not have power. A word can determine everything. Language used by a certain group of people can pressure someone to act a certain way. A word can make someone feel weak, worthless, or unappreciated. Words are everything. These ideas are relevant in many essays including “You’re Wearing That?: Understanding Mothers and Daughters in Conversation” by Deborah Tannen, “‘Bros Before Hos’: The Guy Code” by Michael Kimmel, and “‘Queer’ Evolution: Word Goes Mainstream” by Martha Irvine. The first essay is how the way we talk affects our relationships. The second explains what it means to be a man and the third talks about the evolution of the word “Queer.” Deborah Tannen and Michael Kimmel
In this day and age, the LGTBQ+ community is expanding rapidly. Therefore, the community has included the plus sign at the end to represent those who are questioning, pan-gendered, intersexed, transsexual, or two-spirited and the many new ways people are self-identifying. Each generation is becoming more exposed to more information and are capable to choose from openly out members of the LGBTQ+ community as role models. For younger generations, it may become easier to recognize and acknowledge one’s sexual orientation or gender identity than those apart of Generation X and the Baby Boomers. However, even in this more open-minded society, homophobia is still living, breathing, and thriving.
Moreover, this is detectable in many, or maybe all languages today and in past ages. Hence, regarding the usage and etymology of masculine, it is clear that it is deeply connected to the concept of gender (Martin and Finn 1). Furthermore, masculinity comprises languages, behaviors, and practices that exist in certain organizational and cultural locations, which are normally identified with males. Therefore, masculinity exists as a positive, “in as much as they offer some means of identity signification for males,” as well as a negative, “in as much as they are not the ‘Other’ (Feminine)” (Itulua-Abumere 42). According to Prof. Clatterbaugh and Dr. Whitehead, male behaviors and masculinity are not just a simple product of biological predispositions or genetic coding. All societies around the world have the cultural concept of gender, but some of them do not have the idea of masculinity. The modern usage of masculinity usually describes the behaviors that result from the
“Masculinity as Homophobia” an article by S. Kimmel, that talks about how men these days have the fear of being judged and ranked based on their manhood. There are some arguments that the Professor mentions and uses in his article that supports his argument and some experiences from other people 's perspective in life of men over the years.
This research study article “Dialect Awareness and Lexical Comprehension of Mainstream American English in African American English-Speaking Children” written and conducted by Jan Edwards, Megan Gross, Jianshen Chen, Maryellen C. MacDonald, David Kaplan, Megan Brown, and Mark S. Seidenberg examines the sociocultural conditions of AAE. The writers hypothesize that children who speak AAE have trouble comprehending words that are not commonly present in the dialect. The purpose of the study is to promote dialectal awareness and dialectal comprehension.
Throughout Shyam Selvadurai’s Funny Boy, Arjie attempts to fit in, but is a victim of othering, a term described by Lois Tyson in Using Critical Theory: How to Read and Write about Literature as “judging those who are different as inferior,” (Tyson, 248). By othering Arjie, his parents and his peers outcast him; he is considered different and his differences are inferior because heterosexuality is the norm and being gay and having feminine characteristics make him a “funny boy,” a term which Arjie did not realize as derogatory until his father uses the adjective with a “hint of disgust in his tone” (Selvadurai, 17). The “disgust” expressed by his father conveys his attitude towards homosexuality. This is because the Sri Lankan society, in which
The role of butch-femme lesbians has shifted from the 1940s to 1970s, though what has remained constant is dichotomy of the masculine and feminine. The existence of butch-femme lesbians exists today, though very differently from the original of lesbian bar culture of the 1940s. The phases of butch-femme coexist with other important aspects of history, such as the blue-collar working class expectations, women’s rights in World War II, Second Wave feminism, and overall gender roles. This essay will demonstrate the creation and sustained social expectation of masculine and feminine lesbians as a continuation of heteronormative systems and fear of heterosexual hatred. While taking into
From the beginning of time, “gender” was and is still known as the physiological sex of self, which is male or female. Males are expected to be masculine and females feminine. However, during different cultural times “gender” took on a new meaning, one that is attributed to a controversial issue
In the Western world, majority of the movies are normally preoccupied with the notion of masculinity that depict men as being the dominant gender with roles requiring them to exhibit male behavior, such as providing for family and fighting, while the women the inferior gender with roles requiring them to exhibit female behavior, such as supporting the husband despite his shortcomings. Anne Lee in his modern Western movie Brokeback Mountain (IMDb, 2015) represents masculinity in different relationships: masculinity as depicted by men who want to be in a relationship with women and masculinity as depicted by men who want to be in the same-sex relationship. In this movie opinions divide significantly concerning masculinity especially when looking at Ennis and Jack who are two gay cowboys trying to be in a secret homosexual relationship. In what follows, we will examine the representation of relationships of traditional Western masculinity in the movie
We sometimes find ourself contemplating about who we are and what do we want in our life. As a gay man I have found myself stuck in many places, this is totally normal. We all try to find that perfect life but sometimes it involves barriers. Being wrong and owning up to what you want in life makes the ride easier. Thus being said, I would like to introduce myself with memories that shaped who I am and the struggles that I’ve achieved.
Masculinity has been a term that is not alternated and expected so much from. It defines as being dominant and athletic in sports. If females play aggressive sports, then there will be the confliction between them identifying as lesbians being that what these players are doing is completely out of line of the ordinary. Goes to say in opposite, males must demonstrate a certain attribute that reflects the dominance and true masculinity. Sports is a huge play on identity. Jason Collins reflects the alternative of feminine and masculine. The first article is titled “Why Jason Collin’s Coming Out Is Such a Big Deal” by Garance Franke-Ruta and this article aims for the explanation of Jason Collins through logos information that supports their case.
In the essay, “Women Talk Too Much” Janet Holmes argues that while popular notion and worldwide proverbs would suggest that women talk more than men, her evidence leads to an opposite conclusion. However, her ultimate conclusion is that the question cannot be answered with a definitive answer, but instead with “it depends.” In the essay, “Sex Differences” Ronald Macaulay claims that the notion that there are considerable differences in the manner and frequency with which men and women talk is nonsense and that one way that this idea has been perpetuated is through works from more sexist ages. Macaulay states that the difference between men’ and women’s speech patterns is so minuscule that it should not be considered worthy enough evidence