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Reflective Essay: The Social Normalities Of Being Male

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No matter what age you are you will be subject to the pressure society puts on you to conform to societal normalities. One of the biggest subsets of social norms would be gender normalities. With me in particular it would be the normalities associated with being male that I 've grown up to be apart of. The social normalities of being male could be thinking you have to be a manly man, you are not allowed to cry and you can not show emotion, or you have tough and strong. I have always known that growing up I was subject to these. However, it wasn 't till quite recently that I actually stepped back and realized the effect they actually had on me. The more and more I looked into it the more I realized how it has affected me throughout life. Many boy including myself grow up to believe they need to act to be considered man.
Throughout highschool and most of my life I have been very involved in sports and other physical activities. In fact I was a varsity swimmer for all four years of …show more content…

These traits are many times then accompanied by phrases such as man up, dont cry, or suck it up. We are introduced to these standards of masculinity from a very young age, continuing to see them all throughout your life. This leaves boy oftimes feeling like they are not living up to these “standards” that society requires of them. A lot of times men are hiding their feelings, not showing or telling anyone what is really going on. In the movie The Mask You Live In, Educator Ashanti Branch, talks about the mask a lot of boys hide behind. On the outside they may seem like all is well and they are happy, but on the inside there is sadness, stress, and anger. Boys are pushing their feelings inside of them for fear of what will happen if they let them out. Will people think they are weak or acting like a girl? Will there friends call them gay for wanting to share what 's on their

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