Tough Guise 1. What are some benefits to boys and men of putting on the “tough guise”? When is it an effective and adaptive response, and when is it self-destructive and dangerous to others? 2. Are there biological reasons why males commit the vast majority of violence? If so, why do rates of violence vary widely between different countries? Why is the U.S. by far the most violent society in the industrialized world? And how do you explain, if you think the primary cause of violence is biological or genetic, why the vast majority of males do not commit violence? The “tough guise,” is a beneficially effective response when a person or a loved one are in physical danger. In these cases, it is a natural defense mechanism to protect something. …show more content…
nurture argument comes up. I do not think the primary cause of violence is biological or genetic, and I believe the vast majority of males do not commit violent acts because they are capable of controlling their base instincts. Men are not violent beasts, or at the very least, most of them are not. As far as I know, nearly everyone gets violent and intrusive thoughts once in awhile, but most people can control them, they do not act upon those thoughts. This is what separates us from the psychopaths and murderers. Additionally, how violent someone is also has to do with how they are raised and the environment they grow up in. People’s genetics and physical characteristics may play a role in making them at higher risk for becoming criminals, but I certainly do not believe they are the primary cause in a person’s violent nature. Men are expected to be more aggressive than women, and to fit in, they become more aggressive. The documentary referred to this phenomenon as gender policing. If a man slips up and acts outside what is considered the norm, their “man card,” is revoked, and they open themselves up to being mocked and ridiculed. Their man card is only reissued when they do something manly again to prove that they are a real man. Something that involves a display of the traits that are typically associated with manliness such as domination, power, aggression, and
If a child is surrounded in violence as they grow up, they are more likely to become violent. If they are surrounded by such negative influence they themselves are more likely to become what they are surrounded by. For example, Ian Manuel was raised in extreme poverty and violence. At the age of four, he was raped by an older sibling. During an armed robbery, he was a part of when he was 13, a woman received a non-fatal gunshot wound and Ian Manuel was sentenced to life in prison.
Agreeing with these authors argument, I too believe that violence in human beings is biological. According to Dale and Richard, there are a few well-known painters, authors and anthropologists believed that “human evil was a naturally acquired thing.” This means
When we talk about masculinity in America today we theorize that violence that happens more often than we like, from mass shootings or crime in general, including rape and murders in the real world and in the virtual thrill world of videogames and movies we find a parallel connection of masculinity as violent. Even though an overwhelming majority of violence is committed by men and boys we as americans rarely connect gender as a major key in violence. But when we lay out the plane lines about culture of violence were almost always hinting that it is a masculine trait that is a taught behavior. The modern society has conjured up the idea of the ideal man, that showing emotions is wrong but one must be charming, seeming smartish but more of an attitude of control showing that manhood has a hierarchy. Weakening the not so tough guy, society giving them labels to show they are outside of the gender binary.
Through his research, Buss found that men tend to commit more murders and are more violent than women (Buss, 16). Although men are more likely to commit a murder than women, both men and women have high rates of having homicidal thoughts about killing partners who have cheated or wronged them (Buss, 6). According to Buss, the reason men murder more is because they have more at stake than women. Buss explains that throughout evolution men have evolved to murder because of honor, status, and reproduction. Buss explains that back in tribal times, a man’s status in the tribe gave him the opportunity to reproduce.
This is due to the gender roles assigned to each sex, from the moment that we are born, and reinforced nearly everywhere. Men are expected to be violent, it is the defining feature of their masculinity- the very virtue of being a man. Men are shamed when their masculinity are called into question, while women are shamed when they behave unfemininely. In patriarchal societies, men are expected to be objects of violence, and women are expected to be objects of sex. If men refuse to be violent, they will be shamed and violence will be turned towards them- violence powerful in warding off shame & can achieve pride & honor.
Similar to Sapolsky, Katz argues that the media teaches men from a young age to be tough, aggressive, and not to show emotional vulnerability. This is what he calls the “tough guise” or the artificial definition of manhood that forces men to conform to society’s expectations by being “tough” and powerful and hiding their emotions. In the beginning of the film Katz shows interviews with various young males where he asks what it means to be a man, and all of them provide an answer referring to strength, such as “powerful,” “intimidating,” “strong,” and of course, “tough.” When asked what a male is called when they fail to live up to these expectations, the young men replied, “wuss,” “fag,” or “sissy.” Katz points out that this just one of numerous methods that society uses to contain young men in this “tough guise” box, using insults to drive them to perform the way they believe a man should.
Throughout history man has displayed violence towards both the environment and other men- physically and emotionally. As a result of the need for land, rights, social change and power, man has felt the need to compete and prove their dominance to other races through violence. In many cases, those who initiated the violence felt they were superior to those they invaded because of the difference between their race, religion or way of living. There are many different contributing factors to the history of violence; many of which still exist today. Violence has been around since the Mayans, Incas and Aztecs.
Both meaning to become brave or tough, this phrase is most often spoken to men who are displaying emotion, and the belief in which the phrase is founded is evident: manliness is not solely focused on appearance, but also, one’s ability to be invulnerable. Jackson Katz, an anti-violence educator, explores the idea of male toughness through references to many iconic men in the media, including the Marlboro Man. All of the men Katz describes in his interview assert their manliness through austerity and impassive behavior, expressing to society that, “interdependence, connection, and relationships [in men] are forms of weakness; that stuff’s for women”. Moreover, a study published in the journal entitled Social Science & Medicine by a University College Dublin sociologist, Anne Cleary, also emphasizes the notion of complete indifference in men. In her study, Cleary highlights the commonalities among fifty-two young Irish men who survived suicide attempts: “all expres[s] reluctance to disclose to anyone the significant, long-lasting emotional pain that had threatened to overwhelm them” (Freed).
One of the greatest aspects to how a male is taught to conduct himself is through his personality. Planned Parenthood explains the basic structure that can trap some males through hypermasculinity, “They believe they’re supposed to compete with other men and dominate feminine folks by being aggressive, worldly, sexually experienced, insensitive, physically imposing, ambitious, and demanding”(Planned Parenthood). With more detail, when men are shifted towards this exaggerated way there are many more problems beyond not being themselves. When hypermasculinity takes places there is an increased chance of abuse emotionally and physically towards a women. On the other hand men have a one in six chance of being sexually abused themselves.
Furthermore, research conducted by Cumberbatch (1997) states Bandura et al. (1961) experiment lacks credibility. Whereas Hart (2006) argued selection bias affected the internal validly of Bandura et al. study, Cumberbatch (1997) states that the novelty of the Bobo Doll may have impacted on Bandura’s findings. Cumberbatch found children exposured to the Bobo Doll previously illustrated five times less violence compared with those test subjects who were familiar with the doll.
According to Richard Heyman and Amy Smith, “... victimized children grow up to victimize others,” (864). Perry did not grow up in a very stable environment. He witnessed his father abuse his alcoholic mother, who eventually took him and his siblings away from their abusive father. When his mother died, Perry spent time in an orphanage where he was a victim of both verbal and physical abuse do to his bed- wetting habit. In a study conducted by Heyman and Smith, it was discovered that a male’s likeliness to be violent during adulthood is, “increased by exposure to father-to-mother violence…” (870).
Our society is responsible for aggression. Many people argue that aggressive people were born with a predisposition to perform violent acts, but that does not settle with many psychologists’ studies. Other people believe that violent people were made from exposure to aggression during childhood. Both of these perspectives represent points of a larger argument started by Francis Galton 150 years ago most commonly known as “Nature versus Nurture”. After 150 years, and the founding of a new branch of science, epigenetics, scientists now have viable proof that that nurture is more influential in the case of aggression because epigenetics show that environments are responsible for gene expression.
The reasons people act violently is a broad topic of study. Although many psychologists and people in general continue to speculate about what those reasons may be. One of the main reasons people are thought to act in a violent manner is that it is a symptom of how that person uses violence as “a means of coping with life 's problems” (Seifert 1). Another reason that people use violence to express their feelings could be imitating what they see going on around them. Proving this point is this statistic that, “almost all of the bullies, 97 percent, said they were also victims of bullying”.
There is a lot of pressure on men in society to be manly; however, what exactly does it mean to be manly? Though many people have different opinions, a lot of them conclude that a man has to be strong and somewhat emotionless to be considered a man. This assumption can lead to Toxic Masculinity, which is “A false idea that men are expected to be as manly as possible” (The Hard, Adrenaline-Soaked Truth About 'Toxic Masculinity, 2017). Men are forced to face these assumptions not only from those around him, but also from people he might see in Media. Media reinforces Toxic Masculinity which in turn causes men to belittle women.
Esbensin, Peterson, Taylor and Freng (2010) implies that “ young people who have committed serious violent offenses have the highest level of impulsive and risk-seeking tendencies.” Moreover, extreme violent criminal activity being performed in front of youth increases the risk of them performing acts of extreme violence themselves. Because youth see those acts as acceptable so committng those violent activities make youths to become ruthless. Smith and Green (2007) assert that violent activities becoming ruthless and the perpetrators even more ruthless.