The documentary Tough Guise 2 sheds light on a hidden truth to how men respond to threats on their masculinity and how masculinity is continuously reinforced. Jackson Katz reports that men commit the most violent crimes including mass shootings, and rapes. Katz points out that the reason why this is, is due to the fact that men are expected to be tough and aggressive, and if they feel their masculinity is threatened they respond with violence. Mass media also contributes to the ideal masculinity by creating aggressive games, and films that portray men violently. Katz emphasizes that male violence has become so common it has basically became a norm among
Countless Americans lack education of the Vietnam War and what treatment the Vietnamese population received during the war. Many times the behavior conducted towards the Vietnamese portrayed American soldiers mistreating the noncombatants. James W. Loewen’s chapter nine of Lies My Teacher Told Me leads readers through the occurrences in the Vietnam War by elaborating the war crimes enacted by American soldiers, examining the intervention of America in the war, and describing pictures that were taken during the war. One subject Loewen uncovers is the analysis of the war crimes throughout the Vietnam War.
Throughout the book Holden describes phoniness in different ways and what each person he is describing that is phony. In the beginning of the book Holden believes that everyone at Pencey Prep are phonies because they are more interested in becoming a part of soceity to look good. He also feels that people at Pencey Prep don’t say anything honest and are super judgy. In the 4th chapter he says that people in movies are phonies beause they use fake emotions and lie in the part that they are playing. Overall in the book holden uses the word phony as that when people lie or have a certain tone to ther voice that seems phony.
Response The documentaries Tough Guys and Killing us Softly, really brought to light the way masculinity and femininity are represented in our society. The characteristics and associations that are made when these words are thought of are bizarre and not natural. I strongly believe that both masculinity and femininity are learned characteristics from the human environment. I often wonder if people would even have these ideas and characteristics that are associated with gender in the beginning of time, or if people have slowly began to define and differentiate the genders throughout the evolution of time.
Final Paper In 1960, 77 percent of women and 65 percent of men under 30 had attained the five milestones that mark a transition to adulthood: “leaving home, completing one’s education, starting work, getting married and becoming a parent.” In 2000, those figures had declined to 46 percent of women and 31 percent of men. One-fifth of all 25-year-olds live at home with their parents. Michael Kimmel is an American sociologist specializing in gender studies.
Society tends to ignore the struggle of masculine norms men face everyday. In the film, “The Mask You Live In”, various ages of men discuss what it is like to live in a society filled with sexism and masculine norms. In the film, it is shown the impact of these norms society puts forth for men is catastrophic and negatively impacts their mental health. A few masculine norms that are found within the film are, self-reliance, violence, power over women, winning and risk-taking. Self-reliance is a big topic to cover in regards to masculine norms.
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?
History has repeatedly given men privilege due to their physical advantages; yet it is these same advantages that have developed into “rules” or expectations that all men should conform to in order to prove their manhood. Michael Kimmel’s essay, “‘Bros Before Hos': The Guy Code” outlines the “rules” where men are expected to never show any emotions, be brave, act knowledgeable, be risk takers, be in control, act reliable, and be competitive, otherwise they would be showing weakness which is analogous to women. It is humiliating that men associate weakness with women; they should focus on the potential of the individual rather than their gender. Most insults toward men attack their masculinity because society finds it shameful for men to be
Over time, the thought patterns of many individuals mould to believe only one perception of what is morally acceptable— a perception that is completely faulty. The ideology of the male body and demeanor is only one of the many societal norms constructed by the media, and it alone can result in mental health fatalities, mass violence, or the mere elimination of self-identity whilst attempting to meet the ever-changing ideals of masculinity. The continuous and stereotypical depiction of masculinity in the media has idealized invulnerability, toughness and physical strength as the sole qualities of a ‘true man’. As a result, the complexity of masculinity is flattened, and immense pressures are placed on individuals to meet requirements that are entirely faulty. According to Katz, cultures, topics, and even genders are not one-dimensional; in order to fully comprehend the meaning the entirety of something, one must look at more than its representation in the media.
Dave Barry’s “Guys vs. Men” is a satirical essay that explores the gender-based notions society has placed on the behaviours of individuals. Barry specifically focuses on males, and centers his essay on what characteristics a guy possesses as opposed to a man. He describes men who try to exhibit manly behavior as serious, and develop “stupid behavioural patterns” that produce violence. With a humourous tone, Barry argues that there is another way to look at males: “not as aggressive macho dominators; not as sensitive, liberated, hugging drummers; but as guys”. Barry proceeds to illustrate three characteristics guys embody: they like neat stuff, they like a really pointless challenge, and they do not have a rigid and well-defined moral code.
The author observed that most criminals and or police officers are men. He associates this with the importance for a man to prove his masculinity to others. “Violent acts committed by men, whether these acts break the law or are designed to uphold it, are often a way of demonstrating the perpetrator’s manhood” (pg.135). This gendered violence is often experienced by boys in poor neighborhoods at a young age. This form of masculinity is described by Rios to be the center of police youth interactions, which has influences many young men to live lives of defiance and
The four major perspective that connects masculinity and crime are discussed, the first being sex role theory. This theory explains the ways in which social expectations actions and behaviours reflect stereotypical assumptions about behavioural expectations. (Walklate 1995). The second approach discussed is categorical theory. This theory refers to a range of theoretical perspectives, emanating primarily
Throughout history, we tend to correlate toughness and aggression with men, but maybe it doesn 't always have to be like that? Maybe it doesn 't have to be a norm anymore to be aggressive. Another article titled Boy 's Emotional Needs by Sarah Glazer was published on June 18th, 1998. This article was published shortly after the tragedy most of us know to be the Columbine shootings. She related the issues we see in men nowadays to the issues the two men who shot their classmates were suffering with.
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.
Context Why do men feel the need to conform with toxic masculinity in American society? In American society, people tend to notice that there is a stigma surrounding the fact that men thrive off another man’s approval, being aggressive towards women, men concealing their emotions, and marginalizing certain groups. Toxic masculinity is an ever growing problem in America and can affect others around them. For example, fights and excessive drinking that are usually presented by males. Even the American Psychological Association (APA) has deemed traditional masculinity as dominant, aggressive, competitive and stoic.
The documentary The Mask You Live In makes a strong case that the root of our foul culture comes from our society selling outdated and hazardous notions of masculinity. The overall image of the documentary depicts a culture that desperately needs to change. The film builds an argument about how early development of distinct attitudes in boys and negative reinforcement from authority figures and society have created men who are violent, callous, and self-destructive. We have been taught that the best man is the strong, silent type rather than the man who’s inclined to emote in a non-destructive manner when he’s upset.