1. For each writer/article presented, write a 5-7 sentence summary of their article. Remember to include the author 's name and the article title in the first sentence of the summary. Describe the arguments each author makes, but keep your tone neutral/unbiased/reporter-like. 2. Write 5-7 sentences explaining which author you think made the best argument. Describe why you think the author "won" the argument. You do not need to agree with the author to think they won the argument. Are We Raising Sexist Sons? 1. In “Many Boys Today Define Masculinity Negatively”, the author Leonard Sax writes about how the meaning of masculinity has become redefined in a negative way. Sax states that the phrase “Be a man!” didn’t always mean to not be feminine, the phrase originally meant to be courteous, respectful, and competent. The original intention of this phrase to have boys emulate the wholesome family men in popular culture but in recent years the men portrayed in pop culture have become less principled. This change in role models has led masculinity to be seen as a negative aspect in society today. Sax believes that the best solution for this issue is to give young boys the guidance they need by connecting them with gentlemen from past generations who actually learned what it meant to be a man. The “Moms, and Dads, Need to Say Something”, by Kate Lombardi focuses on how parents need to educate their children about sexism early on. In her article Lombardi states that
In the article “Bros before Hos: The Guy Code”, by Michael Kimmel he writes about many different standards and ideals that young men must live up to, to be accepted in today’s society. The article talks about genders, at different ages sixteen to twenty six and how it is directed towards anyone that wants to know more about genders and how it can relate to masculinity and men. It was also based off of a book that he had written in the late two- thousands. According to (Kimmel) young men must live and abide, by a set of rules known as the spectacular “Guy Code”. The “Guy Code” was created to help understand why young men feel and act the way they do, and how masculinity may be perceived in their cultures. The code has been instilled into many young men around the world by their peers, family, and media at the age of four, or maybe even when a child has developed somewhat of a understanding. Being taught how to be masculine at a very young age is important to teach your child, it helps them discover who they are as a person, and who they are supposed to be perceived as, and how to find their inner virility as a young male. Kimmel also uses exemplification to help explain how the “Guy Code” is a collection of attitudes, values, and many traits that are together to help compose what it really means to be a man. The code lets us know how men are not suppose to cry, and how they are not suppose to be or act like sissies. But how men must be very
We define masculinity in a very narrow way. Masculinity becomes this hard, small cage, and we put boys inside the cage. We teach boys to be afraid of fear. We teach boys to be afraid of weakness, of vulnerability. We teach them to mask their true selves because they have to be, in Nigeria speak, ‘hard man’ (Adichie).
Masculinity is a quality of a man, a man who empowers strength and expertise to achieve goals easier. The essence of being masculine, illustrates powerful behavior, such as courage, and audacity. Stephen, fifteen-year-old pulp-cutter trying to fit into an environment, feeling extremely honored, as his father modeled, "become a man", impels a decent reputation in his father’s
Masculinity is a topic discussed frequently in the world today. Many argue that it has become toxic, while others argue we may not even have enough masculinity. The topic is always evolving, since the definition and others’ perception of it always vary. It has become evident that everyone shares a different perspective on masculinity, as I have discussed this topic multiple times with my peers. For me, the definition of masculinity is very situational, and it is hard to set a certain phrase to define it.
Jenifer Siebel Newsom’s documentary, The Mask You Live In, is about the struggles young men and boys face while they are figuring out their identity in a stereotyped America. The film highlights the negative psychological and sociological implications that stem from society’s expectations of “masculinity.” According to Dr. Caroline Heldman, masculinity is defined in the U.S. as a rejection of everything feminine. American culture has classified masculinity as a strong, hardened, domineering, powerful, and controlling state of being. There are typically three lies that boys learn at a young age that plant the idea that they have to be masculine. Those lies are 1) You must have superb athletic ability and be fast and buff, 2) in order to be a “true” man, you must have
Masculinity has changed very little over time. By definition, to be masculine is to be tough, having little or no emotion, and having great physical strength and endurance. Men are thought to be natural leaders and should accept the role of dominating the household (both his wife and children. “Inequality between women and men is a worldwide social phenomenon”. (Schaefer, R., 2012. p354)
What makes a man, a “man”? Is it how much money he makes? The car he drives? The life he lives? Or, the amount of “Masculinity” that he shows? These are some of the stereotypical question that becomes the ideas of what men should have or strive to achieve. In Post-Princess Models of Gender: The New Man in Disney/Pixar by Ken Gillam and Shannon R. Wooden, they bring forth the ideas/thought of what the characteristic of men should be, by the overly influential control Disney and Pixar have on us and our future generation. Similar to what Matthew Immergut, in his article Manscaping: The Tangle of Nature, Culture and the Male Body, they both share ideas on the thought of man. The argument addressed in the question is either the way we view masculinity should be changed or not to determine us as men. In which the answer is, yes it should. Male or man, is a gender identity which show/ categorize, us separate from our female counterpart, Female or woman. But then are criticized on their place a “males” by getting in situation the emasculate them. Just because men independent or allowing for help, either overly sensitive or possess a lack of emotion, or whether or not “he” shaves his body or not should deter what the worlds thought on his masculinity
As Sociological Images notes, dissimilar to men, why should gathered reject all things womanlike, women are urged to adjust manly and female attributes. NPR's article Two Families Grapple with Sons' Gender Preferences appears to offer believability to this
The writer should introduce the person or the event he will talk about. Moreover, when the writer wants to write an evaluation argument he should decide wether it is good or bad and what side he will be with. Also, for sure there are many people will disagree so, the writer should know why they do not agree so he can improve his arguments
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word Masculine as “Male: having qualities appropriate to or usually associated with a man” (Merriam-Webster). While another source, the popular comedic Urban Dictionary, presents a more satirical definition of the word Masculine, "Often defined as aggressive, strong, and unfeeling or stoic. Being masculine means in modern times, at least, no shows of emotion, no flamboyance, no hugging or even looking at other men, must be interested in sports and physical/violent activity” (Urban Dictionary). Obviously the Urban Dictionary is a comedic source and should not hold the same weight as the definition that comes from the academic source of Merriam-Webster, but the truth that is within the comedy, the absurd structure of what a man should be, is brought out into the light. A question many before us and many after us have and will attempt to answer is how is masculinity defined? The unfortunately anticlimactic answer to this is that masculinity is simply what a man chooses to do. In a world of both gender inequity and rapidly shifting gender roles, the term masculinity is becoming more and more simple in definition. In a video made by the Huffington Post to show how modern men described the word masculine, most used dominant diction such as “power,” “dominance,” “strong,” and “alpha” (Genuske). It wasn 't long ago when the word Presidential was synonym to masculine, but with the upcoming 2016 election and the first female to run for a
The movie surveyed a wide array of the troubles faced by boys and men as they try to navigate the realm of masculinity. A common theme was the command “be a man” and the cultural baggage that comes with living up to that ideal. To “be a man” means to not cry, to not be sensitive, to not let people mess with you, to respond with violence, to be angry, to drink, to womanize.
In today’s society, masculinity has changed throughout time. Fast forward one hundred years ago, masculinity is defined as being strong and having a good paying job. But as the world is changing so is the representation of manliness. You don’t have to show your dominance over men or women today, but you should support your family nowadays and we have all been brainwashed by the thought of masculinity from our ancestors. As men our reputation is always being valued but now it isn’t so much about our reputation but about caring for one another and especially for our families. Perspective of manhood is also a significant factor in portraying what masculinity is in the eyes of other people. Masculinity has been shown through money, appearance, and providing protection for your family members but as we shift into the modern world, masculinity is not seen as displaying the most discipline but caring for one another by taking out some of your time to help one another. Throughout the paper, I will be writing about my interviews from a broad spectrum of ages from one of my younger sisters to my dad with not friends not at Seb’s in between so I can get what it really means to be a man from all ages.
Porter, Katz, and Plait have very similar arguments. The problems lie within society’s cultural system. In order for there to be change adult men need to speak up and set examples. Instead of remaining quiet, men need to provide “powerful models of anti-sexist manhood to young men” (Katz). These expectations that society puts on men need to be diminished. It needs to be “made clear that sexist attitudes and behaviors are unwelcomed”
The traditional definition of masculinity include such qualities as independence, pride, resiliency, self control and physical strength. It can be change into qualities such as competitiveness, toughness, aggressiveness and power. For example, he says that the boy who doesn’t show these qualities and might be called a “fag”. The boy is most likely becoming aware of having feminine qualities.
Masculinity, a seemingly simple concept. Yet, when examined more closely, it is clear that masculinity is constantly changing in its definition as well as in its most basic essence. Throughout the years, one can see this evolution firsthand by looking back at the men who have been portrayed in popular media in the United States of America. From the suave Don Draper types of the 1950s to the more casual, educated, and easygoing men- with perfectly chiseled abs, of course- that are portrayed in media today, the difference is clear. This drastic, yet unsurprising, shift in ideals, as well as the exponential increase of media consumed every day, has led to a change in how “masculinity” is perceived, as well as how it is enforced by society in the modern day. Alarmingly, this trend has led to the birth of so-called “toxic masculinity”, a bastardization of the original ideas behind masculinity which has created an enormous, detrimental effect on society as a whole. As defined in the article The Difference Between Toxic Masculinity and Being a Man, toxic masculinity is “manhood as defined by violence, sex, status, and aggression. It’s the cultural ideal of manliness, where strength is everything… where sex and brutality are yardsticks by which men are measured,” (O’Malley) This is a clearly displayed truth, and it’s astounding to see how even from a young age boys are taught not to show emotions other than anger, conditioned to believe that being “like a girl” is the worst possible