Masculinity : Masculinity And Masculinity

In Paul Theroux’s article “The Male Myth” Theroux makes a point that he does not like the stereotypes placed on men in today’s society. Theroux’s article is focused on exposing the stereotypes that men face and the reasons for their occurrence. He claims that writers and many others are directly affected by the expectations of masculinity that are thoroughly incorporated in America. The ideas of masculinity are deeply rooted in high school sports, in the view of the president, and in many other areas. Theroux attempts to prove that being a man in American is, “…pitiful, a little like having to wear an ill-fitting coat for one’s entire life.”

Connell (1995) developed this concept to describe how masculinities are always relational and, thus, one’s identity is continually constructed in relation to “otherness.” Crucially, Connell sees masculinity as integrally connected with power and constantly negotiated.

In “Before Manliness Lost Its Virtue” (2017), David Brooks (a New York Times Op-Ed columnist) claims that we are living in a “crisis of masculinity” (15). David Brooks backs up his claim by comparing and contrasting manliness of the men in the White House (the “”I don’t care what you think” manliness” [2] and the “the look-at-me-I-can-curse manliness”[2] ) to men in ancient Greece (“real men defended or served their city”[6] the “The manly man… risks death and criticism.”[8] and “They are constantly picking fights”[9].) to the ideal man (“The magnanimous leader… uses his traits… to create a just political order.”[11]).

The 1700s was a time period of religious revival, people were now beginning to convert from Puritan beliefs to Christianity. This was called The Great Awakening, a great influence to this religious revival was Jonathan Edwards. Jonathan Edwards was a very passionate pastor who in his sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” called out unrepentant people he believed had turned their backs against the word of God and had not yet accepted his son Christ or salvation, causing them to be condemned to the pits of hell. In order to express his concern for those who had no yet accepted salvation and were on their way to hell, Jonathan Edwards utilizes rhetorical devices in order to persuade those who neglect God into accepting him and his salvation so they won’t have to live for eternity in hell.

He is miraculously described as one of the best known pharaohs of ancient Egypt, the 12th king of the 18th century Egyptian dynasty, successor to this dynasty following his powerful father King Akhenaten, his historic name possess the meaning "the living image of Aten.” Who is this almighty historic discovery, that was perhaps one of the most remarkable in Egyptian excavation? He is King Tutankhamun, more commonly referred to as King Tut. The discovery of his tomb on Novermber 4, 1922 led to findings that included jewelry, gold furniture, and countless remaining artifacts. Now, according to the book king Tutankhamun himself was not discovered until Howard Carter (an English archeologist) “pierced the wall separating the anteroom from the actual

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.

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)

While both poems of the sirens portray the creatures as enticing, admitting to the deadliness of the song they sing (PrPP), Atwood’s rendition, with its perspective entirely from that of a siren herself, paints the sirens as more deceitful in their malevolent (SAT Vocab) coaxing of men, while the sirens of Homer’s classic tale rely more on their beauty and “ravishing voices,” (Homer, 19) utilizing rhetorical appeals to attract sailors (PrPP Parallel Structure).

To understand either work’s take on hegemonic masculinity, it is important to identify masculinity as a gendered hegemony. In her definition of gender, Judith Halberstam notes that gender is socially systematized, performed, and reproduced in cultures, institutions, and individual identities (Burgett, Bruce, and Hendler, 116). In a like manner, in her article on gendered violence, Mimi Schippers notes R.W. Connell’s research on masculinity to expand this definition, implying that masculinity is central to gender relations. In short, Connell defined masculinity as “simultaneously a place in gender relations, the practices through which men and women engage… in gender, and the effects of these practices on bodily experience, personality, and culture” (Schippers, 86). Here, masculinity is classified as a social position, the set and practice

Throughout the history of the world, and specifically in the United States, the pressure that has been forced onto men in society has not only had a significant impact on the people themselves but in society as well. This can be seen through America’s history, the evolution of men and masculinity and even reflected through the development and growth of women and women’s roles in history. The expectation placed on men to conform to what would be considered masculine in that era was an extremely important factor in a young man’s life. This pressure was enforced not only by society but by men themselves who held each other to a specific and high standard. In order to understand the role that men play in society and the ideology of masculinity,

Masculinity is a term that is often associated with strength, power, control, and dominance in men. However, many texts support the claim that masculinity can be perceived as “socially constructed” and available for systematic discrepancy, similar to femininity. For example, in Michael Kimmel’s “Men, Masculinity, and the Rape Culture,” Kimmel identifies the “traditional masculinity” in which men exclusively can experience the “right to manhood” and the “dare and aggression” that is rightfully theirs (Kimmel, 142).

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

Masculinity can be defined as the behaviours, social roles, and relations of men within a given society in addition to the meanings that are attributed to them. The term masculinity stresses gender, unlike male, which stresses biological sex. Despite, this we often times see masculinity being represented as directly correlating to men with an inability to adhere to this is shown making you less of a "man". As put by Katz (1999) there is an expectation that men on screen must be void of emotion, not backing down from a fight, tough and an embodiment of the male gaze. Katz (1999) argues that essentially what

Masculinity and femininity are unescapeable. We are taught how to be masculine or feminine from birth but for men, the highest form of masculinity achievable is hegemonic masculinity. In this essay, I will define hegemonic masculinity, discuss how it perpetuates homophobia by restricting the way men interact with one another and by the use of the word fag, and how it perpetuates gender inequality through the expectations of violence, no emotions, and being breadwinners.

In order to fully understand a more in depth evaluation of both why and how men conform to this social phenomenon, one must know how hegemonic masculinity is defined. This term was made popular by Connell’s work Gender and Power which critiqued the male social role and how hegemonic masculinity has developed (Connell 830). Scholars agree that hegemonic masculinity is characterized by “being emotionally detached and