Ideal Society Essay

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Alex Weaver Mr. James W130 11 December, 2011 Ideal Society What makes a man a man? Leaders of colleges for traditional-aged students spend a lot of time worrying about the behavior of male undergrads -- and specifically the misbehavior of many through excessive drinking, hazing, and abusive behavior toward women. Young men put the finishing touches on themselves while in college by acting in conformity with what Michael Kimmel describes as the “guy code.” (609), certain ways that cultural myths influence their surroundings, A leading sociologist and gender scholar, Kimmel offers an inside look at this young male culture, while he covers male development from ages 16 through 26, and features extensive discussion of campus life in “Bros before Hos.” For this paper I will quote from the following authors all of whom appear in Rereading America: a leading sociologist and gender scholar, Michael Kimmel, and Joan Morgan a black feminist hip-hop fanatic. Gary Colombo and the other editors of Rereading America contribute a piece on the challenging of cultural myths. What makes a man a man? “[There are] four basic rules of masculinity: being a man means not being a sissy, being wealthy and powerful, being reliable in a crisis, and by being daring and aggressive” (609); but how do these rules relate to being responsible, powerful, successful, and free? By being wealthy and powerful and being reliable in a crisis you are showing that you have a great deal of responsibility and power over anyone below you and by being daring and aggressive you are showing that you live life to the fullest and you are not afraid of taking chances at being successful and flaunting your freedom. The gangster rappers that Joan Morgan describes in her piece “From Fly Girls to Bitches and Hos” fall on the extreme end of Kimmel’s guy code. Gangster rappers drive Ferrari’s and rain money on

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