Morgan Faber John Michael Drew Writing and Rhetoric I October 31, 2014 It’s Not Easy Being a Man Cultural and social demands lay a heavy burden on the youth in today’s society. Strict social behaviors define who and what a person is or is not. Deviations from these social norms are treated with harsh and unforgiving disapproval by the general population. In particular, males are taught from early childhood how they are supposed to act in order to “be a man.” Michael Kimmel explains this concept excellently in his article, “‘Bros Before Hos’: The Guy Code.” In the piece Kimmel states that the saying, “be a man,” brings to mind many masculine mottos such as “boys don’t cry,” “size matters” and “nice guys finish last.” Unfortunately these slogans have negative connotations. They typically emphasize that men are supposed to be unemotional, powerful and successful beings.
The Disposable Rocket by John Updike Since the beginning of civilization people have sought to describe the lifelong male experience as well as plot out differences with the females’. This resulted in each gender having expectations, rules, and restrictions that are constantly forced upon them by society, law, and mass media. Today in the fields of modern science, psychology and neuroscience, as well as literature and pop culture, the behavior of males and how they should appear as true men is heavily debated. Many of the questions being asked have no definitive answer and the results lay in the subjective experiences of each individual. What are the defining characteristics of masculinity- assuming it exists- and how does it compare to femininity?
What causes people to fear or loath homosexuals? Do they fear inner feelings that they hide from the rest of the world, or is it simply the case that society has warped their fragile minds into believing that gays are a threat? Michael Kimmel starts off his article “Masculinity as Homophobia” by stating “The great secret of American manhood is: we are afraid of other men.” Men always try to be better then other men, tougher then other men, it gives them a sense of superiority. To me, all this ties into the society version of the “Alpha male”. Even in ancient times, the men that were the strongest got the best of everything.
Focusing on explaining what makes a human male “guys” compared to “men”. In “Guys vs. Men”, Dave Barry humorously engages his readers to view males as he views them. “Guys vs. Men” is full of gender based generalizations but is done in a humorous and tactful manner. “In other words, this computer is absurdly overqualified to work for me, and yet soon, I guarantee, I will buy an even more powerful one. I won't be able to stop myself, I'm a guy.” The temptation to buy the newest installment of technology and goods seems too good for a guy to resist.
“My school and my tribe are so poor and sad that we have to study from the same dang books our parents study from; that is absolutely the saddest thing in the world”. Junior then throws the book at the Mr. P, the teacher. In retrospect, he throws it to show just how poor his rez is and that he now has to use the same textbook his mother used. Junior, feeling even more hopeless, decides to leave the Spokane Reservation and its problems with poverty, domestic violence, and alcoholism; He then finds the school with the most hope, the rich, white school in Reardan, after talking to Mr. P. “You kill Indians?” Junior asks; “No, no, it’s just a saying” (4). Mr. P reveals to Junior that his teacher’s training at the Spokane Reservation was focused on striping the children of their culture; their songs, stories, language, and dancing.
Keeping this in mind we can conclude that the “male gaze” is the male ability to exercise control over women by representing them in visual means as passive, sexual objects of male desire. The power of men over women has always existed. They are seen as the more powerful and clever species. This control over women has been seen predominately in linguistics senses in past times. It is clear that more derogatory terms for women than there are for men.
Within the notion of male domination is the approval of male violence to implement male domination (Hooks 48). Violence is assimilated into the blood of male-dominated culture in orderly and regularized ways. Through the domination of both men and women, patriarchy emphasizes superiority and subordination. Although I disagree that patriarchy suppresses
Aaron Devor explores how these factors, gender behavior and various entertainments, potentially affect everyone in “Becoming member of society: Learning the social meanings of gender.” Not only do Kilbourne’s ads ridicule men by showing the obsession of males, but also the other two authors show how other modern society’s entertainments are meant to ridicule men and most importantly women with their acts of violence and sexuality. The males are the majority species that get hurt through music we hear and programs we watch, whereas advertisements hurt females. The entertainments substantially imply most men are violent, and the advertisements imply women as material objects. In A sense, men and women learning the consequences of violence and sexuality in daily life would help them to find a common ground with another built on respect and compassion because both genders are getting hurt
Text A also present the ideas compared to that of text B, the discipline presented on text B can be seen on text A indicating the phrase, “A man listens, and that’s how he argues.” Lastly, the power of a men presented on Text B can be seen on the quote, “ He stops traffic when he must,” implying that men has the capability to do anything he wants. Both of the text has an ideal for men, both opposing their ideals to that of a whimsical kid, and comparing their ideals to men more like a featured hero like
When they come into conflict with females, it's usually the male who wins. In this sense, male dominance is kind of a byproduct of competition between males. Sexual selection shapes males physically but also mentally- they tend to be more aggressive and more competitive. There are cases where males and females are equal but there are very few instances where females are dominant”. In popular mechanics there seems to be a couple who are getting a divorce or parting from one another.