The
idea of masculinity has changed throughout history. When I watched the
documentary “Tough Guise” it really opened my eyes to the problem of
masculinity in American Society. When I think about societal pressures to fit
in I automatically think more about women than men. Women are supposed to have
this “model physique” which leads to eating disorders and many other issues but
after watching the documentary I realized that there is just as much pressure
from society on masculinity as there is for femininity.
One
of the most interesting parts of the video to me was the connection between the
school shootings and the changing ideas of masculinity. “Tough Guise” talks
about how the media is always calling these shootings “kids killing kids” but
in fact it is not kids it is “boys killing kids.”[1] This
idea is important because it shows the impact of the idea of masculinity on the
children. The ideas of men being strong and having guns and power is affecting
the youth of America and causing them to act out because they do not fit into
these ideas. They may not be able to be physically strong but they can show
their power through the use of firearms and it is in this ideology that has
come about the issues of many school shootings.
“Tough
Guise” also talks about how the idea of masculinity has changed over the past
50 years. These changes can be seen in media representations such as superman,
batman, pro wrestlers, Star Wars figurines and GI Joe dolls.1 Over the past about 50 years all of these representations
have changed to show men having more defined muscles. The image of masculinity is
changing within society and therefore men feel that they have to be able to fit
into this new definition. This changing view of masculinity adds more pressure
for men to be something that may not even be physically possible. When you look
at some of the most “manly men” with huge muscles, it is important to realize
that many of these men take steroids and go about getting these types of
muscles in an unhealthy way. It is also important to realize that it is not
physically possible for all men to have that type of body and that having this
definition of masculinity can cause many unrealistic expectations for men’s
bodies.
[1] Katz
, Jackson. "Tough Guise- Violence Media and the Crisis in
Masculinity" January 17 2013. Web,
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xwu5r3_tough-guise-violence-media-and-the-crisis-in-masculinity_tech.
No comments:
Post a Comment