Masculinity Against Women

Words: 1202
Pages: 5
Open Document
In 2006, a truck driver walked into an Amish schoolhouse, "ordered the 15 boys in the room to leave, along with several adults, and demanded that the 10 girls line up facing the blackboard." He tied the girls' legs together and shot them one by one before he shot himself. Violence against women and girls is a huge issue, but what’s the motivation behind such violence? It’s hypermasculinity. Our society views that men must dominate, and in order to do that, they must be more masculine. Masculinity is generally associated with being strong and feared, having power and entitlement. Whereas feminine traits are associated with meekness, deference, and emotion. Men and young boys are often told consciously and subconsciously to be more manly. This …show more content…
This whole cycle starts at a young age. Children are exposed to this before they can even walk. When a boy cries our instant reaction would be to try to make him stop crying. To do this we instantly tell him “Shhh… Big boys don’t cry”. As that young boy grows older, he is bombarded by phrases such as “man up”, “grow a pair”, and “stop being such a sissy”, just because he didn’t conform to society's standards of being a ‘man’. This conditions young boys to feel embarrassed and ashamed of their feelings. They eventually want stop or limit themselves from expressing their feelings so that they aren’t made fun of. It invalidates their feelings, and also invalidates them as a person. This shaming is a combination of nurture, social pressures, and media. It all starts at home, when parents tell their son that crying isn’t okay for a boy it makes the kid feel bad for crying and he stops. Whether this a subconscious response or not it still affects the kid. When a kid goes to school, his peers may bully him for being a “sissy”. This also affects a kid's psyche tremendously. Thus, the kid decides not to show these emotions around his bullies, and this also conditions him to think being emotional or feminine has bad connotations. Then there is media influence. The University of Manitoba in 2003 published “An Analysis Of Hyper-Masculinity In Magazine Advertisements”, where a research group analyzed magazine ads and found that 56% of about 500 advertisements were portraying or promoting one or more of the following beliefs: that danger is exciting, toughness is a form of emotional self-control, and violence is manly. They also found that this hyper masculine material was more aimed at younger, and less educated readers -- who were more at risk for copying these beliefs and behaviors. Everywhere a person is to turn he is attacked with hyper masculine messages. Thus said, adults, peers, and the media all play a hand in making a
Show More

Related Documents: Masculinity Against Women

The Man Box Poem Analysis

5. If you were to ask a WGS scholar what the definition of masculinity is, they might describe it simply as “[t]he set of characteristics or attributes traditionally ascribed to maleness” (Launius and Hassel, 196). Yet, what does this mean? If I asked you to picture someone “masculine,” what would they look like? If your ideas about masculinity have been rigidly shaped by the traditional views of society, you might picture someone who is aggressive, logical, physically strong, emotionally unexpressive…

Words 475 - Pages 2

Gender differences in offending Essays

offending, there are also differences in the types of crimes committed by men and women. A higher proportion of female offenders are convicted of property offences such as theft and shoplifting, while men are more likely to be convicted of crimes such as violence and sexual offences. One of the argued reasons as to why men have higher levels of offending than women is due to their greater opportunities to commit crime and women having fewer opportunities to do so. These opportunities are often enforced…

Words 847 - Pages 4

Triad Of Men's Violence Summary

This article illustrates the "triad of men's violence" and explores the relationship between men's violence against women, men's violence against other men, and the internalization of violence by men. Kaufman describes these acts of violence as ritualized acts in relation to social power: dominant vs. the weaker, powerful and the powerless, the active and the passive, the masculine and the feminine. (pg 554) As we have learned in this course, Marxism advocated that social problems shape how social…

Words 668 - Pages 3

Essay about Masculinity: Gender and Violence

are not being pressured to act or perform a certain way. In order to reassure themselves of their masculinity, violence has become the main method in assuring themselves and those around them that they are powerful. Not only is this violence being perpetrated against others, but self-inflicted violence also exists. The violence being used is not only physical but it is emotional abuse as well. Masculinity has forced many males to perform in ways that are detrimental to their own health as well as their…

Words 2165 - Pages 9

New Male Roles

but be aware of who you are inside * The discourse on new masculinities * 1880’s till now – transition of men’s role * Men are head of household, decision maker, and the supporter of the family – security of male identity. He is not questioned. * BIG CHANGE - First feminist movement starts to change roles * First world war in 1930’s and definitely huge in the 1960’s-70’s * Women are now secure in the work market, so they have economic independence…

Words 572 - Pages 3

How Is Masculinity A Social Construct

Laura Williams PS 208 Anita Chari Assignment #3 3-3-15 Part A Masculinity is a social construct that defines what makes a “real man’ and how men ought to act. The concept of masculinity is not one that is naturally imposed on men, but rather it is manufactured through society. Current standards for masculinity were formed because “hegemonic masculinity embodies a ‘currently accepted’ strategy” (Connell, Masculinities 77). Hegemonic masculinity in today’s society is associated with domination, aggression…

Words 937 - Pages 4

Tough Guise Sociology

to attempt to try to prove their masculinity to society in violent ways. Jackson Katz starts of his documentary on the topic of how violence is normalized by the media and society when it's committed by a male. For example, when a women is harassed, assaulted, raped, or abused by a male, the news reporters tend to focus the issue on the women and how to help the victim, rather than how the incident is more of a male centered issue and that male violence against women is a real problem in today's society…

Words 353 - Pages 2

Masculinity In Once Were Warriors

The Miseducation of Masculinity Since the beginning of time, society shapes the way we view the male species. The words synonymous with the word “male” and male characteristics are macho, virile, masculine and strong. In contrast to the words synonymous to female, words such as soft, delicacy, excessive softness and feminine are used to describe female characteristics. The question posed when comparing these characteristics is why women, the bearers of children, are not defined as strong? The answer…

Words 1388 - Pages 6

King Lear

Historically the representation of women has always been perceived with a negative connotation. Women for a long period of time have been subjected as materialistic objects are solely created for the purpose entertainment for men or to nurture a family. In King Lear this theory is further elaborated upon as he challenges his daughter to compete for the Kingdom. Lear tests the traditional perception of woman which ultimately leads to his downfall failure as a King. Romance is displeasing as it is…

Words 664 - Pages 3

Gerlad Horne Gender Roles

since the start. Masculinity was predominantly discussed in this as women at the time were not seen as athletes. Toxic masculinity is seen all the…

Words 478 - Pages 2