1. I really don't know what kind of contradictory messages or expectations men hear from society. I don't think that society should expect anything from us beyond being productive/contributing members of society. It seems silly that we worry so much about what society wants us to be, I have done plenty of things because they are what "society" deems important, and a some of those things ended up not having a positive influence on my life. These different expectations put on us, are on an individual, interpersonal and societal level. I really think we spend way to much time worrying about what society wants, when we should be worrying about our immediate relationships and what we expect from ourselves.
2. I believe that patriarchy takes away a man's "right", to be feminine or publicly emotional, it also puts us in a position that we may not want but have no choice but to comply because society says its the way things are done. I definitely think that in some instances men do get certain privileges simply for being men. I cannot think of any off the top of my head but it would be silly to say that it never happened.
3. Men need to be liberate from the pressures, put on by society, to be dominant, hide or disregard emotion, and aggressive. I think we would eventually see more women in positions of power because men would not be as pressured to be the boss or the dominant figure. I believe we have seen this slowly happening over the years. An alternative masculinity might be men who can openly discuss feelings and desires to not be aggressive or dominant, and still be considered a "real man".
Kyle, I highly agree with everything you've said. While it is assumed that women are the ones suffering because we live in "a man's world", and that idea has been widely publicized and accepted, it is also true that men are suffering as well - however, that suffering occurs more on the inside and on a more psychological level.
ReplyDeleteAgree with both of your points and I think that women complaining they live in a mans world has been very much publicized and everyone throws women these pity parties because they have to work so much hard, though true I think that many people fail to see how men are also suffering in their own "world"
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that we spend too much time worrying about what society and other people seem to find important. it's all an illusion.
ReplyDeleteGreat use of personal narrative in the blog. To expand on some of these ideas think about how you can add visual and video content to the blog.
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