1.) I think the biggest contradiction is that males must be the rock for a family as perpetuated in the 1950s during the spread of suburbia. Back then, males were expected to provide for the family and to be the leader of the household. That message is still spread today, but it makes less and less sense due to the growth of non-traditional families. No longer are men expected to make all the money, but women are often large contributors. I think another contradiction is physical expectations. With society's obsession with body perfection, men are almost all expected to be muscular and very athletic and involved in sports.But, not all men play these games and have the body of a model as the media would like us to think.
2.)Some of the rights patriarchy takes away from men is basically freedom to express identity. Men are expected to exude masculine qualities concurrent with today's standards, and anything remotely feminine is instantly criticized. Patriarchy basically disdains males to be subordinate to women in any situation,l and many men could be uncomfortable with this standard.I definitely think there are privileges men receive simply because they are born male. The most common is the forgiveness for promiscuity, as we have discussed many times. Men are not ridiculed for their number of sexual partners like women are, but instead applauded for having more Males also have the privilege of not worrying about rape like women do; they know that there is virtually no chance of them getting raped by a stranger or to be afraid walking home by oneself late at night.
3.) I think men need to be liberated from the assumption that it is not masculine to show feminine qualities.Males have feelings and emotions, thought they are often judged harshly if they articulate them to a certain level as being a "girl" or a "fag". I think if a movement were to start, it would obviously be through mass media. Instead of "jersey Shore" type men, men with vulnerabilities and emotional capacity would be shown and eventually show the public that our perception of masculinity is overrated. I think we have seen some of these changes in society, especially with gradual acceptance of homosexuals. We are slowly evolving understanding to the point where just because a man is gay does not take away from his masculinity.Society is becoming more and more tolerant of this type of man and it could lead to changes of how masculinity is perceived.
I agree with you about how men need to be liberated and show their emotions. Its such a shame that we cannot show our emotions without feeling that we are going to be criticized or called a "wimp" or "girl". I know there were times when I had to reconsider if I was going to show my true emotion because I was worried about what others would think. It's just so unfortunate in todays society guys are more worried about "fist pumping" in a club at the shore than being true to themselves.
ReplyDeletei agree 100% with the males are seen as the rock of the relationship. i actually wrote about this in my blog as well
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that the idea of the man being the "rock" for the household is still apparent today, but is definitely slowly dwindling away as more and more women are obtaining high status jobs and bringing in money. Becuase the idea of the "traditional" family is changing, so are the roles of the parents.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your notion toward sentimentality in masculinity also. I think its an important notion to understand with feminism and the spread of the ideal that a masculine identity absolutely expresses healthy emotion.
ReplyDeleteI like that you mentioned the historical context of the 1950s. This is an especially problematic stereotype that has been co-opted for political purposes. In reality, the 1950s suburbian dream is a myth. Few were actual able to attain this lifestyle yet we use this as the model that we hold our own standards of living accountable to. For future blogs, think about how you can expand on this by adding visual and video content.
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