Let's jump into gender politics for the moment, shall we?
I found this link to be interesting. I've only skimmed it, but it seems that there's a book out that calls for the end of "manhood" -- that is, male behavior. So, I suppose I'd like to have you read this and give me a reaction to what this writer is talking about.
Are we wrong to have gender identification? Do gender roles get governed by society, or are they genetic in nature? If we were to eliminate masculinity, what kind of society would we have? And if you've got anything to add to this, I'd like to hear it -- so long as you're at least at 300-500 words.
When reading the article on “The End of Manhood” I could not help but be greatful that this was a stab at the opposite sex; however, found that I am not reluctant to reach for my “Girl Power” side on this one. What I assumed from the article was the author was a female lashing out at the male sex and stating that a male can be lived without. Females can survive without males. Then realized shortly after that I was completely incorrect.
ReplyDeleteWhat I gathered from the article was that men have a set way of growing into their manhood. Substantially, a lot of males go through this experience with the feeling and desire of being accepted because of their own insecurity of their sexuality. This sometimes results in violence, abuse, or some type of harsh action that is not acceptable to society.
The author makes a valid point that abuse is not a good thing and that it should do without. I cannot help but question if the source the author uses is correct to which a male begins his reputation of being violent. Granted, it is acceptable the idea of nature vs. nurture and that nurture has a lot to do with why or how a male reacts to certain events, but there is a key factor missing in this equation: Testosterone. Every male is born with it and every male uses it throughout his life. This does not mean that every male has a violent episode, but it discredits the male species as a whole.
I did not agree with what Stoltenberg had stated. A male is born with certain personality traits that are irreversible. This does not discredit women by any means. Basically, women are given an innocent vibe in place that because of low amounts of violent tendencies on their behalf. No one credits the fact that statistically speaking, women do not always go to jail or become incarcerated for domestic violence or abusing their children, but it happens everyday. Society has this mental picture of women to be the bearer of children and not someone in the form of violence so it is difficult to arrest a woman on the basis of this. Society really does not allow it. Not to mention the numerous accounts where a woman has beaten her boyfriend over the head with a coffee pot and never received any consequences for it because a male would be labeled a “wimp” if he allowed a woman to slap him around.
I did not want to discredit the author completely, but I believe that before he throws one gender under the bus, he should get his facts straight and throw the other gender under the bus- since we are talking about equality.
There is no doubt in my mind that certian characteristics of gender identification that we use to raise children are wrong. I was glad to read the article "The End of Manhood". In this article the author adresses many things that I have found myself saying for as long as I can remeber. I have always found it a little strange viewing the different emotions and attitudes my parents would express to my brother and I.If I was upset they would usually be more caring and understanding and it seemed as if that type of behavior was exceptable for me to express. It was never very often that my brother got upset and when he did my parents acted very differently. They would not convey emotion or care, but they would simply just ignore it and act ackward about the situation. I never liked this and I noticed slowly the "masculinity" come out of my brother as we got older and he made fun of others for conveying emotion, being different, and in some cases would fight to prove himself as a true man.
ReplyDeleteWhen I went to college I learned a lot about gender identification. One thing that I remeber vividly and reference often is the basic attitudes and play among different genders in preschool years. During those years young females will ofetn play games that involve sharing and they incorporate all members of a game in an equal manner. They are sensitive to the feelings of others and will most likely play games that others want to play so no feelings are hurt. Males at the preschool age play much differently than females. They usually take leadership positions and immediately establish whose in charge in a play group. They play what the dominant male wants to play usually and do not take the feelings of others in to consideration. I found this information to be very interesting as it shows the devlopment of manhood at such a young age.
I believe that some gender identification is acceptable in our society, but preventing someone from acting human is not only wrong but cruel. I believe gender identification is created primarily by society. If we were to eliminate "manhood" from our society there is no doubt that it may be a less judgemental and violent place. Emotions and recognition of a males true self would be portrayed and could have many benefits in our society. There is definately certain issues with female gender identification that should be altered, yet I believe the breaking of manhood could be the start of many adjustments to those problems.
"Education is the progressive discovery of our own ignorance,"-This has long been one of my favorite quotes, by one Will Durant. In our modern-day-American-point-of-view we somehow have come to believe that we know better than everyone who has ever lived before us. Undoubtedly, we know MORE as a whole than anyone that came before us, but who's to say our ideologies, personal opinions, and newly formed views are any better than what has preceded us? It catches me as incredibly narcissistic that we should suddenly think our new definitions of healthy gender identity out weigh 20,000 years of modern human history.
ReplyDeleteThis article raises some good points, there are aspects of the accepted male psyche that are damaging and ill adjusted. For instance, boys should be aloud to cry and express emotion when overcome. Physical or psychological abuse is obviously a negative when raising any type of child as well. However, there are also aspects of our gender identities that surpass nurture. Testosterone is a major role in the male behavior, increased aggression being a major corollary of high testosterone levels (compared to low levels in women). There are intrinsic components to male nature (one of my friends has a favorite t-shirt of mine, it simply reads EAT F*** KILL) while this is a little exaggerated, it still sketches a valid picture of the male psyche.
We are defenders, problem solvers, procreate-ers, mind-over-matter types. I came up with this definition a few years ago in my inexperienced brain, but I think it still rings true, "You become a man when you recognize and do what needs to be done over what you want to do". So do we need to change the way we raise young men? Maybe in some small aspects, but please, let us remain men.
When reading the author’s article, I understood his argument, but certainly did not agree with it. God made certain human characteristics for a reason, and having gender identification has been around since the beginning of time. Men have always been more physically fit than women to protect women from any sort of danger. Gender identification is sort of a list of guided rules of how things should be done. Like the way men treat women on dates or the way men protect women from any kind of danger. Gender roles were originally created by nature thus the roles then being governed by society. What I mean by this is men have been created to be bigger, faster, and stronger than women for a certain reason. It is not the women who go down stairs in the middle of the night for a suspected robbery; it is the man with a baseball bat ready to protect his women. Unintentionally this set forth the reason of men having a masculinity role in society. For example, only 14% of the entire United States Army has women soldiers, this is why our previous drafts have only been male occupied. As a soldier myself, I would much rather have a male go off to battle with me because I know if I go down, there is a much greater chance for him to save my life rather than a female, (although there are some exceptions). If we were to eliminate masculinity from society, our society would be filled with a bunch of softies. Everyone would take everything too personal and nothing would get accomplished. Our family structure would be totally twisted to where little boys would be playing dress up and play with Barbie dolls. I do believe the only benefit to this would be that violence levels would be lowered since everyone is now soft and nobody will set their actions due to there being no masculinity.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think our society is capable of eliminating masculinity altogether. Masculinity is engrained in our society, as is the concept of the feminine. Reaching a stage of androgyny calls for radical change in the family dynamic of the United States, a change which many proud manly-men would definitely find unattractive. Western society is one that has favored “masculine” traits for ages. Since the times of Kings, Emperors, and even “gods”, an aggressive, powerful man has almost always been in charge. And in those few times a country was led by a woman, that woman was forced to adhere to a rigid code of masculinity in order to get proper respect from the peers. Whether it was the Queen Elizabeth or Hatshepsut, the Egyptian “woman who was king”, society demands it’s leaders adopt masculine attributes in order to gain the respect of the powerful men in the upper class. Hatshepsut was known to wear a false beard and often dress like a man during her time as Pharaoh. Had these rulers adopted gender identities that were more closely aligned with their real personalities, and not their take on certain gender roles, perhaps they would have better served themselves and their people.
ReplyDeleteIn early human history, gender roles served to differentiate between two different skill sets: those who could hunt to feed the community, and those who gave birth to future generations and were then trusted to care for these children. As can be seen in the animal kingdom, there are certain roles naturally assigned to certain sexes. To disregard the differences between the two genders would be ignorant. However, starting a movement towards the achievement of “personhood”, a movement that could remove negative cultural stigma for women and lead to the creation of a more balanced man, would be a step in the right direction. Actions like telling young boys they can’t cry, while allowing young ladies the luxury, is just one example of the strange cultural implications of gender bias. The resultant suppression of the emotion can lead to problems as the child matures.
In transitioning towards a more gender-neutral society, we can create a generation of well-rounded people that don’t discriminate against a perceived lack of any trait like masculinity.
After reading the article “The End of Manhood”, I understood and agreed with the author's argument. Gender identification has been going on for years now and honestly, I don’t think its wrong that people tend to use it. Over the years, it has generally been the guide to how men should do things when it comes to women or just life in general. The article expressed some good aspects of how men should behave but there were also a few bad ones. I personally do not think there is anything wrong with males expressing themselves emotionally because we are all human. Men just like women have the right to cry and I do not feel as though there is anything wrong with it. The author wants his audience to understand that men are masculine and should not express themselves emotionally, which I think is wrong. I think gender roles are governed by society. Society is what molds us, and gives us the idea of what is right and wrong, and we always tend to follow those guidelines. If masculinity was to be eliminated our society would be so different than how it is today. I think our society would be less judgmental about how things are “suppose” to be done and everyone would have the opportunity to be him or herself, and express their own emotions. I also think society wouldn’t be as violent because today people feel as though the only way they can protect themselves is to carry a weapon of some sort.
ReplyDeleteAre we wrong to have gender identification? We’ve had gender identification for as long as humans walked the earth and I think it is wrong to have it. Women were and still are identified as emotional. Before women had rights, we couldn’t vote because men thought we were too emotional and “silly” that we didn’t know a thing about politics and would screw up the government. But women have come a long way since then; they are CEOs, hold positions in the United States Government, and do so many other incredible things. It’s wrong to judge a person based on their gender.
ReplyDeleteMen are seen as strong protectors; but there may be a man or two out there who don’t have big muscles, and are actually scared of things or cry. In today’s society, I think it is harder to have gender identification because more and more people are coming out of the closet and don’t really know what gender they were born to be, which is why they become trans-gender. They might have on their license that they are female, when they were born male and many argue with that. So how do you treat that person? Do you treat them like a female cause that is what they are now, or do you treat them like a male cause that is how they were born? In today’s society, most people don’t agree with trans-genders so instead of treating them like one or the other, they treat them like a freak and an outsider.
People treat women and men very differently. It’s just nature in the way we act and talk with differently with women and men. People tend to be more “concerned” or softer when talking to a woman because they think women can’t handle harsh words. We act tough with guys because if we acted soft with them, they would make fun of us. I think part of it is nature, there is just something about us that makes us treat people differently but I also think society plays a part in it as well. In movies, television shows, and songs, they make women seem vulnerable and weak and then the knight in shining armor comes to save her. Every now and then you have that really tough woman, who can handle anything, but that is rarely the case. Society puts in our head that women need a man to save her from whatever life throws at her.
If we eliminated masculinity, I don’t know what our society would be like. I guess we would all be equals with no one treating someone differently than another because of gender. I’m so used to people using gender identification with their actions and words that I don’t think I can honestly say what our society would be like without it. I don’t think it is necessarily “wrong” to use gender identification but I think we can use it in a way where we aren’t stereotyping and treating people completely different because whatever gender they are or choose to be.
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ReplyDeleteI thought the book was rather ridiculous, and that the article itself was okay. There is absolutely nothing wrong with gender identification. It is a basic, natural, and universal. It is impossible to deny that there are fundamental differences between men and women, and to attempt to is ludicrous. Masculinity and femininity both represent different parts of human beings. One is the nurturing, creative side and one is the strong, logical side. This is not to say that all men are purely logical or all women solely creative, but in general both genders are specialized. To deny a man his masculinity is to ask someone to change their very nature. It is true that extreme masculinity can cause problem, such as violence or selfishness. However, excessive femininity can cause it’s own set of problem, such as weakness and over-pacifism. If the author’s point had simply been that men should not be over-masculine and should be more open to sensitivity, then the book would have been fine. But to claim that masculinity itself is a dangerous and terrible thing that deprives men from being fulfilled is ridiculous. Masculinity is no more wrong than femininity. They are both different, but completely acceptable.
ReplyDeleteIf masculinity were eliminated from this society (that is, in the United States), then we would be in serious trouble. Crime in our own country would likely be reduced a little, but by no means eliminated. This is because while extreme masculinity can cause violent behavior, it is not the only cause. If that were the case, then all women who have ever been violent would therefore be masculine. And while our crime rates at home would go down some, we would less likely to retaliate when attacked. We would also have a much smaller army, as women are greatly outnumbered by men in the military. This is not to say that masculinity is in any way superior to femininity, but that we need both to survive. If our society were purely masculine without femininity, then our crime rates would increase some. We would also be overly-aggressive and become like many violent nations in the past who have started unjust wars to gain land and resources. Both masculinity and femininity are important parts of humanity and there is nothing wrong with either one.
I do think that gender identity is a bad thing to have today in our society, but there is absolutley no stopping it. Women have their many labels as do men, some good, some not so good. I feel like the society is just so used to the gender identity that the thought of not having gender identity has ever reall crossed our minds. Gender roles are not at all controlled by the government it is strictly genetic in our nature. I do not agree with the article when it talks about father-son relationships, I don't believe that all fathers teach their sons to be empty and violent. Sure, all men have their same masculine emotions, but they don't all teach their kids the same.
ReplyDeleteI honestly think our society would be way different if we eliminated masculinity from our society. If our world didn't begin with masculinity and femininity it would be much different thank if we just started the world with femininity. It would however elimate the unequalness between men and women we have in our society today.
After reading the article about "manhood" I learned that all men grow up thinking, and learning that they have to all have to act the same. They grow up learning that they have guidelines to follow, which is understable because being a female I guess I do the same. I found the male violence part of the article very interesting, the more I thought about it the more I agreed with it. All men do have a violent side to them whether it be physically violent, emotionally violent, or any other type of violence. But this article makes women sound like there is nothing wrong with them, when honestly women are just as crazy.
I enjoyed this article topic, and it actually made me very interested in possibly reading the book someday.
As far as the way that men act around women have been sociologically changed over that past few decades. Men would open the car door for girls and take them out to dinner. But with today’s modern society that seems to have gone out the window. And now when a guy does that it just seems like he wants something or hes sucking up to his girlfriend or friend. That’s not to say that all guys are like that, chivalry does still exist. Another thing is that women are looked down upon a lot when it comes to politics. Women being able to have the right to vote is still something I believe that is still being socially accepted and the fact that there has been no female president confirms my suspicion that a lot of people believe that women are not physically and mentally fit to run our country. There has also been a lot of people that place a lot of responsibility on the man. Like men are supposed to propose to women, ask them out, do all the sweet nice things, which is why I think a lot of women are trying to be “unique” and not believe in that, do things themselves. Guys feel like they have to do a lot of things in order for their families to accept them. Like play sports and being strong do all of the lifting of heavy stuff. And its definitely looked down upon when guys cry. Just because men cry they show emotions and have feelings doesn’t mean that they are any less of a person. Therefore men have a very important role in society, it shouldn’t matter weather or not they are the typical man but it is important to have masculinity in society. It shows diversity, I personally think that it might be a little weird if it were taken away. Women just need to be shown more respect, people see women as a object of attraction. Not all guys are terrible, but masculinity is definitely something that shouldn’t be taken away.
ReplyDeleteBefore reading this article I couldn’t help but think to myself that it was going to be full of nothing but sexist remarks about males. After reading the article I agreed with some points the author had made, but not all. I do not think that we are wrong to have gender identification. I believe it allows humans to be diverse. That’s not to say that I agree with the way children are raised amongst our society. Sure there are some characteristics infused among men that I do not agree with. Gender identification has been around since the beginning of time. Men have their roles and women have theirs. Being a male and growing up with a father figure I remember myself constantly looking up to my dad and trying to impress him to receive his acceptance. It is quite common in our society for a parent to look the other way when their son is crying, yet when their daughter is crying they become much more caring and nurturing. That is why I believe that gender roles are both governed by society and genetic in nature. Just like animals, humans are very similar. Male animals in nature are always the dominant ones. Male humans are also always trying to be the dominant ones. Gender roles are governed by society because of the characteristics we pass on to our children. We raise our boys to be masculine and to show little or no emotion. Being a male I remember growing up and always forcing myself not to cry even in the worst times of my life. Males are raised feeling that if they cry they are seen to be vulnerable and not masculine at all. I believe that masculinity is something we need in our society, but in healthy servings. Too much masculinity is bad, but too little is also bad. If we eliminated it completely our world would no doubt be a lot more peaceful. Less fighting would occur and many wars would have never of happened because there wouldn’t be any competition for dominance. If masculinity was eliminated completely then I honestly believe nothing would get done. Without competition for dominance then there wouldn’t be a demand for improvement.
ReplyDeleteBasically, what I took from this article is the author of the book thinks men are incapable of having functioning relationships because they supposed to "be a man" and not be intimate.
ReplyDeleteSo what happens when you tell a guy, "'Oh hey, by the way, you aren't doing a very good job at being a friend/boyfriend/husband/daddy/whatever, so lose the whole manhood idea and just, you know, be a person."
I'm guessing the guy gets even more insecure, and, if there ever was a chance at a relationship, it's gone for.ev.er.
But that's not really my arguement. I don't think men are screwed up because they are men or women are screwed up because they are women. We're all simply people, and we're screwed up by our own circumstances. I'm sure there are a whole bunch of women out there who are just as incapable of having functioning relationships. You could probably argue that they got that way because of a man. I'm going to say they got that way because of themselves and are just blaming men.
Sure, maybe I'm only ever going to make 70 cents to a man's dollar, but when my baby is born, those multiple 30 cents are really going to add up.
And on a completely different thought, I think we are confusing 'masculinity' with 'violence' or 'competitiveness' or whatever, but that's not the case. Those are human traits. And if those are uncontrollable traits, then maybe we need to get better as people, not just men and women.
Men are not the problem. People are the problem. Everyone is flawed and capable of making mistakes or getting violent or pushing people away. Ridding the world of manhood would do nothing but highlight a new problem. The problem that manhood was not the problem in the first place.
Gender identification is something that has been around since the beginning of organized society. As a student with a major in advertising, I am fully aware on how society has shaped the gender roles in advertisements pertaining to both women and men. In advertising you must know how to target certain audiences, and more and more you see in the media that certain campaigns are geared towards certain target audiences, sometimes in a very controversial way. Not all men and women follow the gender roles of Leave it to Beaver, but our society has deemed that for the most part that is the only acceptable way.
ReplyDeleteIf we were to eliminate masculinity, I believe that gender anxiety would occur in society because we are so accustomed to carrying out certain roles amongst different genders. Gender identification, although it is exaggerated in the media and in society, is something that does result from nature. We are naturally composed of 2 very different genetic make ups, as well as two very different underlying chemical components. Women are naturally more sensitive and emotional, verses men who are naturally more prone to violence and anger issues. I believe that we should promote masculinity from a balanced viewpoint and equally parent skills on expressing emotions.
I do agree with Stoltenberg’s notion of achieving “personhood” rather than manhood in society. In many homes, I have seen parents treat the raising of daughters and sons very differently. Rules are set differently towards the two different sexes, as well as given differently by the two different sexes of the parents. I grew up in a family of 3 brothers and I, being the only girl, realized how differently my parents treated us with certain disciplinary issues. Young boys are typically given more lenient rules and were disciplined more harshly, verses girls who are treated with sensitivity. I believe that this is a direct effect of the natural gender identification that we have ingrained into our brain as the right way of doing things in society.
I agree, to an extent, that masculinity is injuring our progress towards a better society. Many fathers raise their sons to be the next prodigy in the sport of their choosing, and stress that showing emotion is a female attribute. I believe that showing emotion is actually a human attribute, and suppressing it in the name of ‘masculinity’ is a ridiculous idea. As humans, we are given the gift to think, analyze and express emotion in response to different stimuli. This gift is what helps us communicate effectively, learn from each other and grow individually to better ourselves in every aspect of our lives.
ReplyDeleteMasculinity should not only be classified by violence, selfishness and negativity. Masculinity also has a certain number of positive attributes that could involve but are not limited to opening a door for others (not just females), respecting strangers and love. Masculinity could be handed down by a father-figure, or any other legal guardian of a child. In my case, the masculine features my father has taught to me are very different from the psychologically lethal examples given in this argument. My dad is only one example but I know he cannot be the only male representative of positive masculinity. I do understand the negative implications upon first hearing the word ‘masculinity’, but I hope that anyone reading this knows now that masculinity can also be defined and displayed in a respectful manner.
Society has a huge role in gender identification. The media usually portrays the stereotypical dad as being proud that, after becoming captain of the football team, his son has enlisted in the army or put himself into other various physical situations. Masculinity, and the stereotypical attributes of, have been around since the dawn of man and will continue to exist for longer than I can foresee. It might also be in our DNA, for when we were lacking the conveniences of superior technology, prehistoric men were deemed as the hunters and gatherers due to their physical capabilities.
If masculinity were completely outlawed, our society would have trouble handling things for quite some time. The perceptions may be skewed of a father’s expectations and may seem unnecessary for child development. Perhaps if weaned away from masculinity’s ‘self-hood’ and eased in this idea of ‘person-hood’ that the author suggest, perhaps we could have a more acceptable and functional society.
Sadly, we may never know. As a young man myself, I would be devastated to give up some of the things that I would love to teach my son because it were outlawed due to an overwhelming amount of masculinity. Until young men conclude that their son’s future would be better without this negative sense of masculinity, my father’s idea of a positive masculinity may never flourish. If his idea were to blossom, perhaps it should be named uniquely to rid it of the association with stereotypical masculinity. Masculinity can exist within a gentleman and not only a brute, depending on who you are asking.
Reading the article posted for this weeks blog just confused me more than the title. The idea of "manhood" that the author portrays is what I would call pride. We all know that our pride can stand in the way of what is best at times, but to say that this so called "manhood"is wrong is kind of a stretch. Since when is manipulation something that only men do? the fourth paragraph from the bottom the author of the book says "The central metaphor of males learning to identify with and adhere to a socially constructed manhood ends up carrying all the weight for men's dysfunction, insensitivity, cruelty, selfishness, and desire to control others." Basically what I am getting from this is that because of "manhood" men are the only ones with these traits. I am sorry but I disagree with this one hundred percent. Both genders have these issues, infact both genders of all species have these issues. Selfishness is "bad"in our modern view but this could also be twisted into survival of the fittest. What I am saying is if no one was ever selfish we would not have progressed as we did. People would not take what they need and more than they need to thrive, when you just get the basics you can't spend time and energy focusing on going forward. Just on surviving. Manipulation is a quest for power, but are women not power hungry? In whole I feel that the author is attacking what makes us human, not what conforms us to be men. I do not completely disagree with the article as a whole though. I do believe that the author has good intentions, if these traits were to be kept in check by both men AND women, then violence probably would drop along with gender dominance.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this article I thought what is Masculinity? The dictionary definition says that it pertains to the characteristics of a man or men, as boldness and strength. And in the article it states that due to this word that men think they have to live up to, they do not get to fulfill their needs. In this article I do feel that some points are extremely correct. I absolutely hate how guys always feel like they have to be strong and not show emotions. And when said you have to be a man you automatically know they mean be strong and don't show weakness. But, as humans thats the great thing we have are emotions. Society has made it so guys have this huge role to play and a certain way to act. And to me it is all just an act. But, this act I feel is an outer shell and it is hard to see what is inside a man. And to me I think if we did not have this thought of how guys should be it would be a lot easier on them and us as women. But, it will never happen. For forever now, the man is the strong one and the women is lesser.
ReplyDeleteThroughout this article, the author talks about what the world would be like if there was no masculinity. He starts off by proposing that if all violence created by men was removed from the world, than it would be a much safer and healthier environment for one to live one’s life. Even being a male myself, I cannot say that I disagree. Even though there are some crimes committed by females, I would have to think men are committing the extreme majority. I think that must be because men are the only ones with the guts to go and pull such a courageous and stupid act. It seems to me like men are more desperate in situations like that because they are the ones who seem to commit the most crimes, compared to women on the other hand. If there was no masculinity in today’s world, I think society would be a softer, gentler and kinder one. Obviously we all want to live in a world like that, where we don’t have to worry about a robber breaking into our house at night while we’re sleeping or locking our cars every time we go to the store. I do not think we are wrong to recognize gender identification in today’s world, a good example would be how a 16 year old boy’s car insurance is automatically higher than a 16 year old girl’s insurance if they were to both get their license at the same time. I do think gender does play a significant role in society, a good example would be how there has never been a women President in our country. On a whole I do not really care for this article, Stoltenberg discusses an irrelevant and irrational topic. Writing this book to me is like comparing the proposal if men in general were extinguished off this planet forever and the gender became extinct. This article just did not attract my attention or seem realistic to talk about.
ReplyDeleteI think that the author of “The End of Man Hood: A Book for Men of Conscience”, John Stoltenberg, I taking the whole idea of ones manhood out of context. I don’t think it is wrong at all to have gender identification. It is what makes everyone stand out to who they are as a man or a woman. Even though the world could get rid of a lot of discrimination about what men can do that women can not and vice versa, it kind of degrades both genders to a point of evenness; which could cause a lot more controversy between the genders, even though some may feel it would stop the arguing.
ReplyDeleteI feel that it is a toss up between gender roles being governed and/or genetic. A lot of gender roles have to do with basic instincts of ones sex. But on the other hand a lot of what society teaches each gender is a huge factor toward how each gender acts. Such as what a father or mother teaches their child/children about their own gender, or what one sees others doing such as an idol of theirs that define his or her own idea. Many children learn when they are young what their own gender role consists of just from what or who they are surrounded by so in a sense gender roles are mostly governed by society but are also genetic as well.
If masculinity were to be eliminated, then the world would be complete mess. I mean like said before masculinity has a lot to do with genetics so trying to take that away would be like trying to take ones personality or life away. Yes it may solve problems occurring in today’s world but just as everything else almost in this world if you take one thing away to fix something; it usually causes new or repeating problems. So with out masculinity, men would not truly exist to a point. Society would be a repetitive process for every age, meaning that society would change like it does now everyday.
There are a few different reasons why gender identification might be wrong. The thing is that some of these gender identifications can’t be helped. In a lot of ways it’s genetic or some kind of chemical working inside the body that causes these differences. Woman have made such a big impact with the women’s rights acts, but all their efforts are geared towards women being able to work and think just as well if not better than men can. In my opinion gender identification can inhibit men or women from getting different kinds of jobs in the community. Even though many of our gender traits are governed by our genetic makeup, it also has a lot to do with the way we are brought up. A man brought up in a rough neighborhood is going to have a lot of protective traits much like a guard dog would be taught to have. On the other hand someone growing up in a little bit better of a home might have these protective characteristics, but he will be protecting in other constructive ways that don’t involve violence.
ReplyDeleteThe article talks about men being the key which drives all the violence in our society. In some respects this is very true, men have high testosterone which fuels aggression a lot of the times. If we were to eliminate all traits of masculinity in our society however, there would be a lot of changes that we would have to endure. For example, there would most likely be no more competitive sports since most sports involve high energy and aggression. With no masculinity there would be less drama on reality television shows that we die to watch every night. On the other hand, there would most likely be much less violence and crimes happening. There would be far less attacks happening against females so that escort that you take home after class every night wouldn’t be quite as necessary. Sure it would be nice to live in this new kind of world with much less violence and crimes, but with every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, and I don’t know if we as a society would be able to handle those kinds of changes. I strongly believe we were made the way we were for a reason.
In the article “The End of Manhood,” John Stoltenberg discusses gender identification. After reading the article I found myself agreeing with some of his points. I believe we do raise our children with certain characteristics of gender. I have only probably seen my brother and dad cry once in my whole entire life and that was over a death in my family. I have seen my sister and mom cry hundreds of time. Men feel like they have to be masculine and women feel they are allowed to be sensitive. It may not be right, but that’s how things are. I don’t believe gender roles are controlled by the government but by nature. Most girls grow up playing with Barbies and having tea parties while boys are surrounded by trains, trucks and war games. A father’s worst nightmare is having their son enjoy playing with Barbie dolls. Men and women go through life with a certain gender role they feel they must live by. This article helps society understand that women and men are a lot more alike than you think. Some men might be violent, but women can or want to be violent too. If a female were to fight another female that would seem trashy, but if a male fights another male it’s considered cool. I think it’s wrong to have gender roles. If a man wants to cry he should cry. I don’t think anyone should hold back their feelings because of their gender. If a girl wants to fight someone than I guess she should. I don’t think we should eliminate masculinity though. We need to be strong sometimes! I think if a man sometimes does not want to be masculine then that’s ok. No one is always ok a hundred percent of the time, men or women. If someone feels vulnerable they should show it instead of holding it in because of their gender.
ReplyDeleteThe article “The End of Manhood” made me really think about masculinity and that is something I have never really thought of before. I have always felt it is just nature and never thought about the fact that these behaviors are basically passed down from generation to generation. I look at my own family and immediately see that it is true. I am not positive on the violence issue but it could be a reason why there is a lot of male violence. I don’t think getting rid of masculinity will solve all of our problems in society but maybe certain aspects of it could be improved. I was always told that my parents were harsh on me and acted like I was a boy and I never really understood it until recently. I was always pushed to be a leader and not to show my emotions to people, which according to this article are things that many males are taught to do. I have always been considered the “tough” girl but I always felt in some ways it was a good thing. I don’t express my real emotions to anyone and I always thought that is what people should do because who wants someone blubbering to them all the time? I can see where this article is coming from and I agree with maybe changing how we perceive masculinity and feminism but I think we have been taking steps to being equal for quite a while. Women are no longer uneducated housewives that can only raise the children but some people do still feel that the man is the dominant one in the house and in relationships. It will take a lot of time for our culture to get out of our sexist ways but perhaps one day we will get there. I doubt we will ever rid of masculinity but I wouldn’t say that masculinity is a bad thing to have. Maybe one day we can find a happy medium between masculinity and feminism and we will no longer even have these words but only time will tell what we are to become.
ReplyDeleteMy decision to attend Kent State University was driven by many factors, but size of the student body was never a factor towards my decision. I was interested in the programs Kent had to offer, the beautiful campus and its amenities, and the relative distance it was from my hometown. My experiences at Kent State University have never been directly correlated to the number of my fellow students. In my junior year, I feel as though I have been positively influenced by the organizations that I have joined and how willing I have been to get involved with the student body. I feel as though in order to not feel like a mere “number” among the class rankings and graduating charts, you need to get involved.
ReplyDeleteI have found to discover that although Kent does have a large student body, it’s actually a lot more personable and intimate than you may think. The “5th” degree is often joked about amongst my friends and I; which is what we call the phenomenon that by going through just 5 connections of friends, everybody knows eachother. I find myself amazed at all the mutual friends and connections that I have with other people. Kent has done a good job of breaking down the student body into smaller groups. The fact that they offer freshman only dorms give new students the chance to interact with others in the same situation, and not throw them out to drown in the pool of the entire student body itself.
No matter how driven you are to contribute towards the student body, there are several downsides to attending a large university. Scheduling for classes within my major has become very competitive because the student body to professor ratio isn’t available with the number of classes offered each semester. I feel as though I can relate to my professors a lot easier in a small classroom setting, like our College Writing II class, versus a larger lecture hall.
At other times I do feel like sometimes I am treated like a number because I feel as though my education is being overlooked. I just discovered for myself that I have yet to satisfy an graduation diversity requirement, which is something I should have been advised to do during my freshman year. Although I have been receiving guidance through appointments throughout my entire college career, it seemed to have gone overlooked by all of my advisers. Because there are so many students that they are each responsible for, possibly advising and taking care of students had possibly become routine rather than having the luxury of personalized, individual attention.
“The End of Manhood”… That title alone makes me laugh. I think the idea of this book is crazy. I wonder how many people have actually purchased it… Men and women were created differently, with dissimilar characteristics and personality traits for a reason. God intended for men and women to have different roles. Because some men are deadbeat dads or violent or too aggressive doesn’t mean that all men are. This is, of course, a stereotype. Someone could argue that we should do away with womanhood in society… I won’t make that argument, but someone could. Deciding which characteristics in men or women are “acceptable” isn’t up to us. Turning men into women isn’t natural. How would that ever work? I don’t know very many men (maybe none) who would be willing to lay down their masculinity to become more like a woman. Besides that, genetically it would be very difficult for men to tame down their masculinity. Sure, they could maybe get some help from doctors, but that’s just taking it too far… unless a man really wants to be less masculine. This article claimed some of men’s problems are: “racism, economic exploitation, and ethnic and religious hatred.” I don’t think those things can be directed more toward men or women.
ReplyDeleteI think gender identification is a great thing. And the world would be boring without it. It’s kind of like the way people have different personalities. The planet would be so bland and blah if we were all the same. I’m not saying I approve of the violence and such mentioned in the article relating to men, but without masculinity, I think things would be pretty bizarre.
While there are good and bad things about masculinity, I think it would be incredibly extreme to do away with it. It’s just not natural. It’s that simple. The end.