Chrizna Milanes
Ms. Ha
Puente English 2, Period 6
14 April 2017
Stereotypical Masculinity In The World
Masculinity is a trait or the qualities that are customary with men. It is associated with boys and men, but females can possess masculine traits and behaviors as well. There are plethora reasons why many people have just recently started debunking masculinity. A few of the top reasons are that some men feel that they are pressured to be the main breadwinner in the family, to remain strong during a time of crisis not showing outwardly-emotion, and that they are naturally violent people. These few reasons are some of the causes why the suicidal rate in men has increased in the recent years. Recently, in 2013, the majority of suicides were by men, 78%. (Gallagher) In a survey, men said they would feel less of a person if they lost their job. (Sommers) Gender equality was supposed to be enforced, but it seems having a job and being the breadwinners are an important role to a man’s identity. The financial problems are behind many suicides, because they are not conforming to their “traditional masculine” roles. (Ridge) Also men feel they are expected to be hardworking, dependable, physically strong, and decisive. 55% of men feel they are stereotyped negatively in the media. In an article published by Huffpost, Ridge states, “There is a time when boys are allowed to cry and then suddenly they’re not allowed to cry anymore. You’ve got to be a man. All these messages that boys get? You don’t undo those easily.” What this means is that boys are taught from a young age to “man up” which is a destructive phrase that is enforcing “manhood” this phrase is also implying not to be a woman which is stereotypical insinuating that females are an inferior gender to males.
In order to address the stereotype of masculinity, there has been a “number of non-governmental organisations-including Promundo, Sonke Gender Justice, CARE International and others [that] have developed programming to change attitudes toward masculinity, which has made demonstrable impacts on the lives of men and women.” This was from an article published by Safer World, by Hannah Wright. These organisations would help the stereotypes of masculinity, because it would educate those who use masculinity to define a man. For this solution to become effective, the step and actions taken will be searching for the right target in the audience that are willing to attempt transforming the views on masculinity. Aiming for a solution to change individual beliefs and attitudes, are what can be done to revolutionize the organisations that reinforce gender-specific superiority. A few places where gender stereotypes need to be fought and countered in, is in different public authorities and organizations, in vocabulary and languages, in the justice system, laws and practices, the mindsets of people, and in the media and education. There should also be a change in “shared domestic responsibilities” between males and females because there should not be specific roles assigned to a gender. Organizing awareness-raising campaigns could be another way to eliminate gender stereotypes and educational curriculum growth. Another way that can change the way masculinity in seen by society is to start encouraging and supporting females to be a part of “traditionally male-dominated fields” such as pursuing a profession in STEM and joining armed forces. (Puri)
Stereotypical masculinity has affected many individuals, including me personally ever since I was young because of how excessively decisive, independent, and intrusive I was. Going to the session during “The Students of Color Conference”(SOCC) was extremely important to me, because this topic explains piece by piece the expectations and or standards society puts up for both men and women. This issue has afflicted me more negatively than positive. I am physically strong and aggressive, in other words exceptionally masculine. Currently, I am in a sport, wrestling, which is a traditionally male-dominated sport furthermore, I am a remarkably talented wrestler and that was very unusual in the eyes of society. So of course they had their opinions, their scandalous opinions. What troubled me were the comments that were said, such as “she must be lesbian being in such a sport” “that sport is only for boys” and “does she even love her boyfriend? Because it seems she is attracted to girls”. I have balled tears one to many times before my family and I know it has teared their hearts apart, because all they could do to help was tell me, “don’t mind them, they don’t know what they’re talking about.” Sometimes, people would go for my parents, shaming them, saying that they would go to hell because the Christian religion does not accept the idea of being “gay” and that my parents are accepting me. The comments became unbearable for me to hear, that I fell into depression for quite a while, until I found a solution. I started acting in what society thinks is the standards of being a “girl.” So I tried to become more feminine, losing a grip on who I really was just to satisfy society’s expectations of a girl.
For me to take a role of leadership in eliminating negative stereotypes of men in society, I could advocate a movement in my school, dedicated to transforming the way masculinity is perceived and to also raise awareness about the gender stereotypes. Some specific actions I would do to be a part of the solution, is to organize a group of people who are committed to the purpose of my movement. The group will then sign papers given from the school which will provide the money needed to make a change. From then, the group and I will post up posters dedicated fully to raise the awareness of stereotypes. To get people into the event, I would arrange activities and games that are gender-specific related, games such as tug of war, arm wrestling, chugging drinks, eating contests, and a mini dance celebration at the end. The purpose of having these games played by both genders is to prove to society that men are not the only ones who are aggressive, strong, daring, active, course, and independent. It will prove that women also possess masculine traits that are traditionally associated with men. Lastly, to wrap up the purpose of my movement, I will host a ceremony that will educate the students of Overfelt to rethink their actions and words that could be stereotypical. Some specific lines I think are important for me to point out are, “Instead of using the typical stereotypical phrases such as ‘man up’ ‘grow some balls’ ‘don’t be a sissy’ many should reorganize and rethink what they are about to say because it could be hurtful to them mentally it could make them feel less than a human. Therefore, they should rephrase into ‘I believe in you’ ‘You can do it’ ‘I have hope in you’ and ‘How do you feel.’” Hopefully my organized movement opens people’s eyes to make them realize all the stereotypical things they have said to men and women and causes them think twice about saying something that could potentially lower one’s self-esteem about their gender.
After all, society should care about stereotypes in genders, because many oversimplify the definition of a man or a women with biased evidence. This topic can affect lives negatively, such as a boy being bullied for hanging around only girls, a man being treated less than a human because of possessing feminine qualities, a woman who is seen as “intimidating” because she is the main breadwinner of the family, and a man committing suicide because he is unable to be the main breadwinner his family. Change for a better future would be fantastic would it not? The world would have more men who would not feel pressured to act certain ways to satisfy society because they would be able to act in any way they please, whether it be feminine or masculine. Women also can freely be a part of traditionally male-dominated activities without being judged. At last, men and women would not be able to be defined in a few words anymore because both genders behaviors and traits would be vastly revolutionized, actually making each and every individual unique.
Ms. Ha
Puente English 2, Period 6
14 April 2017
Stereotypical Masculinity In The World
Masculinity is a trait or the qualities that are customary with men. It is associated with boys and men, but females can possess masculine traits and behaviors as well. There are plethora reasons why many people have just recently started debunking masculinity. A few of the top reasons are that some men feel that they are pressured to be the main breadwinner in the family, to remain strong during a time of crisis not showing outwardly-emotion, and that they are naturally violent people. These few reasons are some of the causes why the suicidal rate in men has increased in the recent years. Recently, in 2013, the majority of suicides were by men, 78%. (Gallagher) In a survey, men said they would feel less of a person if they lost their job. (Sommers) Gender equality was supposed to be enforced, but it seems having a job and being the breadwinners are an important role to a man’s identity. The financial problems are behind many suicides, because they are not conforming to their “traditional masculine” roles. (Ridge) Also men feel they are expected to be hardworking, dependable, physically strong, and decisive. 55% of men feel they are stereotyped negatively in the media. In an article published by Huffpost, Ridge states, “There is a time when boys are allowed to cry and then suddenly they’re not allowed to cry anymore. You’ve got to be a man. All these messages that boys get? You don’t undo those easily.” What this means is that boys are taught from a young age to “man up” which is a destructive phrase that is enforcing “manhood” this phrase is also implying not to be a woman which is stereotypical insinuating that females are an inferior gender to males.
In order to address the stereotype of masculinity, there has been a “number of non-governmental organisations-including Promundo, Sonke Gender Justice, CARE International and others [that] have developed programming to change attitudes toward masculinity, which has made demonstrable impacts on the lives of men and women.” This was from an article published by Safer World, by Hannah Wright. These organisations would help the stereotypes of masculinity, because it would educate those who use masculinity to define a man. For this solution to become effective, the step and actions taken will be searching for the right target in the audience that are willing to attempt transforming the views on masculinity. Aiming for a solution to change individual beliefs and attitudes, are what can be done to revolutionize the organisations that reinforce gender-specific superiority. A few places where gender stereotypes need to be fought and countered in, is in different public authorities and organizations, in vocabulary and languages, in the justice system, laws and practices, the mindsets of people, and in the media and education. There should also be a change in “shared domestic responsibilities” between males and females because there should not be specific roles assigned to a gender. Organizing awareness-raising campaigns could be another way to eliminate gender stereotypes and educational curriculum growth. Another way that can change the way masculinity in seen by society is to start encouraging and supporting females to be a part of “traditionally male-dominated fields” such as pursuing a profession in STEM and joining armed forces. (Puri)
Stereotypical masculinity has affected many individuals, including me personally ever since I was young because of how excessively decisive, independent, and intrusive I was. Going to the session during “The Students of Color Conference”(SOCC) was extremely important to me, because this topic explains piece by piece the expectations and or standards society puts up for both men and women. This issue has afflicted me more negatively than positive. I am physically strong and aggressive, in other words exceptionally masculine. Currently, I am in a sport, wrestling, which is a traditionally male-dominated sport furthermore, I am a remarkably talented wrestler and that was very unusual in the eyes of society. So of course they had their opinions, their scandalous opinions. What troubled me were the comments that were said, such as “she must be lesbian being in such a sport” “that sport is only for boys” and “does she even love her boyfriend? Because it seems she is attracted to girls”. I have balled tears one to many times before my family and I know it has teared their hearts apart, because all they could do to help was tell me, “don’t mind them, they don’t know what they’re talking about.” Sometimes, people would go for my parents, shaming them, saying that they would go to hell because the Christian religion does not accept the idea of being “gay” and that my parents are accepting me. The comments became unbearable for me to hear, that I fell into depression for quite a while, until I found a solution. I started acting in what society thinks is the standards of being a “girl.” So I tried to become more feminine, losing a grip on who I really was just to satisfy society’s expectations of a girl.
For me to take a role of leadership in eliminating negative stereotypes of men in society, I could advocate a movement in my school, dedicated to transforming the way masculinity is perceived and to also raise awareness about the gender stereotypes. Some specific actions I would do to be a part of the solution, is to organize a group of people who are committed to the purpose of my movement. The group will then sign papers given from the school which will provide the money needed to make a change. From then, the group and I will post up posters dedicated fully to raise the awareness of stereotypes. To get people into the event, I would arrange activities and games that are gender-specific related, games such as tug of war, arm wrestling, chugging drinks, eating contests, and a mini dance celebration at the end. The purpose of having these games played by both genders is to prove to society that men are not the only ones who are aggressive, strong, daring, active, course, and independent. It will prove that women also possess masculine traits that are traditionally associated with men. Lastly, to wrap up the purpose of my movement, I will host a ceremony that will educate the students of Overfelt to rethink their actions and words that could be stereotypical. Some specific lines I think are important for me to point out are, “Instead of using the typical stereotypical phrases such as ‘man up’ ‘grow some balls’ ‘don’t be a sissy’ many should reorganize and rethink what they are about to say because it could be hurtful to them mentally it could make them feel less than a human. Therefore, they should rephrase into ‘I believe in you’ ‘You can do it’ ‘I have hope in you’ and ‘How do you feel.’” Hopefully my organized movement opens people’s eyes to make them realize all the stereotypical things they have said to men and women and causes them think twice about saying something that could potentially lower one’s self-esteem about their gender.
After all, society should care about stereotypes in genders, because many oversimplify the definition of a man or a women with biased evidence. This topic can affect lives negatively, such as a boy being bullied for hanging around only girls, a man being treated less than a human because of possessing feminine qualities, a woman who is seen as “intimidating” because she is the main breadwinner of the family, and a man committing suicide because he is unable to be the main breadwinner his family. Change for a better future would be fantastic would it not? The world would have more men who would not feel pressured to act certain ways to satisfy society because they would be able to act in any way they please, whether it be feminine or masculine. Women also can freely be a part of traditionally male-dominated activities without being judged. At last, men and women would not be able to be defined in a few words anymore because both genders behaviors and traits would be vastly revolutionized, actually making each and every individual unique.