Blog #7

Masculinity vs. Femininity

 In our culture there is a polarization of what it means to be female and male AND lesbian or gay. Society pushes individuals into stiff and narrow boxes, leaving no room for fluidity and freedom.

We learned in class of the social construction of reality that women are almost always over sexualized and how men had very limited ways of being masculine

Women:

In advertisements, women are always underdressed, skinny, surrounded by men, timid, subordinate, etc. They make women appear to be weak and incapable protecting themselves from others. In result of these ads and society’s skewed views, women become very insecure about themselves making it almost impossible to see their bodies in a positive light. The video from class that was most influential on me was the one called #likeagirl from the brand Always. They touch upon the facts that in society, when people say to do something “like a girl”; they all do so in a very feminine way. Certainty the severe incapability to throw a ball or run isn’t a trait of most girls today, but since society has really feminized and degraded women, that’s the way that most people tend to think. However, when it came to asking a younger girl who doesn’t care what society thinks, she shows with all her might and runs with all the energy she has. When the others were told of how they had acted before, they were shocked and regretful at how they had let society affect them.

Men:

As for men, many people do not think that they are attacked by society or inconvenienced in anyway by society, but in reality, they are.  Society makes it very hard for man to feel masculine. If a man shows any part of his feminine side they are called “ fag, gay, sissy, pussy, wimp, mama’s boy, etc.” Men have to be violent and muscular to avoid being called names by others. They have to be constantly appearing tough and show no emotion. This is obviously very difficult given that they are human and need to express emotional just like anyone else. We were shown many examples in the video “Tough Guise” by Jackson Katz. There were clips of violent movies, fights among men, etc, displaying how relevant this issue really is in society.

Neither or Both:

As for the people who are neither male nor female, their struggles seem to be the most difficult, because of how closed-minded society is. A majority of us are unaware that fluid genders like this exist. Many people don’t recognize the struggles many people go through to simply go to the bathroom. Which one are they supposed to choose when they aren’t male or female? There is almost 1 to no universities, businesses, schools, or restaurants that account for these “gender types”. No gender bathrooms are a start, but society doesn’t recognize the importance of acknowledging the struggles of these people that don’t identify with male or female.

Personal connection:

My personal connection to this subject and unit that we learned about is ne of my friends that struggles with an eating disorder, because of her self-consciousness and idea that people were always judging her and her body. It broke my heart to see how insecure she felt and how she had to hurt her body to make it “acceptable” to society.