We Created Masculinity
In order to be a man and be masculine, you must do what society tells you. Is this the right thing? I sure don’t think so, and a lot more people are stepping up to say their peace in the matter as well. I believe this video not only represents masculinity but challenges it at the same time.
“Social learning theory posits gender is a learned behavior, learned by observing, analyzing, and modeling others (79). If you do gender wrong, then you are punished. Society put men in a box and tells them they can get away with acting a certain way because “hey, they’re boys”. Men need to stand up and decide for themselves that certain things are just not acceptable and never have been. There shouldn’t be any more excuses.
Some people believe that women are better at relationships than men, this is likely the result of two things:
- because people do not expect boys to have relationship skills, so they tend to not have a need for developing them (82)
- boys relationship skills may not be apparent especially as they get older because they have been socialized to hide them (82)
These two things are because media and society influence each and every one of us in more ways than we realize. “Contemporary hegemonic adult masculinity often focuses on characteristics that negatively influence close relationships, such as aggression (including sexual aggression), a primary desire to satisfy sexual drives, and the objectification of women” (). These behaviors are not biologically determined but instead are learned early in men’s adolesense.
To think that were making our men into “savages” is quite crazy. We have the power to change it, we just need to do our part and keep saying something when we see something. We also need to start treating everyone equally, women and men alike!
- Bell, D. L., Rosenberger, J. G., & Ott, M. A. (2015). Masculinity in Adolescent Males’ Early Romantic and Sexual Heterosexual Relationships. Masculinity in Adolescent Males’ Early Romantic and Sexual Heterosexual Relationships. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5903560/
- Palczewski, C. H., McGeough, D. D., & DeFrancisco, V. L. (2019). Gender in communication: a critical introduction. Los Angeles: SAGE.
Gender Communication Portfolio 