Male Body Image

This is a pretty simple video about how media has influences male body image.  It shows the results of using steroids and how huge muscles have now become the new male norm and how steroids are used to reach this norm. 

I found this relevant to our module on male body image.  I personally find these body images unappealing.  But children, teens and young adults see these images and try to replicate them. 

Just recently Lance Armstrong conceded to using steroids, causing a huge scandal.  There are also constant scandals of other professional athletes using steroids. young people idealize these athletes.  These athletes are sending the message that you can only achieve status and wealth by using drugs to alter your body and/or your performance.

Male Behavior

This is a documentary about Pit Bulls (bull terriers), mastiffs and other big dogs but I found it relevant to this course.  It talks about the idealized male thug image and how having a ferocious dog increases male status on the streets.  How American hip hop videos with rappers showing off their fighting dogs has influenced male behavior in the UK.  How violence is seen as masculine.  How animal abuse is normal male behavior.  How it is OK for men (or anyone for that matter) to beat their dog as a puppy to teach it dominance and obedience and instill aggression..   How entering your dog into fights is masculine.  How giving your male friend’s dog a rabbit to kill so it will learn the taste of blood is a normal display of male friendship. 

Ok…I admit that my stance on animal abuse lead me to this documentary and was a factor in me wanting to share this.  But you cannot deny the relevance it has to this course.

Confessions of a Recovering Misogynist

Don't be turned off by the length of this article... it's worth it. Kevin Powell tells his personal story of how he went from a woman hating misogynist to an activist who freely talks about and calls out sexism. It is an inspiring story and shows that people can change, even when we think they are too far gone.

http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/hdh9/e-reserves/Powell_-_Confessions_of_a_recovering_misogynist_PDF.pdf

Reddit board: "Men's Rights"

A while back I discovered that the popular social news website Reddit.com has a "subreddit" board called Men's Rights, which boasts over 50,000 followers and claims to be "a place for those who wish to discuss men's rights and the ways said rights are infringed upon." Many of the posts I've found on Men's Rights tend to be anti-feminist or claim that feminists are trying to "emasculate men." It made me wonder, what does our class think of the Men's Rights board? Does feminism infringe on masculinity? Do the posters on Men's Rights have any accurate points?

www.reddit.com/r/mensrights

Domestic Violence Leading to Murder

Over the past several weeks there have been numerous murders and shootings related to domestic violence. There was an incident at a hotel and a beauty salon. Both of these women were believed to have been involved in abusive relationships and had to seek protection by having restraining orders enforced. This is extremely disturbing and causing me to pose the question of   "What is causing these men to snap and not only aim the gun at their ex's but at other innocent bystanders that they don't even know?"

Here are the links to the articles of these gruesome attacks below.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2209484/Shooting-spree-Orlando-hotels-ends-tragically-women-dead-injured.html

 http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hP7Gwv371fct9K91PK-nAS0DDaQw?docId=3c2fd3c9375b4babafcff6b9452035fb

 

Whitney Scott

 

Meredith Vierra Flirts with Contestant

I've recently been noticing how female hosts on TV flirt with male guests in a way that wouldn't be accepted if the sexes were reversed. I noticed it first in an interview in which Kelly Ripa flirted with Ryan Lochte. However, I couldn't find that video on Youtube, but in my search I came across this video. Here, Meredith Vierra actually refers to herself as an "old, horny woman" and jokes that the contestant can" put it anywhere you wanna put it." I believe if Vierra was a male host and the contestant a female, there would be a public uproar for these comments. Because a woman makes them, they are somehow acceptable. Take a look! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xa0R-4sAxgw

Macho Men

                While flipping through the channels the other night, I saw a clip from the show “101 Cars You Must Drive” on the Speed channel hosted by comedian Alonzo Bodden.  I could not control my laughter as I watched this extremely hyper-masculine man (who I would never have guessed is a comedian by trade) explain why one of the cars was on the list.  Dressed in a tank top to show off his bulging arm muscles this man was yelling the whole time, heavy metal music was playing in the background, using violent words to describe the car like “it will crush the competition”, “the other cars will be begging for their life” and basically how domineering and violent you can be while driving such a car.

                I went online to try and find the video clip of this part and the website was even more stereotypical – the left side menu was a selection of various photos of the “hot grid girls” and other bikini clad “dreamgirls”.  This isn’t the clip that I saw, but my argument still stands.  This clip has the host talking about destroying the environment by wasting gas in a Hummer because “that’s what you do”.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxO3VJChCK0  For those of you who are car enthusiasts, here is the link for the 101 cars http://www.speedtv.com/programs/101-cars-you-must-drive/.  I'm not against amazing cars, but I certainly think that amazing cars are not men's territory only.

- Jennifer Rey

Human Sexuality is Complicated

A student in my Introduction to Women's Studies class shared this and I thought it was appropriate for our Masculinities blog so here it is. On sex/gender/sexuality...it's more complicated for some folks than others!

As I was working on Module 4, I came across this really interesting article and was excited to share it. hopefully it can help us frame Asian masculinity more clearly.

                

http://www.racialicious.com/2010/01/27/whatever-happened-to-rufio-the-non-asian-ideal-of-masculinity/

Men Can (and Should) Be Feminist Too

We talk so much about men being feminist and their role in feminism and this is an interesting take on it--men do not need to find a place within 'feminism' but rather to make their prominent space in society feminist. What do you think about this quote?

NBC Is Stuck in a Century in Which Guys Taking Care of Kids Is a Hilarious Concept (by Dan Treadway)

I was at my sister's the other night and she wanted to watch the new sitcom Guys with Kids. I had seen previews and suspected it would rely on the standard 'guys as incompetent caretakers' stereotype so avoided it until then. While it was slightly 'better than expected' in this sense, it is still guilty of reinforcing the message that men caring for children is a foreign concept and that they require the everpresence of a woman to keep them in check. I think this article sums up the issues quite effectively...

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"Ultimately, the underlying message dictating that there's something bizarre about a man capably and willingly taking care of his child is at best a dumb commentary and at worst a harmful one. There are now more women receiving a college education than men, and this trend is likely only going to increase in coming years. Given the demographics, it's senseless and ignorant to suggest that despite achieving higher than their male counterparts education-wise, it should be a natural given that women should be the ones forced to put their careers on hold to in order to raise children. From a sheer economics standpoint, we should want to encourage the more educated segment of our society to contribute as much time to their jobs as possible. And thus, it's long past time we fully retired this notion in the entertainment industry that dictates that male characters are meant to be providers and female characters are meant to be nurturers -- and anything deviating from this is somehow a 'hilarious' happenstance."

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE

A Simple Yet Brilliant Analysis of Gender Roles.

A little girl named Riley explains her views about what is wrong with marketing and gender roles. She takes less than two minutes but what she says is powerful!

"Who You Callin A Faggot?"

Today in society, slurs such as faggot and  homo are used to de-masculize a individual by questioning their masculinity.  The slurs are used commonly and are even directed at non-gay and homosexual men. Used as slang and comedic dialogue for describing something or someone as lame or stupid, these sayings have caused much controversy as members of the gay community find the slurs to be both offensive and ignorant.  The article "Who You Callin A Faggot", is an excellent example of how the use of such derogatory words can negatively impact and affect the individuals for whom these slurs are directed at.

 http://www.flakmag.com/sports/queensbury.html

Whitney Scott

Hey baby! Women speak out against street harassment (CNN Article)

Street harrassment is an issue that demands attention. Whether walking dogs, shopping, driving in a car, or simply going to work, I know most women have experienced this type of harrassment and know how uncomfortable it can feel. People have a right to move freely without being leered or yelled at or touched or made to feel unsafe. It's good to see mainstream media covering this.

 

CNN Article: Hey baby! Women speak out against street harassment

Healthy Masculinity: The Idea That Men Can Control Themselves

An excellent article by Soraya Chemaly on healthy masculinity and the relationship between violence and masculinity which can also be the connection between compassion and masculinity. "Here is some Breaking News, Patriarchy: MEN CAN CONTROL THEMSELVES. They do all the time. Day in and day out, all over the world. Men demonstrate that they are capable of control, kindness, empathy, compassion and humanity."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/soraya-chemaly/healthy-masculinity-why-m_b_1933324.html

Louis C.K., Fatherhood and the Sexism of Lowered Expectations

C.K. said in a brilliant Father’s Day bit: “I decided I’m gonna be a dad, I’m not going to be mom’s assistant. Don’t do that if you’re a dad; [don't] just wait for her to write you a list. Be a man, make your own list. Fathers have skills that they never use at home. You run a landscaping business and you can’t dress and feed a four-year-old? Take it on. Spend time with your kids and have your own ideas about what they need.

“It won’t take away your manhood, it will give it to you.”

Read the rest of this excellent piece by Joshua Ostroff HERE

The Bearded Woman

Someone posted a picture of a woman with facial hair on the internet a few days ago and has sparked up quite a conversation. Although bearded women are nothing new, I think that this brings up a good point about masculinity. Facial hair is usually associated with masculinity or the characteristics of a man. But here you have a woman who lets the hair grow which is unusual to most cultures. But her choice to have a beard is based on her religious beliefs. This shows that characteristics of what is manly is not some universal standard. This is an example that even within cultures, in this case American, there are sub-cultures, in this case religious, that have differing views of what it means to be a man or a woman.

To read the original article on CNN blogs, click here.

Does Plastic Surgery Make A Man Un-Masculine?

Today, many people's perceptions and beliefs of what the male body should be is influencing many individuals of the male sex to consider extreme measures to fit the medias image. This article speaks of how men are extremely self conscious of their bodies and are doing anything to fit the mold. While many would consider this as okay because they are trying to become more masculine, others would argue that plastic surgery is not masculine and not intended for men. Not only a concern for women, men are also trying to present images of perfection to the public eye. From a male perspective, this article explains men's point of view on lipo- suction.


http://articles.everyquery.com/articles-the-masculine-point-of-view-of-lipo-45038.html

Whitney Scott

Cool Sweatshirt, Bro

In case you were wondering what's currently available in men's fashion...

http://www.zazzle.com/original_cool_story_babe_now_go_make_me_a_sandwich_tshirt-235841278927985351

Black and White Masculinity

Masculinity is often determined by race. In this particular article, the focus is on Black and White masculinity. Stereotyped by their race, many men are categorized because of their race, rather than be judged off of their personal being.  Elaine Roth, discusses these issues further in her article" Black and White Masculinity."

web url:
http://www.genders.org/g43/g43_roth.html

Whitney Scott

A Real Man

                                    


            http://www.salon.com/2012/09/21/rush_feminism_shrinks_penises/

Women in Secularlism

In Susan Jacoby's Humanist article "A Woman’s Place? The Dearth of Women in the Secular Movement", the lack of women in a male-dominated American secular movement is discussed. I highly recommend this article to fellow secular women, and I think it can also be interesting in the context of a masculinity theory class. 

You can read the article here: http://thehumanist.org/september-october-2012/a-woman%E2%80%99s-place-the-dearth-of-women-in-the-secular-movement/.

Chris Brownout

Interesting read. Further expansion on Lela's post about Chris Brown and his tattoo..


http://bitchmagazine.org/post/block-chris-browns-stupid-face-google-chrome-feminist-magazine-internet

Is Homosexuality Masculine?

In society today, masculinity is based solely off of what we think makes a man masculine such as his physical features or characteristics. Instead of actually looking at the individual themselves, we conclude that a man is unmanly or not masculine because of their race, how they dress or act, and due to their sexual preference or being. Recently singer Frank Ocean came out as a gay man in the music industry and was praised by many fellow entertainers and others, for having the courage to do so. Upon coming out, he knew that his masculinity would be both challenged and criticized. Why do you think others have such a hard time with considering gay men as masculine?

This article gives the reaction to the singers homosexuality:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/23/hip-hops-anti-gay-tone-frank-ocean_n_1824494.html

Whitney Scott