Resulting Violence: Tough Guise

            When discussing what creates a tough guise, often the topic leads to what becomes anti-femininity. As Jackson Katz points out in his documentaries and works analyzing male behavior, when standards of masculinity aren’t met, one is often considered “girly”, or a “faggot” – language pertaining to effeminate qualities. Because of this, women took up arms to reiterate that being female was not an inherent weakness and that this language was endangering, leading to violent tendencies toward women by men. Jackson Katz furthers his work on such an argument, claiming that violence is a men’s issue, one in which only men could truly do something about. His statistics support that argument, and in his documentaries, he calls this out as clearly as he can.

In fact, his 2013 sequel, “Tough Guise 2”, blatantly repeats the material of his original 1999 documentary of the same name, “Tough Guise”, with updates to imagery and far more stories of violence in the way of mass shootings. It’s safe to say this is purposeful because it’s only recently that widespread conversation about masculinity has begun to spark.

            Katz’s main point in his documentaries and his research is that all the social issues we have been experiencing and continue to experience are interrelated. Men, more often than not, are perpetrators of violence, so we have conversations about movements like “Yes, All Men” or “#metoo”. However, men suffer from violence, as well as body image issues and sexual violence, especially as young boys.

While major social movements like feminism work to eradicate inequality and bring about a safer platform to discuss real issues, it’s clear an element is missing. The cycle of violence continues, not as a symptom but as a result of the pressures of society, including masculinity. Men and women are resorting to violence out of desperation, whether it’s in an effort to feel safer or to be heard. Regardless of its reason, we, as a society, need to start listener, and listening sooner.

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“What this shows is that an awful lot of boys and men are inflicting an incredible level of pain and suffering, both on themselves and on others. And we know that much of the violence is cyclical, that many boys who are abused as children grow up and become perpetrators themselves. So calling attention to the way that masculinity is connected to these problems is not anti-male – it’s simply being honest about what’s going on in boys, and men’s lives. And while women have been at the forefront of change and trying to talk about these issues in the culture, it’s not just women who will benefit if men’s lives are transformed. In fact, while men commit a shameful level of violence against women in our society, statistically speaking, the major victims of men’s violence are other males.” –Jackson Katz