Historicizing Masculinities in the TV Show Peaky Blinders

Peaky Blinders is a British TV show focused on gang culture in the 1920s and 30s in Birmingham, England. It follows the Shelby family, particularly the middle brother Thomas Shelby, on their quest to achieve power in their community through whatever means necessary. It is a really interesting visual depiction of historicized masculinities. The show depicts masculinity at this time as extremely violent, sexist, and emotionally repressed. But it also examines the influences of politics on masculinity at this time. For example, many of the characters experience PTSD from their time fighting in WWI. The show depicts this as an honest struggle that many men are going through, but it also suggests that if a man's PTSD is too visible he is not considered very masculine. Conversely, men who did not fight in WWI are considered even less manly, and must work extra hard to prove their masculinity. There are also multiple masculinities interacting in the show that are influenced by social status, class, and political beliefs. There are communist men who view all non-communists as elitist and supportive of social hierarchy, there are policemen who generalize all people in poverty as communists and therefore dirty criminals, there are gang members who are generally portrayed sympathetically but are using whatever means necessary to gain power, the list goes on. The show is weak in the area of racialized masculinities but there are a couple of characters that provide insight into what it might have been like to be a black man during this time. In this way the show historicizes changing and intersecting masculinities within the historical and geographical context of post-WWI Birmingham England.

Violence and Men: Gun Control in Walmart

After the recent El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio, Walmart has introduced a new initiative to eliminate any depictions of violence throughout their stores. Workers were told to turn off violent video demos and remove any signs or displays that depicted violence immediately. Walmart is also taking the initiative to stop selling rifle ammunition and asking customers to not carry firearms into the stores, even if it is legal to do so within the state. The new initiative comes as a way to “reduce the risk” of mass acts of violence from occurring again. After watching Tough Guise 2, it made me wonder if the lack of advertisement of violent video games/films will negatively impact the revenue from these industries, resulting in a lack of revenue for the firearm industry. While this initiative is certainly a starting point in terms of gun control, the issue lies within widespread society, not just local retailers. While the increasing amounts of violence depicted in films/games may contribute to increased violence in society, the issue lies less with the access to guns and more with the harmful stereotypes attributed to men asserting their manliness through acts of aggression. It is interesting that the article refers to the shooter as a “gunman” rather than an “assailant,” putting a gender to the attacker rather than de-gendering the situation.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-walmart-handgun-ammunition-20190903-v7qqfl4l7zc2dd6cd2bum2wu5q-story.html

Body Image Issues Among Men

https://www.instagram.com/p/BvudiIqgrtk/

I saw a post on Instagram recently about the struggles and shame males experience regarding body image. The text explained how some people felt that they were under immense pressure—whether that be from society or their loved ones—to maintain or achieve a specific body type. We are all constantly bombarded with advertisements and images of photoshopped bodies that attempt to sell us an unattainable image of ourselves. After coming across this post, I asked my boyfriend if he had any thoughts/struggles with unrealistic expectations of his body. He told me about his occasional feelings of feeling like “less of a man” due to his slender physique and more introverted personality. He explained how he felt pressure in his teen years to become the sort of person that has a six pack, lots of money, and have relationships with a lot of people. This reminded me of the masculinities archetypes that revered males who were “self-made,” had relations with lots of females, and had body types that set the standard for other people. I think while it’s important to destroy expectations regarding body image and self-perception among women, it’s important to see how these harmful standards also affect men. 

A Social Environment Hostile Towards Men

The House is having a hearing on white supremacy and the Republicans invited Candace Owens who used her time to say it isn't actually an issue, that it wouldn't even rank in her top 100 issues and that the real issue is black-on-black crime & lack of masculinity in men. pic.twitter.com/kl2flYl7bK

— jordan (@JordanUhl) September 20, 2019

According to Candance Owens, we currently live in "a social environment that is hostile towards men". Owens says this environment "does not inspire masculinity or being a man". Owens, an American conservative political commentator, made this claim at a House hearing focusing on the issue of white supremacy in the United States. Owens used her speaking time to claim that Black America is not concerned with white supremacy. When explaining what Black America is concerned with, one of her responses was the current "social environment that is hostile towards men".

As a white woman, I acknowledge that I do not speak for the black community in America, but as a member of our current "social environment", I am shocked by Owens's words. I would respond to Owens by countering her claim: our current social environment is not hostile towards men who conform to gender norms and portray hegemonic masculinity, but it is hostile towards the men who do not. A man wearing cargo shorts and a polo shirt will most likely not face hostile reactions when walking around their town, but a man wearing makeup or a dress most likely will. A promiscuous man who brags about their sexual conquests will receive praise from their male friends, but a man who comes out to his male friends as gay may face backlash and ostracism. A man in a high-level corporate position will be considered successful, but a man who pursues a career as an elementary school teacher will be perceived as "less than". Our social environment does inspire the enforcement of gender norms and hegemonic masculinity. These norms and masculinities are enforced through advertising, film, television, and music. The men who will consequently feel abnormal and face hostility are those who do not conform.

To say that a lack of masculinity is one of the top concerns of the black community is to dismiss the issues that are affecting black families, and many nonblack families, across the country: police brutality, poverty, lack of access to healthcare, unaffordable education. To say this is to also ignore the boys and men who feel as though something is wrong with them because they do not match up to what hegemonic masculinity says they should. Our social environment is hostile towards those men.

Redefining Black Masculinity with Channel Tres (from Vice.com)

"Channel Tres doesn't hide from the flamboyant elements that make up his artistry. He celebrates them, adding himself to the list of popular Black male artists like Tyler, the Creator and Lil Nas X who aren't defined by gendered stereotypes while also feeling empowered to identify as queer." (by DeAsia Paige)

Redefining Black Masculinity with Channel Tres (from Vice.com)

Are dads baybsitters?

       It has been very interesting to me that not too long ago dads babysat their kids while moms took care of their kids. Why did dads get away with babysitting for so long? I was at a school event where a group of moms were talking and one mother was discussing her plans to go away on "Girls Only" weekend so another mom said, while she looked at the husband, "so, does that you mean you have babysitting duty?" The mom going away for the weekend chimed in and said "It's not babysitting when they are his kids, that's called parenting."
       How correct she was and how interesting it was that it was another female who referred to the dad watching his kids as babysitting. The masculine role of a father still tends to be viewed as them being babysitters to their children.  Below I have attached a link to an article in Parents Magazine that addresses this issue of dads being seen as babysitters instead of a parent. I am glad to see that there has been an upswing in fathers that are no longer ascribing to the old notion that it was not manly to take care of the kids. I am seeing so many fathers dropping off their kids to school and taking jobs where they can work at home to help to care for the children. I hope you enjoy the article and see that dads want to be recognized as parents and not babysitters.

Parents Magazine Dad is not the babysitter

Let’s Retire the Trope of the Hapless Dad- David James Poissant

I had to dig back through UCF’s twitter page to find this article that I read back in June and really, really loved. David James Poissant recounts stories about going out with his two daughters and constantly getting unsolicited advice– “instruction framed as concern”. People assume that because he’s a man, he doesn’t know anything about taking care of kids. This isn’t uncommon in the slightest and the standards for dads are incredibly low. After all, WOMEN are the natural caregivers, not men… right?