Avoiding simplistic essentialism to me is very important, as
a society we hold people back from being their self which has negative affect
on young boys growing up. You are born to be unique and special. This is shown
in my photo when the young man is trying to lift the bench bar and he is
struggling, there’s no weight on the bar which shows he doesn’t life weights
often. It shows that he is only lifting weights to prove to the people laughing
that he can. This is why avoiding the simplistic essentialism is so important
because he clearly can’t lift the weight but he is trying to fit into the roles
society gives men, like you have to act tough, to be strong bulky men who can
use their strength to be violent and to protect themselves and their partners.
The people around him represent society saying if you don’t fit in to our norms
you are seen as different and risked being made fun of and laughed at. This is
an uncomfortable place for a lot of people because many feel the way you dress,
act and live is who you are when really its who you are deep down inside. This
is why a lot of men are angry because they never really were allowed to be
themselves worried what others would say. He could have avoided the whole
situation by knowing he doesn’t lift weights which is perfectly fine. The young
man in the back reaching for the bar to help him lift it up represents the
social norms saying just “fit in, be like us, I will help you fit in”. But the
bar can’t come up that far because that is not him. As much as he wants to fit
into the social norms he can’t. He needs to just be himself and understand that
a man is biological what you were born. Cultural is what society creates.
Cultural theorist emphasize how society communicates shared cultural ideals
about how people of each gender should behave. These expectations range from the
colors of clothes boys should wear to the kinds of activities and occupations
boys should prefer. These gendered cultural ideals form knowledge structures
known as gender schemas that guides people perceptions of self and others and
their behavior and preferences and gender rally become the lenses through which
people view their social world. This can all change once we learn to love
ourselves for who we are and it will be easier to accept others and love others
for who they are.
1 comment:
For this photo you could also point out the difference between age groups and what they consider to be important. To the left you have an older male that may be in shape but as you can see he doesn’t care to have a “six pack” which most men tend to want. On the other hand the younger guys are worried about lifting the weights which will essentially give them a more muscular shape. Yes society pushes young boys and men to uphold certain physical requirements but does this stay the same or vary for age groups. An example would be imagine seeing an elderly man that’s tiny and frail, generally people would say something like aww isn’t that the cutest old man. But when a guy is young and looks like that it’s seen as a problem.
Notice the men are either wearing black or blue. Blue is seen as one of the very first colors associated with men under the gender schemas. From childhood we learn to associate pink with females and blue with males. The black they are wearing can represent the power or authority associated with males. Also notice the guy to the left has a hint of pink lines going down his black pants. Should he been seen as less masculine like his friend who cannot lift the weight since he’s wearing a female color?
Our textbooks states that “These both include simple physical challenges” (p.62). When referring to activities boys start to do around after the age of 3. Boy’s interaction styles become more competitive and physical. This could explain why there’s no female presence in the room at all. One last thing to notice is the camera angle. It is not directly in front of the boy instead it’s higher up and to the side of him. By doing this his friends look bigger than him and makes him look smaller to add onto the weak link persona. Even though they all appear to be in the same physical range.
- Breonna Smith
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