From
day one, we begin to learn gender stereotypes. We see our mothers wake up early
to prepare our breakfast, pack our lunches, and send us on our way to school.
We see our fathers leave for work and come home exhausted from a long day of
making money that supplies us with everything we have. We learn that our
mothers are the nurturers and that our fathers are the providers. We learn that
young girls must act “lady-like” and nurturing, while young boys must be tough
and active.
In
Module 5, we evaluate the pieces “Tough Guise,” and “The ‘Two Cultures’ of
Childhood.” In “Tough Guise,” Jackson Katz discusses the expectations of male
masculinity and the effects it has on not only men of all ages, but society as
a whole. Men are expected to show no emotion, have a muscular upper body, and
act in a way of violence to assert dominance. If men are to show emotion, they
are looked down upon and called names such as “pussy,” “gay,” or “faggot.” In
“The ‘Two Cultures’ of Childhood,” gender norms are discussed that start at a
young age. Things like toys, the games children are involved in, and bullying
are influences on how each gender acts.
In this
photograph, a man covered in tattoos with a scowl on his face lifts heavy
weight while staring down into the camera. His gaze down into the camera not
only shows his confidence, but also displays his assertiveness. I chose for him
to be in the center of the frame to show his strength as well as power; since
he is taking up the whole frame, his dominance is clear. The lines on the
ceiling represent the gender normality, and as he stands within those, he is
staying “within the lines.” The color of the photograph indicates that he is
conforming to stereotypical male behavior. Since it is in black and white, he
must be on one side or the other, with no middle ground to stand on without
judgement. There is so much pressure on men to be masculine and show masculine
traits, but what are you doing to help change these standards?
Works Cited
Katz, Jackson. Tough Guise 2. Media Education
Foundation, 2013.
Rudman, Laurie A., et al.
"The Two Cultures of Childhood." The
Social Psychology of
Gender: How Power and Intimacy Shape Gender
Relations. The Guilford Press,
2015,
59-63.
2 comments:
From: Heather djfkajfdkljfklsda
From- Erin
It is really eye-opening to realize that we have been bred from such a young age to think that the woman is the nurturer, and the man is the "breadwinner" and isn't much of anything else. For example, when I was younger we had split gym classes, one for boys and one for girls because girls weren't expected to fit in the normality of men. This can always be the other way around. I love how your essay explained that men really have black and white choices, and there is a small area of conformity for them and they can't be outside the lines. Your photo portrayed that perfectly, and I really love how you can see all the details, like his tattoo's and the way he is looking down on the camera as if he looks down on everyone else. He also doesn't seem to care about anybody in the background and is focused on himself, which I think interprets that some men try not to worry about what anybody thinks. Great job! I love the photo!
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