How
is it that in today’s society, we applaud women for their Masculinity and their
ability to shatter glass ceilings, to participate in sports, to dress however
they want to, and to deviate from norms that society places on women, but we
laugh, ridicule, and harass men who want to fully express themselves in
Feminine ways? Is it okay for society to advance the empowerment and
full-expression of one sex, but we continue to shut-down, judge, and pray for
the other who fights for the same goal of empowerment and full-expression?
Through
the adolescent years of life, we tend to see high levels of Masculinity. As
argued through C.J. Pascoe in Dude,
You’re a Fag: Masculinity and Sexuality in High School, “adolescent
masculinity is understood in this setting as a form of dominance usually
expressed through sexualized discourses” (Pascoe 5). When looking specifically
at adolescent boys, we see that there is a sense of Toxic Masculinity in them
when they view Homosexuality as demeaning in society. With this stigma of
Homosexuality from adolescent boys, it establishes a hierarchy of power, with
Masculine men on the top, and all other diverse groups of people towards the
bottom. More specifically, Feminine men who may deviate from traditional norms
are subordinate in this hierarchy of Masculine power. It is constantly shown in
society where any Man who feels that they fully express themselves through
makeup or traditional feminine clothing, or who may walk and talk more feminine
than the norm, faces discrimination, derogatory name-calling, harassment, and
unfortunately, even death. These tragic situations occur because of the strong
need for Toxic-Masculine Men to display Homophobia, violence, and intimidation
in order to conform with societal view on Men.
I present a situation of a Gay Man
who is physically attacked for truly expressing himself in a Feminine Manner,
with make-up. It is clearly shown how the Gay Man is silenced by two masculine
men who are trying to have their Masculinity seen and “heard” in society. To
symbolize this photo of Toxic Masculinity, I begin with the feminine Gay Man
who is positioned at the center of the photo. The centering of the Man
demonstrates how he is the center of attention of this situation, falling as a
victim of everyday hate crimes and assault. His hand covering his mouth
symbolizes how he is injured and silenced, meaning he can not express himself
in the Manner he wants to express himself as in society. We continue to look at
the Gay Man’s face and actions, and it clearly shows how the Gay Man is in
distress, and we feel the impact of the Gay Man in this situation, and we tend
to feel uneasy, horrified, and angry towards the attack. Zooming out of the
photo, we see two Toxic-Masculine men who attack the vulnerable Gay Man. To the
Man in the left, it is clearly shown how he dresses to intimidate and to
maintain his Hyper-Masculine Status in Society. Though in this situation the
Toxic-Masculine Man reveals his face and identity, there are some instances
where a Man who wants to maintain their status of Masculinity in society remain
anonymous, such as the Man in the right. Unfortunately, there are many
instances where one can attack and act violently towards Gay Men without ever
facing any repercussions for their actions. In a scenario such as the one
presented, it is all too easy for the two attackers to drop their victim, walk
away, and effectively wash their hands clean of the situation. And far too
often this scene mirrors real life: Gay men are policed, and even sometimes attacked,
simply for expressing themselves, and while these experience leave a mark on
them forever, their attackers are never brought to justice.
Works Cited
Pascoe, Cheri J. Dude, You're a Fag: Masculinity and Sexuality in High School. Univ. of California Press, 2012.
2 comments:
From: Lydia
I think Johnny’s photo was very powerful.He used his photo to show how men, and in this instance a gay man, is treated horribly for expressing femininity. In our culture, men are raised to show no signs of femininity, whether it is physical through clothing, makeup, or hair, or through their actions, career path, or showing their emotions. This is extremely unhealthy and toxic, and should not be how young boys are raised. Johnny’s photo shows a gay man being assaulted for expressing himself by wearing makeup. Sadly, this photo shows a very realistic scenario that probably commonly happens in everyday life. He talked about how he placed the models in his photo to help display his subtopic of toxic masculinity. Something else I noticed was the foreground versus background. The action was happening in the foreground and in the light, but the background was very dark. I think that made the photo more eerie. To me it made me think that the assault was in the light, and being seen, but when the boys walk away into the shadows it will go unnoticed. I also thought when looking at the appearance of the two men assaulting the gay man, not only were they dressed very masculine, but immediately I noticed the boy on the left’s tattoo. I think although women have tattoos, they are sometimes seen as a very masculine way to express oneself and having the tattoo in the center of the photo stood out to me.
Hi Johnny, I love what you did with this photo. It sends a very clear message about the expectations that men have on them, especially men that are part of the LGBT community. I think that the two assaulters in the photo carry some deep symbolistic value. The hat, as seen on one of the assaulters, is clearly associated with the Orioles, a sports team, and sports are typically associated with manliness. The shoes, worn by the other assaulter, are also very clearly “men’s” shoes. Both of these characteristics symbolize the harsh expectations that are placed on men, what their interests should be and what kinds of clothing that they should wear. These clothing items also contrast with the soft blue t-shirt that the victim is wearing, it’s a clothing item that would probably be considered “unisex”. I would also argue that the facial representation in this photo is very important. The assaulters are anonymous, their faces cannot be seen. However, the face of the victim is very visible. I think this represents the fact that men have a very specific set of guidelines that they follow in order to blend in with other boys, the anonymity of the assaulters can serve to represent how “manly men” can blend in. Boys that wear “feminine” clothing or makeup are generally seen as outcasts; our society places a focus on them and I think the focus on the victim’s face really gets that point across. I also think that the use of color in this photo is very powerful. The assaulters are wearing red, blue, and grey, these colors are typically regarded as “boy” or “unisex” colors. The victim, however, has a rainbow on his face and pink lipstick. These bright colors are typically regarded as “feminine” and represent the fact the “feminine” men are typically seen as “outcasts”.
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