"Masculinity" and its Damaging Effects

In today's society we tend to stress and fornicate with the myth that masculinity must be emphasized to constitute manhood. Being tough, gritty, violent and irrational seem to be the epitome of what it means to be a man in our social universe. This isn't new of course. Tales of ravenous and awe inspiring masculine figures and deeds have been regurgitated for thousands of years in human history. What will be discussed are the less than "attractive" effects that a societal indoctrination of masculinity and gender classification has on society as a whole. Society pushes gender classification and the huge differences in expectation and societal limits. This programs “Masculinity” into boys, girls, women, and men through the expression of media, standards, and growing environments.  From a young age this “masculinity” leads to extremely damaging consequences such as emotional barriers, violence, and difficulties with sexuality, cooperation, and even a lack of intellectualism.

A child’s early learning (not limited to educational learnings) and early experiences greatly influence their emotional, cognitive, and social development. Gender socialization begins taking place long before a child even reaches their academic career. The common stereotypical differences in gender are enforced almost immediately after birth. The pink blanket given to the girls and the blue blanket given to the boys. These small almost minute classifications create a huge impact in limiting a child choice and demolishing certain ideas about gender before they could even be explored, understood, and applied.  Toys for boys tend to be associated with words like power, battle, hero, and victory whereas the words associated with girls are love, pretty, babies, and mom (Men and Masculinity). Boys in their adolescence feel pressured to act in society’s view of masculine in order to fit all of these hegemonic ideals, through their distance from femininity and feminine ideas such as emotions, weaknesses, and open vulnerability.

These ideals also influence aggressiveness and anger as the only acceptable emotions to be expressed. It pushes boys to be seen as highly sexual and to prove ones heterosexuality. (Men and Masculinity) Barbara Martin states “Children learn and show development of gender identity as an ongoing process, based on social situations. Many things can play a large role in demonstrating the preferred actions and behavior of young boys in early childhood. The male role is also reinforced by observing older boys and reactions of authority figures, including parents and teachers.” (Children at Play)

A “Boy Crisis” in our society shows that boys are struggling throughout elementary and secondary school with more disciplinary referrals, higher ADD diagnoses, an increase in suspension rates, declining academic interest, and a large increase in high school dropouts.  Many believe that this is due to the huge impact media has on our patriarchal society. Negative male role models and the notion that intellectualism is uncool for boys, keeping them more focused on physical appearance and or being likeable rather than educated. Two researchers at Minnesota State University, Anne E. Blackhurst and Richard W. Auger, discuss the Medias glorification on sports and risky behavior with very little emphasis on academic achievement and career goals. This explains the increasing numbers of boys who aspire to be professional athletes and possible reasoning as to why more males end up in prison. The researchers state “This emphasis on celebrity and wealth may inhibit career development by preventing boys from formulating realistic, long-range career plans. In the absence of such plans, boys may be particularly susceptible to the lure of other forms of ‘fast money,’ including criminal activity. Ironically, boys are also more likely to choose blue-collar jobs, which—despite their lower status—provide short-term economic benefits that seem more obvious and attractive than the  delayed financial gains associated with attending college." (The new gender divide in American Higher Education)

The Man box is the perfect example of masculine socialization. The Man box contains the socially valued expectations (some even refer to them as obligations and or roles) that men must follow in order to feel incorporated with peers, role models, and even social circles. This pushes on strength, athletics, sexual drive, and aggression. The Man box card becomes so important that it minimizes and even dismisses the violence, anger, and clear violence being directed at women and even other men (A Call to Men). In the United States one in five women will be raped at one point in their lives. Ninety-one percent of victims of reported rapes and sexual assault cases are female and eighty-one percent of women report significant impacts (short and long term) such as Post-traumatic stress disorder (Statistics about sexual violence). The Center for Disease Control says that men’s violence against women is at epidemic proportion. It is the number one health concern for this country. This trend in violent acts stems from the notion of overcompensated aggression and sexual drive and how it has to be emphasized in order to be considered a man. Because of this a lot of time you're faced with situations where a man might resort to baseless violence to protect his false image of manhood from any real public attacks launched on their stature. Society is known to project damaging standards, and the perversion, contortion, and falsification of masculinity is no different.

This narrow constructed definition on manhood has had major destructive consequences, not only on women but on men themselves. This has led to major psychological barriers, violent outbreaks, sexual assaults, academic disinterest and so much more. The current status quo for manhood can only guide society, and men in particular, down a primitive path to a future with malignant and unjustifiable social inclinations.

Sources

"A Call to Men." Tony Porter:. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2016. <http://www.ted.com/talks/tony_porter_a_call_to_men?language=en#t-601679>.

"Facts about Sexual Violence." PsycEXTRA Dataset (n.d.): n. pag. Statistics about Sexual Violence. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://www.nsvrc.org/sites/default/files/publications_nsvrc_factsheet_media-packet_statistics-about-sexual-violence_0.pdf>.

Laemmle, J. 2013. "Barbara martin: Children at play: Learning gender in the early years". Journal of Youth and Adolescence 42(2), 305-307.

"Men and Masculinities." Women and Gender Advocacy Center. Colorado State University, n.d. 29 Mar. 2016. <http://www.wgac.colostate.edu/men-and-masculinities

"The [New] Gender Divide in American Higher Education:" A (Possible) "Crisis of Masculinity" N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2016. <https://www.mtholyoke.edu/~halto20m/classweb/gendergap/possible_crisis_of_masculinity.html>.

Vagianos, Alanna. "30 Shocking Domestic Violence Statistics That Remind Us It's An Epidemic." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/23/domestic-violence-statistics_n_5959776.html>.