Saturday, November 27, 2010

Are you man enough?



High school is a rough time for some teenagers. This is when they are establishing their identities, including sexual. As stated by Pascoe, masculinity is an array of gender practices carried out by men whose bodies are assumed to be biologically male. To some high school students, masculinity achieves a level of respect from others. This behavior, and the idea that masculinity is displayed through actions, is often seen in popular media. The show Glee portrays the adversity among teens in high school when it comes to what extracurricular activity in school is masculine such as football and what deserves a slushie in the face such as Glee Club. According to Pascoe, not only do boys exercise and dress a certain way in order to preserve their image, but they shoot homophobic comments at each other and openly discuss their heterosexual experiences, which is empowering among the high school students trying to assert masculinity.
Over time, the definition of masculinity has some variations but the common denominators remain. To some high school students, being male biologically is not the end of the story. That is where they and sociologists agree but shortly thereafter, their views diverge hastily. In her study, Pascoe notices that the presentation of manliness involves “…homophobic taunts and assertion of heterosexuality.” She talks about Connell’s idea of multiple masculinities in a high school setting. Not only are there different types of masculinities in this sociological observation, but they are placed in a hierarchal order judged by high school students. Hemogemic is at the pinnacle supports gender inequality. Complicit is a more passive form of hemogemic. Subordinate describes those oppressed by hemogemic, and marginalized refers to gender rather than class or race.
Masculinity is an application of peer pressure. The level of “man” a young male seems to be is simply a label brought about by collective deduction by peers that can have the ability to affect one’s character and subsequently, one’s choices in life. High school boys find a parallel between level of masculinity and dominance, and dominance is key to survival. In some societies, definitions of masculinity are enforced heavily. They are based on arbitrary things such as the way one talks, walks, dresses, and interacts with others rather than based on how one feels about himself.

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