Activity #3 – Freestyle

In this brief reflection, I will talk about how the social construct of masculinity is formed

by gender expectations, how we apply gender roles in raising children and violence being more

normalized amongst males. Theorizing masculinity has a focus on the ideology of masculinity

and gendered practices which contribute to the formation of gender expectations (Reeser, 2010).

Meanwhile, We should all be feminists and Male loneliness starts in boyhood are both sources

which outline the idea of how girl and boys tend to be raised differently in childhood (Adichie,

2013), (Onion, 2019). Finally, Memo to media discusses the tendency for men to “see violence as

a solution to problems or anxieties” (Katz, 2012). I will present each of my 3 ideas in separate

paragraphs, including gender expectations, raising sons versus raising daughters and how

violence is accepted in males.

Masculinity is a concept which is mainly influenced by gender expectations. Gendered

practiced are presented starting in childhood, such as when we encourage boys to play with

trucks while girls are likely to be encouraged to play with dolls. As mentioned in Theorizing

masculinity, boys are presented with these expectations about “manliness” and have little choice

on how to act. In addition, masculinity is a strong ideology that men buy into through different

forms of propaganda, including images, myths, discourse and practices (Reeser, 2010). In my

opinion, it is safe to say that gender expectations are inevitable in our society and that they affect

everyone.

Next, the way that children are raised enforces masculinity as we encourage gender roles.

We assign certain characteristics and roles according to gender which often allow men to have

more independence than women, who tend to be more dependent on a male figure. As discussed

in We should all be feminists, “men are raised to have fragile egos, while women are raised to
cater to these fragile egos” (Adichie, 2013). Additionally, women are told not to be promiscuous

while men are often praised for it. In Male loneliness starts in boyhood, we observe the idea that

“boys are be taught to be independent while girls are taught to be emotionally present for others”

(Onion, 2019). These examples serve as representation of the drawbacks of gender roles in our

society, where women are raised to be less powerful than men.

Finally, violence is more normalized amongst men in our society. Why is this? As

discussed in Memo to media, men tend to see violence as a solution to their problems (Katz,

2012). We have accepted this premise in society and tend protect the integrity of men, even when

it is not deserved. In the case of gun violence, we do not want to represent the “dominant gender”

by associating them with violence in the media.

To conclude, I believe that masculinity is a social construct which affects everyone.

Gender expectations are present from childhood into adulthood, affecting how we are raised and

how we live as adults. Both men and women suffer from these expectations and practices, where

we are taught how to act instead of being free to be who we are.

 References

Adichie, C. N. (2013, April 12th). We should all be feminists [Video]. YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg3umXU_qWc

Katz, J. (2012). Memo to Media: Manhood, not guns or mental illness should be central in
Newton shooting. HuffPost.

Onion, R. (2019). Male loneliness starts in boyhood. The Slate Group.

Reeser, T. W. (2010). Theorizing Masculinity. Masculinities in theory: An introduction.

Blackwell Publishing. P.17-55.