Reflection 6: Gender Documentary
I recently watched a documentary, Tough Guise 2, that addressed violent masculinity. American culture does a lot to instill the ideology into both men and women, from the time they are young, that boys should be tough.
I had never considered how much of the “violence” that we see portrayed in society is done by males. Specifically, men carry out 98% of violence in our society. This includes mass shootings, aggravated assault, domestic violence resulting in injury, and stalking.
I was completely blind to the way that the media avoids using gender when violent crimes are committed by men. For example, the descriptions of male mass shooters rarely ever state the gender of the male shooter. However, when women commit violent crimes, the gender is almost always used, similarly to crimes committed by Black people.
This documentary’s message also reminded me of a Gillette ad that I recently saw again. The motto in the ad is “The Best Men Can Be” and it targets men holding other men accountable and teaching boys in a different way because they will be the men of tomorrow. Tough Guise and the Gillette ad both show how destructive teaching boys that using violent behavior is ok because “boys will be boys”.
Men and women are taught from the time they are children to full grown adults that “real men” should not be emotional, they should just suck it up, they should be strong protectors, and that any sign of “femininity” will be seen as gay. Boys are taught that they should not be vulnerable or show too much emotion because it is not masculine.
When men feel that their masculinity is being questioned, they turn on hyper-masculinity mode, and usually this in turn just means some sort of violence is used in order to achieve respect. This is another way of saying that men must prove something, whether it be sexual conquest, video games, movies, porn, etc; some way of demonstrating dominance.
I have learned a lot about feminism this week and I really think that my attitude has changed. I now see that the feminism movement has come in waves, each moving closer and closer to common ground. Women of color also finally have a role and representation in the movement.
Both the documentary and the ad talk about feminism and how the attitude of men used to be that being equal to women makes them less of a man. However, feminism is not just a women’s issue. Anyone can and should be a feminist, even men, because equality for women is something everyone should stand by.