Tough Guise

In the video we watched in class, "Tough Guise: Violence, Media and the Crisis in Masculinity" it shows how men are supposed to be masculine and fulfill manly standards put upon them at a young age. When young boys grow up they are pushed by the media to be strong and act out violently instead of cry when something is wrong. Men are not supposed to cry because it is seen as weak and they are easier targets for bullying. Boys grow up playing aggressive sports like football and wrestling, where they learn to tackle in order to win. It is more acceptable in society for a man to act out in rage than to cry about a problem.

Feminism is the social, political and economic equality for women and men. Socially, men not being able to show much emotion is not equality with women. Women are able to cry at any moment, if something goes wrong, they get hurt or whenever they feel the need and it is socially acceptable. Men grow up with the influence of their fathers pushing them to be stronger and not show vulnerability. I think that feminism today mainly focuses on women, and issues like this are pushed under the rug. However, I would also venture to say that because of how set in stone society is, men will not want to show emotion if given the chance in order to keep their masculinity.