The larger issue of the essay is the social issues surrounding masculinity. The focused issue is how masculinity creates a homophobia in men. Not the fear of gay people but the fear of other men. Kimmel shows this through his thesis which states, “Homophobia is the fear that other men will unmask us, emasculate us, revealed to us and the world that we do not measure up, that we are not real men… Our fear is the fear of humiliation. We are ashamed to be afraid” (Kimmel 150). The author begins to elaborate on his topic with his main points. His first main point is that being afraid of being shamed by their fellow-men leads to silence. Men remain silent about many problems in society is the reason nothing has changed in society. Men remain silent
