Masculinity And Femininity Definition Essay

Great Essays
While growing up I never really understood the meaning of masculinity or femininity up until I looked around and saw how different each person looked. How different my friends and I looked. It was mind blowing after reading and analyzing advertisements about femininity and masculinity. Up until reading about masculinity and femininity I never really cared much about the topic of sex and gender too much. The world is changing yet some ideals of masculinity is the same. Men must be strong, they must not show their “feminine” side which means they cannot show their emotions. This world is changing I started to think about this question, Should men change from who they are to the true ideals of masculinity or should they have the choice whether …show more content…
According to Colorado State University. "Men and Masculinities - Women and Gender Advocacy Center “ Another way to explain masculine socialization is through what is known as the “man box”. Inside the box is a list of socially valued roles and expectations that constitute conventional masculinity, and the words outside of the box are used to confine boys and men into a narrowly constructed definition of manhood. These degradations work to police the boundaries of what is acceptable appearance and behavior for boys and men, which is one explanation as to why gender roles in our society are still rigidly defined and vigilantly enforced” ( Colorado State University). I agree with Colorado State University because men cannot show their emotions, but I think men can express themselves any way they want. I believe that men are unique and should be allowed to express their feelings. The ‘Man box’ shows us that men have to embody what is inside the box which is being strong, powerful, in control, hard, tough, never show weakness, athletic, and more through the advertisements men is not only seen as emotionally distant but they also have to be

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    “How is ‘masculinity’ and ‘femininity’ defined in the mass media?” Such a broad question with so many answers depending on the type of media you may be looking at. Not all people think alike but the media persuades us on what to think about certain issues. Many types of mass media can have an impact on us such as lyrics to a song, music videos, or magazine ads. Through my essay I will describe the content analysis I have performed dealing with the lyrics of a song. I believe femininity in distorted…

    • 730 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Femininity as a Norm When asked to describe the average American the most common description given is of a white male. If you consult statistics 50.8% of Americans are Women, yet a men are still the representative. In her essay There is No Unmarked Woman Deborah Tannen claims that the preference for men as the norm, is both unreasonable, and harmful to women. She bolsters this accounts of her with personal experience, and a discussion of language and science in regards to gender. Tannen opens…

    • 483 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The issue of this essay is that there are numerous desires for sexual orientation. The issue being discussed is that the environment and other individuals impact our view of sexual orientation. The two different viewpoints is that we either learn or resist lessons in gender. We learn lessons in gender because of how the environment impacts our perceptions of gender and our personal perspectives of the definitions of femininity and masculinity. We learn lessons in gender because of how the environment…

    • 983 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays