Masculinity In Tough Guise 2

After watching the film, Tough Guise 2, I felt much more educated on the subject of masculinity and the enormous effect it has on men and societal expectations of their behavior. I felt as though I learned a lot about a subject I am not usually aware of, especially from growing up in a home with four women and only one man (my father). I now feel much more sympathy for men’s issues dealing with masculinity and the stigma that surrounds it, that men are supposed to always be strong and in control, and show no sign of weakness or vulnerability. While watching Tough Guise 2, I couldn’t help but notice many similarities to the readings by Alan G. Johnson and Kimmel. In Johnson’s “The Gender Knot”, he discusses a viewpoint known as essentialism, or the belief that women and men are essentially different biologically, as in men are physically stronger and more disposed to violence, etc. This is touched on in the film when news …show more content…
This is something that I constantly notice in the media as a legitimate argument for some reporters. The argument, which was shown in Tough Guise, was that the increased popularity of feminism is putting more emphasis on women, and taking away from boy’s masculinity. This argument, instead of putting the blame on increased/hyper masculinity boys are being raised with today, blames women. They call this the “wussification” of America, when actually in reality, boys now are becoming more and more exposed to masculine expectations than before. While watching the film it surprised me to find out that the Boy Scouts were created in response to the women’s rights movement back in the 20’s, in order to reinforce manly behaviors and expectations that were being “forgotten”. It seems as this is happening now as well, now that feminism and LGBTQA+ issues are becoming more relevant. It is simply an excuse for men to blame someone/something else for questioning their