Michael Kimmel, a sociologist that specializes in gender studies, states that the major emotion regarding masculinity is anxiety because men have to prove their masculinity at all times. This idea can be applied to understand a number of behaviors exemplified in boyhood. The 2015 documentary, The Mask You Live In, discusses the difficulties that young men experience when attempting to stay true to themselves while feeling the need to fit society's expectations for masculinity. In Matthew Immergut’s, “Manscaping,” he explores how advertising affects male body image in regards to body hair. In C.J. Pascoe’s, “Dude, You’re a Fag,” she discusses the specter of the faggot and the fear that boys have of their masculinity being stripped away from
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In Matthew Immergut’s article, “Manscaping,” he often refers to the idea of classical and grotesque bodies. This idea comes from the Russian social theorist, Mikhail Bakhtin. Classical bodies refer to the clean, sculpted, and hairless bodies we may picture when thinking of a Greek statue or the more modern version may be a Calvin Klein model. Grotesque bodies refer to hairy, untamed, primitive, and animal-like bodies. Immergut uses Burt Reynolds as a classic example of a grotesque body. “The hairy male body has become a type of grotesque natural body,” (Immergut, 560). Chase believes that body hair is a determining factor in masculinity because body hair is linked to testosterone. What’s important to note regarding classical and grotesque bodies in contemporary society is that it doesn’t matter which one a man is trying to achieve because either way, he is still trying to prove his masculinity by way of his body, whether he is using his hairiness or his hairlessness. Some men choose to flaunt their manliness with chest hair and a beard, while others may have a hairless body with sculpted muscles. Regardless, each man is doing so to fit what they think is society’s idea of masculinity. Trends in male body hair are always changing over the years, which proves how arbitrary they are and that they have nothing to do with personal preference or individuality, but always have to do with what is seen as attractive at the time. Even when men are aware that their preferences regarding body hair don’t align with the rest of society’s, they still choose to obey society. A man posted on the internet, “I wish I was stuck in the ‘70s where hair was cool and hot. It drives me mad when I hear most women talk about a man they once dated and were horrified to see that he was covered in hair,” (Immergut,
In Matthew Immergut’s article, “Manscaping,” he often refers to the idea of classical and grotesque bodies. This idea comes from the Russian social theorist, Mikhail Bakhtin. Classical bodies refer to the clean, sculpted, and hairless bodies we may picture when thinking of a Greek statue or the more modern version may be a Calvin Klein model. Grotesque bodies refer to hairy, untamed, primitive, and animal-like bodies. Immergut uses Burt Reynolds as a classic example of a grotesque body. “The hairy male body has become a type of grotesque natural body,” (Immergut, 560). Chase believes that body hair is a determining factor in masculinity because body hair is linked to testosterone. What’s important to note regarding classical and grotesque bodies in contemporary society is that it doesn’t matter which one a man is trying to achieve because either way, he is still trying to prove his masculinity by way of his body, whether he is using his hairiness or his hairlessness. Some men choose to flaunt their manliness with chest hair and a beard, while others may have a hairless body with sculpted muscles. Regardless, each man is doing so to fit what they think is society’s idea of masculinity. Trends in male body hair are always changing over the years, which proves how arbitrary they are and that they have nothing to do with personal preference or individuality, but always have to do with what is seen as attractive at the time. Even when men are aware that their preferences regarding body hair don’t align with the rest of society’s, they still choose to obey society. A man posted on the internet, “I wish I was stuck in the ‘70s where hair was cool and hot. It drives me mad when I hear most women talk about a man they once dated and were horrified to see that he was covered in hair,” (Immergut,