The Mask Of Masculinity: Summary

Similar to Meth & Pasick chapter on the Mask of Masculinity, Sung does learn to selectively incorporate “behaviours that will enhance their male self-image” while systematically discarding qualities that “are seen as predominantly feminine”. In order to have a full comprehensive understanding of what masculine norms my father relates to, I listed off a few injunctive gender norms that are communicated often in today’s society through media sources or general trends in the American male population. Some of the gender norms mentioned include “men must be stronger than women”, “men should be able to provide for their family”, “men should not show emotion”, “men must be able to hold their own drinks”, and “men must eat meat”. Starting off with …show more content…
For Sung, being able to provide for his family helped him be a better father and partner to his family. Sung conformed to the norm that men must be able to provide for themselves and their family, therefore, a big pressure was put on him to succeed at getting a job. However, when the economy was suffering and he lost his job, he described it as a “weird experience”. He commented, “I had this urge that I needed to go find a job”. Although, he did not enjoy the job that he was fired from, he still searched for a job similar to the one he previously had because it was what gave him the most mobility to provide for his family. In class we discussed when men must choose what needs to be compromised when getting a job, the field of interest is sacrificed first, followed by prestige preference and then sex-typing. There was no pleasure or enjoyment for Sung in his previous job, however, he still looked for jobs similar to be able to a good provider. Also, he felt guilt for not being able to provide for his own children, not afford the luxuries his wife deserved, and inability to ease the burden of economic stress on the family. Work being a central identity for men is a troubling norm to conform to because invest into one identity into workplace that is not authentic and is business, can be pulled out from under them. Faludi discusses how being reduced to one identity such as work, it ignores other aspects of the person such as their character and other identifiers. Work consumes the entire identity prevents men from developing the other parts of themselves such as their emotions, or other spheres. The gender roles constrains men becoming solely concerned by only their identity with costs of family and relationships, causing enormous amount of stress. Sung felt the negative implications when he was betrayed by the model of masculinity that was reinforced into him by society. In American