A seven year old boy’s biggest fear: being chosen last for the kickball game. An eleven year old boy’s biggest fear: having a girl beat him when running the mile. A fourteen year old boy’s biggest fear: not growing as fast or tall as his fellow male classmates. A seventeen year old boy’s biggest fear: crying in front of his entire grade. Athleticism, physical appearance, and toughness are every young man’s dream, yet this view on men being tough came from somewhere. Therefore, the primary issue within today’s society is that generations of homophobic people have created an anti-gay stigma in men, leading to males fearing feminine attributes while attempting to become more “manly.” The biggest problem facing males today is the fear of liking
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In Paul Theroux’s essay, “Being a Man,” he mentions that men are supposed to fit into a single grouping that defines masculinity, shown by them being told to “Be a Man!” (Theroux 567). Because males are fear the great burden that homosexuality entails, they behave opposite of them by “being a man.” Like Theroux mentioned, men are expected to act tough, emotionless, and masculine because that’s what heterosexual men do. Consequently, young men start viewing manliness as a societal norm in simple fear of being viewed as anything but a man. Additionally, Rebecca Walker’s essay “Putting Down the Gun” talks about her own son telling her, “‘maybe girls will like me if I like sports”’ (Walker 574). Yet again, men are faced with the problem of looking manly in order to attract female attention and prove they are not gay. Because of this manliness, men further isolate themselves from homosexuals by avoiding femininity in general, leading to another …show more content…
It’s what causes men to desire toughness, and what causes them to fear the fine arts, fashion, and all things feminine, but it should not be that way. Men should not feel confined to a certain persona in order to prove they are not gay, and homosexual men should not have to hide their identity due to fear of harassment, yet there is a solution. If media and schools end the negative views on homosexuals by treating them equally and neither encouraging nor discouraging manliness, but instead promote self-interest, the homophobia problem should end along with hatred of femininity and promotion of toughness. And if this issue does successfully disappear, then maybe one day a young boy’s fear will not be how tough, cool, or athletic they are, but rather if their fine arts performance interferes with their football practice or partner’s
In Paul Theroux’s essay, “Being a Man,” he mentions that men are supposed to fit into a single grouping that defines masculinity, shown by them being told to “Be a Man!” (Theroux 567). Because males are fear the great burden that homosexuality entails, they behave opposite of them by “being a man.” Like Theroux mentioned, men are expected to act tough, emotionless, and masculine because that’s what heterosexual men do. Consequently, young men start viewing manliness as a societal norm in simple fear of being viewed as anything but a man. Additionally, Rebecca Walker’s essay “Putting Down the Gun” talks about her own son telling her, “‘maybe girls will like me if I like sports”’ (Walker 574). Yet again, men are faced with the problem of looking manly in order to attract female attention and prove they are not gay. Because of this manliness, men further isolate themselves from homosexuals by avoiding femininity in general, leading to another …show more content…
It’s what causes men to desire toughness, and what causes them to fear the fine arts, fashion, and all things feminine, but it should not be that way. Men should not feel confined to a certain persona in order to prove they are not gay, and homosexual men should not have to hide their identity due to fear of harassment, yet there is a solution. If media and schools end the negative views on homosexuals by treating them equally and neither encouraging nor discouraging manliness, but instead promote self-interest, the homophobia problem should end along with hatred of femininity and promotion of toughness. And if this issue does successfully disappear, then maybe one day a young boy’s fear will not be how tough, cool, or athletic they are, but rather if their fine arts performance interferes with their football practice or partner’s