Masculinity Crisis - Literature review Example

Masculinity crisis Name Institution Course Instructor Date Masculinity crisis Introduction Masculinity may be defined as the traits of behaving in ways considered typical for men. Sweetman (2004, p. 26) defines masculinity as ‘not female’. However there is more to masculinity than just the mere behavioral characteristics that define a man. Masculinity goes deeper into explaining why men behave in a certain way very different from the female gender. It gives reasons why the male gender carries out activities the way they do and what moves them into doing it in a certain way. Their mental thinking is also controlled or rather influenced by their masculinity. Recent studies have shown that the male gender is facing serious dangers or difficulties that may in the long run pose great challenges to their masculinity. With the social systems changing drastically today, men find themselves behaving or thinking in ways very different from what used to be in the past. As days goes by, the distinction line between the male and female grows narrower. This has been influenced by many factors which will be discussed below. One of the greatest reasons that challenge masculinity today is the fact that pro-feminists are on the rise. These people fight for the rights of the female gender which for so many years have been ignored by the society. They call for equal rights for the female as it is with the men. These rights include political positions, social roles in the family and leadership roles at the work place. Women today want to run for political positions. They want to have the same say in the constitution like the male gender. In some countries, women have conquered this and are actually heads of state in these countries. In the family setting, they want to have equal rights with their husbands. They want the men who for a long time have been the head of the family to carry out chores just like them. These women have no issue with the payment of the family bills as long as they share that cost equally. At the work places today, women have taken managerial positions in many organizations and this credited to the activists who fight for their rights. This to the men is a risk to their masculinity as they were used to being the leaders from time immemorial. The men today do not know how to behave or act in the presence of the female gender who have switched their roles. They are forced to adapt to changes taking place around them which sometimes they are unable to cope with. They do not know how to act under the supervision or management of a female leader. Though these women deserve the positions, the male ought to be taught how to handle this as they are not used to it. The women in these positions should also use their power wisely and not take advantage of it to undermine the men and make them feel less masculine. According to Baker (2008, p. 65), the end of the 19th century witnessed a cultural discourse that represents hegemonic masculinity as somehow in decline. The great attention given to the female gender today is also a threat to the men because all focus is drawn from them. All actions today are geared toward providing better opportunities to the females. The female receive too much attention from the state and sometimes they are given leadership roles not because they deserve it but for the sole reason that they are female. A certain percent of the political seats should be preserved for them but all in all they should fight for those positions just like anybody else. According to Messner (2000, p. 9) the rise in women movements brought about masculinity crisis. Nobody today cares about what the male gender wants. People assume that simply because the men previously had this attention, they will know what to do in case it is taken away. On the contrary this is very wrong as activist should fight for the rights of both male and female without bias. Forgetting the male child to concentrate on the female will only do harm to the male. As much as the female rights should be addressed, the management or the people involved should come up with ways of ensuring that both the male and the female are catered for. The two groups should receive equal treatment at home, at the work place and in any other setting that involves them. This will help a great deal in ensuring that the masculinity crisis does not occur as this will affect the male. According to Schlesinger and Schlesinger (2007, p. 292), men today are conscious of maleness not as a fact but as a problem. Another reason is that men lack a cultural education from an early age. From the time a male child is born, he is taught how to be brave and strong and take care of the family. What the seniors forget is that the male child has emotions and he ought to be taught how to deal with them. They ought to learn how to handle different situations that face them as human beings. The society today forgets to offer the to the male child who grows up knowing that men do not talk about their feelings but rather keeps it inside them and pretend that everything is okay. This has led to many men suffering mentally as they have many issues disturbing them but they do not know how to handle them or how to approach somebody and share their issues. Masculinity crisis exposes many men to psychological problems (Kahn, 2009, p. 193). These men will be seen smiling even when they are going through difficult moments. Recent studies have shown that more women than men visit counselors today for advice. Thus is actually risky for the men as some prefer committing suicide to talking about their problems. This is because from an early age, the parents did not develop the boy’s emotional skills and hence the struggle. The boys grow up knowing that revealing their emotions will make them seem weak and less masculine which is not true because they are human beings too with emotions and they ought to be taught how to handle them when they finally come. Conferences and seminars ought to be started to cater for the needs of these men. They need to be brought together and offered a platform where they talk about their feeling or the struggles they go through in their day to day lives. These conferences and seminars or workshops will actually work as men tend to talk more once they are given a chance to. They will find talking to other men encouraging as they all go through the same struggles. Today’s societal expectations about men have changed. The society expects a perfect kind of man with no flaws. Initially, any man was termed as good in his family if he was in a position to provide for his family. However, this role has changed today as the man is expected to act for the society. Everything a man does today is judged by the whole society. He is expected to be an al round person working for the society, his organization and the family. This is very possible with some men but a few of them find it a bit challenging as they fear frustrations Some men fear failure as they assume only weak men fail. Working with this mentality is dangerous as it prevents many from taking opportunities that come with them. They do not know how to handle disappointments and they hate feeling shame. For this reason, they will be inactive in their operations and cause them to feel less masculine. This should however not be the case as they ought to be given a chance to explore their strengths and abilities and the society should be ready to accept the outcome. Conclusion From the discussion above, it is very evident that the male are undergoing what the society terms as masculinity crisis. It is a challenge that faces many men in the society today. It makes them feel less masculine and it actually affects their day to day activities, their social life and also their performance at work. For some time now these men have been feeling neglected by the society which is today concentrated on the female gender.-They are not given a platform to speak out their views and any talk against the activities of the pro-feminists is viewed as a violation of the female rights. The female have a right as much as the male do but these activities to fight for their rights should not be done to bring down the male gender. The people in management or those who head society groups should formulate ways of empowering the male gender and make them feel wanted and masculine once again. As discussed above, this can be done by holding conferences, seminars or workshops that empower men. This actually helps them as it brings together men from all walks of life and allows them to talk about issues affecting them and help them come up with ways of making them feel masculine. References Baker, B, 2008, Masculinity in fiction and film: representing men in popular genres, 1945-2000. London, Continuum. Kahn, J, S,2009, An introduction to masculinities, Chichester, U.K., Wiley-Blackwell. Messner, M, A, 2000, Politics of masculinities: men in movements. Lanham, MD, AltaMira Press. Schlesinger, A, M, & Schlesinger, A, M, 2007, The politics of hope: and, the bitter heritage. Princeton, N.J. [u.a.], Princeton Univ. Press. Sweetman, C, 2004, Men and masculinity, Oxford, Oxfam. Read More

The men today do not know how to behave or act in the presence of the female gender who have switched their roles. They are forced to adapt to changes taking place around them which sometimes they are unable to cope with. They do not know how to act under the supervision or management of a female leader. Though these women deserve the positions, the male ought to be taught how to handle this as they are not used to it. The women in these positions should also use their power wisely and not take advantage of it to undermine the men and make them feel less masculine.

According to Baker (2008, p. 65), the end of the 19th century witnessed a cultural discourse that represents hegemonic masculinity as somehow in decline. The great attention given to the female gender today is also a threat to the men because all focus is drawn from them. All actions today are geared toward providing better opportunities to the females. The female receive too much attention from the state and sometimes they are given leadership roles not because they deserve it but for the sole reason that they are female.

A certain percent of the political seats should be preserved for them but all in all they should fight for those positions just like anybody else. According to Messner (2000, p. 9) the rise in women movements brought about masculinity crisis. Nobody today cares about what the male gender wants. People assume that simply because the men previously had this attention, they will know what to do in case it is taken away. On the contrary this is very wrong as activist should fight for the rights of both male and female without bias.

Forgetting the male child to concentrate on the female will only do harm to the male. As much as the female rights should be addressed, the management or the people involved should come up with ways of ensuring that both the male and the female are catered for. The two groups should receive equal treatment at home, at the work place and in any other setting that involves them. This will help a great deal in ensuring that the masculinity crisis does not occur as this will affect the male. According to Schlesinger and Schlesinger (2007, p. 292), men today are conscious of maleness not as a fact but as a problem.

Another reason is that men lack a cultural education from an early age. From the time a male child is born, he is taught how to be brave and strong and take care of the family. What the seniors forget is that the male child has emotions and he ought to be taught how to deal with them. They ought to learn how to handle different situations that face them as human beings. The society today forgets to offer the to the male child who grows up knowing that men do not talk about their feelings but rather keeps it inside them and pretend that everything is okay.

This has led to many men suffering mentally as they have many issues disturbing them but they do not know how to handle them or how to approach somebody and share their issues. Masculinity crisis exposes many men to psychological problems (Kahn, 2009, p. 193). These men will be seen smiling even when they are going through difficult moments. Recent studies have shown that more women than men visit counselors today for advice. Thus is actually risky for the men as some prefer committing suicide to talking about their problems.

This is because from an early age, the parents did not develop the boy’s emotional skills and hence the struggle. The boys grow up knowing that revealing their emotions will make them seem weak and less masculine which is not true because they are human beings too with emotions and they ought to be taught how to handle them when they finally come. Conferences and seminars ought to be started to cater for the needs of these men. They need to be brought together and offered a platform where they talk about their feeling or the struggles they go through in their day to day lives.

These conferences and seminars or workshops will actually work as men tend to talk more once they are given a chance to.

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