The question of the day! Is the relationship between violence & masculinity something to be concerned about?
YES! Violence and masculinity go hand in hand now a day. You cannot turn on the television or walking into a store of some sort without seeing some kind of image of an over developed man with a gun! Whether it is for a movie, new video game, or some kind of action figure, the man is always protruded as tough and mean. While we watching the movie Tough Guise, Jackson Katz pointed out that the images of men and masculinity has changed over the last 50 years to have men be more physical and aggressive examples like Superman, Batman and Star Wars figurines, GI Joe’s biceps increased from 12 inches in the 70s to 26 inches now. Also a lots of changes from on-screen tough guys like Boggie to Shawn Connery to Clint Eastwood to Arnold, each with more aggressive acts and bigger guns. Men and boys today think that they have to be mean, tough and violent or they will not get the respect they need or be considered a man. During the movie it showed a brief clip of young boys saying what they thought masculinity was and their answers included: being strong, powerful, respected, and independent and in control. They said if you weren’t those things you weren’t considered a man! Media is crucial to constraining men to seeing violent masculinity as the cultural norm. There is a growing connection in society between being a man and being violent! Mr. Katz gave several statistics about men being the violent ones -- 85% of murders are by men; 95% domestic violence is by men; 99% of rapes in prison are by men. It’s terrifying that in some men’s mind they truly believe that violence equals masculinity! I sure am glad I am a girl!
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