Required Materials:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/24/health/coronavirus-gender-mortality-intl/index.html
https://cerritos.kanopy.com/product/mask-you-live
2 FILES UPLOADED
Activity Instructions:
“Men are every bit as gendered as women…The argument that ‘boys will be boys’ actually carries the profoundly anti-male implication that we should expect bad behavior from boys and men.” ~ Jackson Katz
Man up. What a cleverly disguised way to say shut up. Shut up, or fight back, or you deserved what you got. ~Riley Redgate
Part One
Much of the contemporary discussion about gender seems to focus on women, but men are also influenced dramatically by gender ideology and the social constructions of gender. Discuss the following after completing the reading and video:
- We have likely all heard some variation of the phrase “there are ‘real men’ and then there are all other men”. Please explain what you think is meant by this statement. What are some of the social norms of masculinity and how do they relate to this statement?
- How are the ideas and “societal rules” for masculine behavior enforced in society? What is the role of the “Act Like a Man Box” in policing masculinity?
- What is at least one aspect or moment in The Mask You Live In that resounded the most with you? Which statements or facts did you shocking or interesting?
- How does everything you have discussed regarding masculinity so far relate the concept of “masks” discussed in the film? What impact do you think this has?
Part Two
Please respond to at least one classmate by relating their discussion to examples from the reading and videos. (Be sure to mention the source(s) you discuss.)
- What are the consequences for men, as well as for women, nonbinary/trans folx and society as a whole, of upholding the social norms of masculinity your classmate discussed ?
- How might the ideas about masculine constructs in your classmate’s post contribute to gendered health outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic? (in other words, what about masculinity and expectations of masculine behavior may be contributing to higher infection and death rates for men?)
- Finally, how do you think we can set new rules about what it means to be a successful man? What qualities or practices come to mind when you think about expanding what it means to be a man in our culture? Be as specific as you can and think about actions we can take as a school/community/parents/friends/siblings/partners/teachers/coaches etc.(please feel free to reference the film or readings here)
CLASSMATES RESPONSE FOR PART 2
- We have likely all heard some variation of the phrase “there are ‘real men’ and then there are all other men”. Please explain what you think is meant by this statement. What are some of the social norms of masculinity and how do they relate to this statement? When thinking about phrases like there are real men and then there is all other men refers to men who chase girls and play sports and do manly things vs the ones who show emotion and have feelings. Some social norms of masculinity are toughness, being dominant over women. These social norms relate to real men because of the norms they have in our society
- How are the ideas and “societal rules” for masculine behavior enforced in society? What is the role of the “Act Like a Man Box” in policing masculinity? The ideas of societal rules for masculine behavior are enforced in society because at young age boys are trained to be masculine. They are told to be aggressive and not back down, take charge, have lots of sex, and most of all not to cry.
- What is at least one aspect or moment in The Mask You Live In that resounded the most with you? Which statements or facts did you shocking or interesting? One of the most aspects or moments in the mask you live in that resounded the most in me is when the young boy playing football was crying and was told you cany be missing up growing up playing sports I had heard they thousand of times because you taught to be taught and aggressive and not weak like a sissy. I can feel the little boys pain because I was once in that situation.
- How does everything you have discussed regarding masculinity so far relate to the concept of “masks” discussed in the film? What impact do you think this has? Everything we have discussed regarding masculinity so far relaets to the term masks because your hiding your emotions and being manly instead of showing how you feel. this impact leads to long term depression and emotions stuck inside you that will once be unleashed in a bad way.
