Posts tagged masculinity
Transcend Dualism
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“The Expendables”: All-starsterone cast—and look, it’s Arnold! (plus, macho men, Bella Swan, Lisbeth Salander, and “Eat Pray Love”)
MILD SPOILERS—although really you wouldn’t be missing much.
There is a scene in The Expendables in which a good guy is hanging off a sea plane, dangling dangerously as it makes its getaway from a dockful of bad guys shooting at them. We can hear the bullets whiz by, but we don’t hear any of them hitting the metal of the plane, and of course none hits the dude—about fifty bad guys, all with automatics, shooting blindly at the plane. He makes it (who would’ve guessed?) just as the plane finally rises of the water, no problem. They turn around boldly, that same guys fits himself into the nose of the plane with sunglasses, and arms himself with an awesome machine gun. They dive and fly over the dock with all the bad guys, and he fires, and they all go “AAHHH!” and most fall into the water. Flawlessly. BUT WAIT—there’s more. As they did this, the good guy flying the plane drops this powder stuff and spreads it over the dock, and the bad guys left standing on top go, “Huh? What is this?” And then KA-BOOM! Oh, sweet, I totally didn’t see that coming. But of course the main bad guy happened to jump into the water just in time to avoid the flaming ball of what couldn’t only be white powdery stuff.
Pardon me for criticizing. After all, this is an action flick, right? The basic formula is gunfights, explosions, improbable plot, and even more improbably outcomes of action sequences, etc. This movie had all that, plus Sylvester Stallone, plus, Jason Statham, plus Jet Li, and a cameo appearance by—oh my GOSH, no way! Could that really be him? Man, that was the coolest thing, EVER!
This movie is absurd. No, no, I mean more absurd than your regular action thriller. Haven’t we seen enough of the same formula, complete with a 90+% male cast and a couple of vulnerable female love interests. I’ve had enough, but clearly, Stallone, director and star of Expendables, and Hollywood hasn’t. The only thing original here is the melting pot of some of the greatest action movie stars—those who were in actual good movies—new and old.
And I have a problem. This movie is barely watchable. There are more violent and gory films out there, but the ones I think of are the stylized films that are much more worthy of watching, better entertainment, and less predictable, so as to actually keep you on the edge guessing, instead of just waiting out the long fight sequences you can hardly follow because of the half-second cuts, until you get to the anti-climactic and predictable end.
There are good genre flicks out there because of their originality, style, well-organized plots, and entertainment factor. I like thrillers a lot; there have been made some pretty good ones out there. Horror films have their ups and downs. There are movies targeted for only a certain group of people. There are the deep films that make you think. No, I know an action flick doesn’t have to be deep or smart. You can make a good one without that. Not only was this devoid of anything deep, smart, believable (different from probable), it was full of everything their opposite: shallow, dumb, and ultimately unbelievable that it had me laughing my ass off watching it.
I wish there are better movies I could see in the theaters, but, no money. I saw this with my dad, his idea. I knew what I was going to get, so that’s what I saw. He saw a lot of the same things, but I think he was more optimistic that myself. I wish I had gone along with my parents to see Salt, an action thriller praised by critics, along with Roger Ebert, who gave it a perfect score of four stars (out of four), rare when it comes to the genre. But I guess I wanted to see good movies only with my girlfriend…I don’t know what I’m talking about anymore.
Another thing that bothers me: why are female characters always dependent on their male counterparts? A lover beats the shit out of Statham’s girlfriend, so he fights back for her. The Latina love interest walks into a room accompanied with the perfect sudden score of Latino music, lovely sounds. She fights for her life later, has a moment of boldness (only to be judged as a dumb move later), and then ends up getting killed again, but then she is saved by her macho hero, and when he has to leave she is heartbroken.
Bella Swan from Twilight depends on (omg, ROBERT!!!) Edward for her life as well as her virginity, and depends on him to make all the decisions for her. And she is pushed around by that A-hole Jacob.
This only encourages the general public that the way of the world should be that men should make all the decisions for their women, because they obviously can’t take care of themselves. Bullshit. Women can make decisions as good as men can. No gender should be judged as more worthy of decision as the other. We all have equal potential and capabilities, if we are willing to take advantage of them.
The character of Lisbeth Salander, the girl with the dragon tattoo, has been abused all her life in a world of men, with her constitutional rights taken away, and she doesn’t have enough of the power to overtake those who rule her. But she is a damn good hacker, and completely amoral with the choices she makes, despite all the trouble she’s been in (again, not her fault), and she shows us that girls don’t need guys to protect them; sometimes they are their worst threat.
So this kind of macho movie that praises a male-dominated world, glorifying violence and women’s dependence on men, is just not worth watching.
Oh yeah, and narcissistic female characters isn’t what I’m talking about by the way. That’s completely different. That just makes them look dumb. I haven’t seen Eat Pray Love, and I don’t plan on it.
I guess I had a little too much to write. Oh well, first time on the blog, gotta start with something.
Oh—one more thing—it didn’t help to see guys holding on to their babes like cheap little ragdolls while they trailed by their men as if helplessly, when I walked out of the theater and into the mall.
3/10.
“I’LL MAKE A MAN OUT OF YOU”: STRONG WOMEN IN SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY TELEVISION BY ANITA SARKEESIAN
A Research Paper submitted to the Graduate Program in Social and Political Thought in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Social and Political Thought Graduate Program in Social and Political Thought York University Toronto, Ontario June 2010
Abstract
Heroic women in science fiction and fantasy television shows have done muchto represent strong, successful women in leadership positions. However, these female roles that are viewed as strong and empowered embody many masculine identified traits, maintaining a patriarchal division of gender roles. This paper analyzes strong female characters within nine television shows by deconstructing their stereotypically “masculine” and “feminine” gender specific attributes and cross referencing how they play within and against traditional archetypes. Employing texts from cultural criticism and feminist theory, I explore how representations of groups in popular culture and mass media messaging uphold structures of power by giving higher value to masculine attributes as observed in patriarchal discourse. Finally, the paper concludes with a discussion of why it is critical to foster television media that supports feminist ideals and breaks out of traditional oppressive gender binaries in order to promote, encourage and envision a just future society.
At an early age, boys are fitted with emotional straightjackets tailored by a restricted code of behavior that falsely defines masculinity. In the context of “stop crying,” “stop those emotions,” and “don’t be a sissy,” we define what it means to “Be a Man!” Adherence to this “boy code” leaves many men dissociated from their feelings and incapable of accessing, naming, sharing, or accepting many of their emotions. When men don’t understand their own emotions it becomes impossible to understand the feelings of another. This creates an “empathy-deficit disorder” that is foundational to America’s epidemic of bullying, dating abuse and gender violence. Boys are taught to be tough, independent, distrusting of other males, and at all cost to avoid anything considered feminine for fear of being associated with women. This leads many men to renounce their common humanity with women so as to experience an emotional disconnect from them. Women often become objects, used to either validate masculine insecurity or satisfy physical needs. When the validation and satisfaction ends, or is infused with anger, control or alcohol, gender violence is often the result. Violence against women is often thought of as a women’s issue; but it is a mistake to call men’s violence a women’s issue. Since men are overwhelmingly the perpetrators of this violence, this men’s issue calls to question the cultural values that produce men who hurt women.
before i marry any man, i will ask him: but how will you attempt to undo patriarchy?
whilst patriarchy is an external social construct, for the most part it is ultimately perpetuated in the home and internalized as the first point of socialization for children. the home becomes the same place in which they first discover masculinity, femininity and all things gendered, inclusive of love. see, i have met many men who proclaim they are feminists but disappointedly turn out to be raging misogynists, so unaware of their complicity in the subordination of women they refuse to change their privilege in home life, behind close doors received from an inherited and comfortable chauvinism.
if we are to battle sexism in the public sphere i am a strong believer that it has to start and come from the home. so yes, i will ask the man i am to marry how he will attempt to undo patriarchy because i want my home to be a reflection of the freedom i envision for the world. and he will answer in a way that reassures me that love is not gendered, and that he is human first and foremost.
10 Things Men and Boys Can Do to Stop Human Trafficking
1. Challenge the glamorization of pimps in our culture
2. Confront the belief that prostitution is a “victimless crime”
3. Stop patronizing strip clubs
4. Don’t consume pornography
5. Tackle male chauvinism and sexism online
6. End sex tourism
7. Talk to men and boys about men’s issues in male spaces
8. Support anti-human-trafficking policies
9. Support creation of “John Schools”
10. Raise sons and mentor boys to challenge oppression
Fuck Yeah Menfolk: Struggling with Male Privilege
The existence of male privilege is undeniable. Women have been subject to centuries (truly, millennia) of second-class citizen status. They are often portrayed in the media as nothing more than ornaments for male leads. They are not given full sovereignty over their bodies and are not given equal…
All of the “female privilege” that you speak of can be looped back to conventional sexism. Take the number of unemployed men. That can be attributed to a shift in the needed jobs, from physical labour to service sector work. Men are socialized to believe that service work is feminine and don’t take those jobs. Or let’s look at healthcare or male violence. Men are again socialized to be more violent and to resist needing help from say a doctor when they get hurt. Not to mention, men tend to be greater risk takers as well. What we’re talking about here isn’t privilege that women have over men, but rather the sad effects of sexism and a rigid gender construction.
And there in lies the solution. If we want to change these problems in society, we need to deconstruct our gender ideologies. We need to teach the masses that there is no such thing as a “masculine” or “feminine” job, hobby, behavior, attitude, etc. There’s your answer.
Yes.
consent
I think the treatment of women in Congo is comparable to the treatment of women in the U.S. Fearing ones own body, and being paranoid about your image, is undeniably tied. I have through a process of letting go and regaining body ownership, and constantly being aware (of the images) and the media/social expectations that I’m supposed to be prescribing too, I have for the most part successfully let go many body standards that have been pushed at me, and are. I came to realize that I have another enemy inside me. Despite being able to physically control how I look, and though I can change how I see myself, I cannot change how others perceive and look at me. This isn’t where I wanted to take this exactly.
When people look at me, (mainly when a man) there are primarily two things that go through my head. How this person is seeing me in regards to my appearance (how I’m dressed, hair, makeup etc.) the other factor that I believe gets less notice, is how I instinctively react to their proximity, or what I do to protect myself, or how I either become more masculine or more feminine. This isn’t really where I wanted to go either. …
What I’m saying is, there is body image and body fear, and both are intrinsically related. Yesterday we watched The Line, and in it the the woman was talking about how great it was that her body was considered sacred. Indeed every body’s body should be sacred, but not in physical terms of appearance directly affecting our honor. Paranoia would not be present without all that body stigma. Meaning all the thoughts about honor and self worth comes from your body, and the paranoia is a reality, and comes from the fact that you are being judged on sight.
Everything can be rationalized… thoughts on when both parties are drunk or incapacitated… then consent is a much deeper discussion about ingrained behavior. I don’t know about how drinking changes base character and thoughts.
I would assume we would all agree that an enthusiastic yes is a good way to consent and to talk during sex and knowing exactly what’s going to happen is potentially very sexy and at least a good thing. But in the mainstream world people have ways of behaving in a prescribed way that they think is appropriate. And for sure people have ways of rationalizing their behavior, and either purposefully or because of cultural standards they misinterpret behaviors to suit their needs, which leads into talk about self awareness.
I hate the phrase retro femininity. I mean…ugh.
The “constant attention” is the thing I HATE about performing femininity, even when I do it for fun (putting lipstick on to apply for jobs in my underwears*). I’m surprised by how much it pisses me off to see it mentioned as a positive.
Or maybe not, since that constant attention is the difference between dress-up and chore, between internal motivation and external policing.
I hate hate hate it when I’m told what men find sexy. I DON’T FUCKING CARE. I DON’T LIVE FOR MEN. I DON’T DRESS FOR ME. I DON’T NEED THEIR APPROVAL, stop telling me that I do. Another thing, I don’t like this ‘retro femininity’ thing because it plays with the whole proper lady/trash thing and I get the feeling that it implies that women are responsible for the way men respond to them. Almost victim blame-y. Like ‘dress proper and you’ll get the right reactions’. And I don’t want to wear a pencil skirt to be treated nicely, and I wouldn’t be treated nicely anyhow. Also, chivalry is gross.
Yes.
Today, I got a “Avoid Being a [Rape] Victim” sheet from a college professor that told me I shouldn’t wear a ponytail, talk on my cellphone in public, or be in a grocery store parking lot.
Screw that. I put together a sheet of my own from various other sources to distribute to my classmates tomorrow. I would have liked to include a lot more information, but printing stuff costs money (specifically, my limited funds). With some careful formatting and double-sided printing, the text will fit onto one sheet of paper. I copy/pasted this from Word, so the format and bullet-points may look wonky, but you’re welcome to copy/paste/print this for your own means. Here we go:
What’s wrong with suggesting that women take precautions to prevent being raped?
It’s wrong because it puts the onus on women not to get themselves raped, rather than on men not to do the raping; in short, it blames the victim. (Finally Feminism 101)
A lot has been said about how to prevent rape. Women should learn self-defense. Women should lock themselves in their houses after dark. Women shouldn’t have long hair and women shouldn’t wear short skirts. Women shouldn’t leave drinks unattended. Hell, they shouldn’t dare to get drunk at all. Instead of that bullshit, how about:
If a woman is drunk, don’t rape her.
If a woman is walking alone at night, don’t rape her.
If a woman is drugged and unconscious, don’t rape her.
If a woman is wearing a short skirt, don’t rape her.
If a woman is jogging in a park at 5 am, don’t rape her.
If a woman looks like your ex-girlfriend you’re still hung up on, don’t rape her.
If a woman is asleep in her bed, don’t rape her.
If a woman is asleep in your bed, don’t rape her.
If a woman is doing her laundry, don’t rape her.
If a woman is in a coma, don’t rape her.
If a woman changes her mind in the middle of or about a particular activity, don’t rape her.
If a woman has repeatedly refused a certain activity, don’t rape her.
If a woman is not yet a woman, but a child, don’t rape her.
If your girlfriend or wife is not in the mood, don’t rape her.
If your step-daughter is watching TV, don’t rape her.
If you break into a house and find a woman there, don’t rape her.
If your friend thinks it’s okay to rape someone, tell him it’s not, and that he’s not your friend.
If your “friend” tells you he raped someone, report him to the police.
If your frat-brother or another guy at the party tells you there’s an unconscious woman upstairs and it’s your turn, don’t rape her, call the police and tell the guy he’s a rapist.
Tell your sons, god-sons, nephews, grandsons, sons of friends it’s not okay to rape someone.
Don’t tell your women friends how to be safe and avoid rape.
Don’t imply that she could have avoided it if she’d only done/not done x.
Don’t imply that it’s in any way her fault.
Don’t let silence imply agreement when someone tells you he “got some” with the drunk girl.
Don’t perpetuate a culture that tells you that you have no control over or responsibility for your actions. You can, too, help yourself. (Men Can Stop Rape)
In case you aren’t sure how to avoid raping, here are a few questions you may want to ask yourself:
© How do you define consent? Have you ever talked about consent with your partner(s) or friends?
© Do you think it is the other person’s responsibility to say something if they aren’t into what you’re doing? How might someone express that what is happening is not OK? Do you think it is possible to misinterpret silence for consent? Do you think silence is consent?
© Do you check in as things progress or do you assume the original consent means everything is OK? If someone consents to one thing, do you assume everything else is OK or do you ask before taking things to a different level? Do you think consent can be withdrawn after it’s been given?
© Do you pursue someone sexually even after they have said they just want to be friends? Do you assume that if someone is affectionate they are probably sexually interested in you? Are you clear about your own intentions?
© Have you ever tried to talk someone into doing something they showed hesitancy about?
© If someone is promiscuous, do you think it’s less important to get consent?
© Do you ever try to get yourself into situations that give you an excuse for touching someone you think would say no if you asked? (i.e., Dancing, getting drunk around them, falling asleep next to them.)
© Do you ever feel obligated to have sex? Do you ever feel obligated to initiate sex? Do you ever try and make bargains? (i.e., “If you let me______, I’ll do ______for you?”)
© Do you feel like being in a relationship with someone means that they have an obligation to have sex with you? What if they want to abstain from sex? Do you whine or threaten if you’re not having the amount of sex or kind of sex that you want?
© Do you think it’s OK to initiate something sexual with someone who’s sleeping? What if the person is your partner?
© Have you been sexual with people when you were drunk or when they were drunk? Do you seek consent the same way when you are drunk as when you’re sober?
© Do you initiate conversations about safe sex and birth control applicably? Do you think saying something as vague as “I’ve been tested recently” is enough?
© Do you think if a person has a body that can get pregnant, it’s up to that person to provide birth control? Do you complain or refuse safe sex or the type of birth control your partner wants to use because it reduces your pleasure?
© Do you think only men abuse? Do you think that in a relationship between people of the same gender, only the one who is more “manly” abuses?
You may want to keep in mind that rapists are often not strangers.
© 73% of sexual assaults were perpetrated by a non-stranger.
© 38% of rapists are a friend or acquaintance.
© 28% are an intimate.
© 7% are a relative.
Rapists are rarely hiding in the bushes. More than 50% of all rape/sexual assault incidents were reported by victims to have occurred within 1 mile of their home or at their home.
© 4 in 10 take place at the victim’s home.
© 2 in 10 take place at the home of a friend, neighbor, or relative.
© 1 in 12 takes place in a parking garage.
© The average age of a rapist is 31 years old.
© 52% are white.
© 22% of imprisoned rapists report that they are married.
© In 1 in 3 sexual assaults, the perpetrator was intoxicated — 30% with alcohol, 4% with drugs.
© In 2001, 11% of rapes involved the use of a weapon.
© 84% of victims reported the use of physical force only.
Rapists rarely serve time in jail for their crimes. 60% of rapes/sexual assaults are not reported to the police, according to a statistical average of the past 5 years. Those rapists, of course, never spend a day in prison. Factoring in unreported rapes, only about 6% of rapists ever serve a day in jail. (Rape Abuse & Incest National Network)
(from you’ve got a friend in pennsylvania #3)
