'Tough Guise'

Men have a great deal of fear about being called “weak”. The definition of “tough guy” is defined by dominant group. I was shocked by what teen boys said about who “men” are. I thought that stereotypical men perception are often portrayed poorly or exaggerated. I thought that it is not as bad as how it is shown in the media. However, it turns out it is very true, especially at least for them. “Men” should be powerful, physical, strong, respected, independent, and tough. Those are very positive words and the opposite was pussy, bitch, mama’s boy, wimp, weak, and sissy. It is all negative words. They are actually mocking at the feminine qualities. I was thinking about what if I am a sensitive or emotional boy in class. There will be a lot of pure pressure, which I should act like a man like what others think of a man is supposed to be. The video warns the media is creating violence of masculinity in our society. It has been in our society for decades. And it also includes the color of people. Depending on an ethnic group the masculinity is differed. Moreover, media defines men as dominant group, so when the news introduces an accident, they usually focus on subordinated group, which is usually woman, or homosexuality. They leave out the key elements. They don’t pay attention to the masculinity. Like the speaker says in video, we have to “visualize” the hidden and violent masculinity. Personally I had put some thoughts on masculinity in past, but I did not know how to put them together neatly, but the video speaks very clearly for me. I was glad about it. One of other media affects people, especially men a lot, is sports culture. In the sports game, we occasionally see the fights between competitors. That kind of explains how we gain respect by not respecting others in our society. The more I grow up, the more I hear you should not let others look down you. Therefore, you should not be a “yes” man. You should say “no” to just show “I’m not an easy person.” And the tendency is that “No” person is more charming and cool, especially between high school kids. The most fascinating part was that shooting accident is increasing in teenagers. It was mostly about revenge. They got bullied, for they are more sensitive or they don’t act like one of “them.” The point I will try to make can be a little bit off the track. But still I kept thinking about this. In Korea, there is severe school bullying. It’s getting more serious, even it became the biggest societal issue. However, unlike American culture, Korean teenagers decide to commit suicide for revenge. It can be only the matter of legal issue of gun, but still they can try to hurt them physically or try to let them pay back, but instead, they kill themselves. I could say for sure youth violence is getting a serious problem, and wrong perception of masculinity participates deeply. It was interesting how different cultural group react differently on the same issue. I’m not saying which one is better than the other. Both are very tragic, but people should focus on what is implication to figure out the best solution.