From the text “Masculinity”, Michael Kimmel writes “Institutions accomplish the creation of gender difference and the reproduction of gender order through several gendered processes.” I think he means by how institutions such as school, work, media, family and so on shape a major impact on how men and women should be. It created a lot of differences between genders, the way men and women should act, the way they think and behave. Also, they have a fixed image of masculinity and when they do things differently, they don’t find it acceptable.  What we saw in the discussion in “Man Enough”, there was a part where they talk about how society created men to be in the ‘Manbox’ and when they get outside the box, they’re alone and on their own therefore they remain silent to keep the ‘bro code’ to fit in and to be accepted. 

Moreover, I think what he means by masculinities instead of using the term masculinity is that it’s not just a single meaning, there are different perspectives of masculinity and how each individual see and define masculinity.  Like an example from the text, how to be a man in France is not the same as in Australia and how a man was back in the day might not be the same as today. It changes over time since the environment and people’s behavior around also change and that it won’t always be the same. As we watched the discussion from “Man Enough”, if they only get to be comfortable at accepting their own way of what being a man is rather than the need to try to prove themselves if they’re man enough by being taught to do ‘this and that’, if a man is allowed to be himself and express himself in a unique way, then this can also contribute positively in making this world a better place.

Michael Kimmel’s essays about masculinity have questioned our definitions of this term and study several aspects of society. On page 3 of Michael Kimmel’s “Masculinity”, he states that “Institutions accomplish the creation of gender difference and the reproduction of gender order through several gendered processes” (Kimmel 3). By this, he means that social institutions, such as religion, family and the workplace, are associated to masculine or feminine traits and they contribute to defining gender. Since these institutions attribute roles to men and women from the start, they contribute to our common definition of masculinity and femininity. For example, most common religions in the west are based around patriarchy. Therefore, it is only normal to define men as the “bread winners” and the ones who hold power. Through these institutions, the difference between the two genders is more clearly perceived and more predominant in society. They contribute to the stereotypes concerning men and women are therefore more present in society since a very early age. In the fourth episode of “Man Enough”, it is stated that boys are taught from a very young age that they have power and dominance over women. In the institutions we have established in our everyday lives (workplace, religion, family), women have less power. Boys are therefore taught to be misogynistic and grow up with fictional rules of manhood that have been dictated to them by society’s institutions.

Kimmel also constantly uses the term “masculinities”. By this term, Kimmel refers to the presence of several definitions of masculinity. He states in his work that masculinity doesn’t have one universal definition, rather it varies according to the time, place, and interactions someone was brought up with. He states, in his work, that “an older, black, gay man in Chicago and a young, white, heterosexual farm boy in Iowa would likely have different ideas of masculinity” (Kimmel 2). Kimmel prefers using this term because he finds it liberating. It is a reminder to all men that their masculinities are not fixed identities, defined or assigned to them from birth. Rather, they are a product of their upbringing and can change even within a whole society. In the fourth episode of “Man Enough”, it is stated that 80% of men don’t know what consent is. Even though 1/6 men are raped, men are not trained to deal and process such horrific events. A man’s masculinity is questioned when he gets assaulted. Therefore, by understanding what messages are being subconsciously transmitted to men through their interactions in society, we can make sure these messages include better definitions of masculinity, with less violence, more love and more listening. By understanding what messages are being subconsciously sent to boys on how to be a man, we can deconstruct the “man box” that is mentioned in the documentary and ensure that we live in a better society for all genders.

In the text “Masculinity” by Micheal Kimmel he sais “institutions accomplish the creation of gender difference and the reproduction of gender order through several gendered processes” by this he means that we learn what masculinity from people with a certain perspective on masculinity. Parents, grand parents, school, work ,friends even tv shows and movies. All of this thing describe what’s masculinity. It was shown in the episode “Man enough” that men like to be dominant, providers and emotionaless and these aspects were conveyed by the older generation.

Moreover kimmel uses the word “masculinities” because there are many ways to view it and everyone’s culture is different. There isn’t just one definition.For example men holding hands can be a symbol of friendship in some countries , compared to other countries where that might be discomforting to certain men. In the episode “man enough” we learn that if a man doesn’t follow the men’s norms they wouldn’t live comfortably due to others judgment.