Violence is very present in each school. Each teenager faces at least once in his high school years. The Canadian Broadcast Corporation episode: “How to Fight for Safer Schools” shows that many kids in school’s face bullying and dangerous fights at school. This episode displays that girls and boys get assaulted in school. Girls tend to get more sexually assaulted and boys tend to get more being bullied: “41 percent of boys say they were physically assaulted at high school; 26 percent of girls say they experienced unwanted sexual contact at school, and one in four students first experienced sexual harassment or assault before grade 7”.

First of all, young teens, specifically male are filled with the wrong information on how to handle a situation. For each argument they have, they respond it with fights each time because they think this is how you handle a situation in a “manly way”. They respond to it with anger and everybody thinks it’s normal because this is how a man is supposed to be; how a man is supposed to react. A man has to be strong, deal anger with anger. Men are taught at a very young age what is to be a man. Whether it’s their dad or another male teacher at school. The society pressures young men to follow masculinity so much that in a way they corrupt young men at an early age. Some disrespect and hate women so much that they even rape them. These types of men can consider “Antifeminist”, where they just don’t care about any women and, they can do whatever they want. Also, some men can’t see a woman being superior to them. For example, at work, where a boss is a woman and for their ego satisfaction they tend to sexually assault them or bring them down (Kilmartin, Working). As seen in the episode, a young girl was raped by a guy from her school. Two other girls came forward after she reported to her school. The rapist still got away with it and came back to school. The school board did nothing to protect these girls. They seem to care more about how they would look rather than being worried about having rapists in their school. 

Second, off all, boys tend to fight because of bullying. If they tell a supervisor, they are labelled as a snitch and weak, meaning they can’t fight or handle a situation “man to man” and that’s where their masculinity is tested. The reason why fights are happening a lot in Newfoundland is that schools are not taking these issues seriously. In the Canadian Broadcast Corporation episode, we witness that the interviewer tries to interrogate a staff member at a school, but she refuses to answer his questions. It shows that her school is not handling the bullying and fighting problem correctly and that’s why fights keep on happening over and over in that school and every other school that’s not handling it properly.

Lastly, young men tend to react in violence because they think it’s dope to be in fights. They think maybe this will make me popular in school and my crush will notice me. As seen in many teenager’s movies, we always show that the most popular guy is dating the most popular girl. She is most likely to be a cheerleader. This may be a stereotype, but it is very accurate as well. Although our life isn’t a movie, young men follow this perception but the ending rarely end up like in movies. To hide their feelings, men lash out the anger that ends up in a fight against someone else and this is taught not only by fathers but also by people from school. It may be a basketball coach that tells you: stop crying…Crying is a feminine behavior and you’re not a woman as we saw in the “Man Enough” documentary. I think that is why there is so much violence at school

To conclude, schools are allowing it because they are not handling the situation as they are supposed to. As seen in the episode, the schools were even asking money for them to be interrogated and, they were also scared about their reputation. They know that they aren’t doing enough about bullying in their schools.

Work Cited

Christopher Kilmartin and Andrew P. Smiler “Men at Work: Jobs, Careers and Masculinity.” The Masculine Self, Cornwall On Hudson, NY, Sloan Publishing, 2019, pp. 221-226,228–235.

Kilmartin, Christopher, and Andrew P. Smiler. “Defining Men’s Studies.” The Masculine Self, Cornwall On Hudson, NY, Sloan Publishing, 2019, pp. 1–7

Newsom, Jennifer S, Jessica Congdon, Jessica Anthony, Regina K. Scully, Joe Ehrmann, Michael S. Kimmel, Caroline Heldman, Lise Eliot, Michael G. Thompson, William S. Pollack, Carol Gilligan, Madeline Levine, Judy Y. Chu, Terry A. Kupers, Niobe Way, Pedro Noguera, Philip G. Zimbardo, Byron Hurt, James Gilligan, John Behrens, and Eric Holland. The Mask You Live in., 2015.

CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, gem.cbc.ca/media/marketplace/season-47/episode-4/38e815a-011d8f47088.

Mcguire, Jennifer. “Why CBC Started Looking into Violence in Schools.” 8 Nov. 2019, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/school-violence-editors-note-1.5331402.

Mcguire. “Most Schools Keep Violent Incidents Secret, so We Surveyed 4,000 Students. Here’s What They Shared | CBC News.” CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, 9 Nov. 2019, www.cbc.ca/news/canada/school-violence-marketplace-1.5224865.

In the culture of the NHL fighting is part of the game, the physicality, non-stop action, the nature of it is just expected from the game as per the NHL commissioner, Gary Bettman. For the players who were chosen to be the instigator they were chosen not for their great hockey skills but rather for their tough masculinity, their sheer physical strength and that ruthless male attitude which would make any other player shiver next to them. It was expected that they would put on that rough physique to good use on the ice and perform to the league’s expectations. The dangers and consequences were second though, at that time. They were expected to take care of the star player on the ice putting their physical force in front of the opponent’s teams other enforcer.

The effects of the concussions on the payers were numerous; sleeplessness, agitation and confusion. These players were referred to as, goons, policemen, enforcers. There were defined by their protective capabilities towards their teammates on the ice which was to keep them safe and to make sure nothing happens to them. Much as society has defined men’s roles as the provider, the fighter and the protector of the family, so were these pro hockey players to their teammates. The inner battle felt by these players to fight during the game as was expected of them took a toll on their lives.

These athletes love for hockey was plagued with the instilled culture of violence and fighting that was expected of them because they were the ones who were rounded up to be the enforcers, and had to follow the “code” of the NHL culture. Players felt that they have no choice but to fight. Although they did not want to, it was an unspoken understanding that to remain in the league they had to. They were expected to follow the “code” as it is commonly known in the organization, an unwritten law of hockey whereby the tough man on the team gets to protect their teammates and some of them have paid for it with their lives. These enforcers would like to be able to just play the sport with their skills and tactical talents, they do not want to fight they do not like to fight they do not appreciate being targeted at the goon of the team.

This shows how society chooses to designate some players physically strong, to act out a masculine tough tenacious role. If we think about how social scientist, Robert Brannon explained the four themes of masculinity onthe Brannon’s Masculinity Scale, we can relate them to the “code”. In the Fifth Estate docudrama “The Code”, staying true to the “code” forced many players to fight, because if you weren’t willing to combat you were seen as a sissy, the shame and dishonor you would bring to your teammates was unthinkable and therefore you could be typecast as having feminine tra its and qualities if you showed any sign of weakness which was unacceptable. What was accepted in the “code” as per Brannon’s definitions of masculinity, was having a manly, firm, courageous, tough, self-determined demeanor.

Players would follow the “code” religiously and because of it gained success and stardom on their team in the eyes of the fans. This inevitably fed into their ego and they continued to live by the rules of the “code” since it allowed them to gain recognition and success status even if they didn’t like the altercations, which is another way that Brannon explained the masculinity theme through his eyes. Another one of his views, can be illustrated by how he saw masculinity and how we can relate it to the “code” which is simply by the sheer violent, aggressive, bold attitude and presence that was expected from the athletes who needed to abide by the unwritten rules of the game in order to maintain their position as enforcers on their team.

Masculinity refers to the social roles, behaviors, and meanings prescribed for men in any given society at any one time (Kimmel). The role society plays and has always played in defining a man and his masculinity carry over into the philosophy of this sport whereby the toughness and roughness of the players forms an integral and expected part of the game. Even if the players do not agree with or do not want to fight it is expected of them in this sport, much like when in society the powerful and culturally expected connotations of being a real man come into play (Kilmartin).The fighting was shown to be an integral part of hockey it was not only about your physical and strategic strength that mattered here but rather that forceful tough guy manhood that had become established on the ice. Enforcers, as they were commonly called, had to put up with the brawl in order to maintain their career, anything less than that aggressive masculinity would have them thrown out of the hockey league.

They knew that they had to fight to maintain their position. Even as the NHL was being plagued with sudden deaths of its players, known as the enforcers, the league did nothing about it preferring instead to maintain this culture within the ir teams. The enforcer’s tasks on the ice were quite clear, fight on the ice. It is no doubt that this led these players to have multiple concussions. In the Fifth Estate documentary, “Hockey Fight: Wives reveal the cost of concussions”, some of the wives of these pro athletes are pushing for more support for the after hockey life for former athletes especially since their husbands committed suicide due to their sustained head injuries which were proven to cause debilitation brain effects, known as CTE, Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which is a neurodegenerative disease caused by recurrent head injuries.  The symptoms generally appear many years after the injuries have already taken place and cause issues with thinking, mood changes and attitude problems, no doubt due to the fighting on ice fuelled by the rough, macho masculine culture established within this sport.

We expect men to be tough and this is seen clearly in this sport, not fighting is unacceptable as shows weakness and men are not meant to be seen as weak. This type of behavior is expected it is part of this game and mind culture as spectators roar at the sight and sounds of the battle being played out between two tough guys on the ice. For a moment we forget we are actually watching a sport as it feels much more like watching sheer violence unfolding in an arena pa cked with thousands of people. One of the ways masculinity is seen is when a man is willing to become tough, violent and be willing to engage in physical force (Kilmartin). Showing emotions or vulnerability in a vigorous man sport like hockey could get you thrown off the team. This attitude is enforced and awarded when the chosen players are labeled as enforcers bringing with it fame and success. In the documentary, “Pain, agony and ‘years of duress’: How hockey wives are fighting back over players’ chronic brain injuries” it is mentioned that it’s the 3rd suicide of enforcer designated players, leading loved ones to believe a link between the sustained head injuries and their suicides. The wives of hockey players are going up against the NHL to enforce them that there is indeed a connection between their husbands head traumas, the effects of those on their health and families, as well as debilitating behaviors that have developed following these traumas.  

They feel very much left on their own to protect their husbands, former tough guy hockey pro players who followed the unwritten rules of the “code” and fed into the hooligan thug like masculine presence that was expected of them on the ice. Some of these players have since committed suicide unable to cope with the aftermath health affects their brains and bodies endured during their time on the ice. The organizers of the sport and even well-known hockey commentators, such as Don Cherry, as seen in the Fifth Estate documentary “The Code”, explain that fighting is good for the sport and for tough guys, and enforcing the dominance of violence in this sport is acceptable and just part of the game as it has always been thus feeding into the dominance meaning of masculinity as seen within the hockey culture. Masculinity as explained by Kilmartin, and as shown in this documentary explain how men are constantly fed and encouraged to behave and engage in violent battles  as it is portrayed as manly and masculine.

As the documentary explains, the role of the enforcer is being phased out, which no doubt will relieve the players that were designated to play those roles. It is essential that this sport acknowledge the damage it has and still in ways instills upon its players, because the approach of the game using their players as bullies, and goons for so many years has fed their fans in delight glorifying violent masculine behavior. Young children watching the sport could be influenced seeing this as normal accepted behavior for men, carrying it forward with them into adulthood. It is unfortunate thought that the league goes into a defensive mode anytime the subject of this enforced fighting is brought up and in consequence not recognizing the brain injuries, such as substance abuse, depression, memory loss and suicide that many of the players have had to deal with.

                                                              Works Cited

Brannon, Robert, and Samuel, Juni. “A scale for measuring attitudes about masculinity”

https://nyuscholars.nys.edu/en/publications/a-scale-for-measuring-attitudes-about-masculinity

Kilmartin, Christopher, and Andrew P. Smiler. “Defining Men’s Studies.” The Masculine Self,

Sloan Publishing, 2019, pp. 1–7.

McKeown, Bob.  “Hockey Fight: Wives reveal the cost of concussions”      

https://www.cbc.ca/fifth/episode/2019-2020/hockey-fight-wives-reveal-the-cost-of-          concussions

McKeown, Bob. “The Code”, www.cbc.ca/fifth/episodes/2009-2010/the-code

Smart,Virginia, and Ellenwood, Lisa.  “Pain, agony and ‘years of duress’: How hockey wives are

fighting back over players’ chronic brain injuries” https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hockey-players-enforcers-brain-injuries-1.5370444