The CBC team marketplace investigated schools on the issue of violence in schools between students.

“41 percent of boys say they were physically assaulted at high school: 26 percent of girls say they were experienced unwanted sexual contact at school. One in four students first experienced sexual harassment or assault before grade 7”

Students tend to pull out their phones and film a fight instead of trying to stop one. This is why students turn to violence immediately because they are being provoked when it comes to arguments in schools.  “Nearly 50 per cent of high school kids don’t report violence they’ve experienced or witnessed.” They don’t call for help from a staff member, teacher or an adult and this is why violence continues to go on in schools . We have normalized it for “men” and “boys” to solve a problem by physically and verbally assaulting one another. There is no disciplinary measures being taught in schools for situations like these. Boys are still developing into men and they should be taught the right way . Males show their strength through violence. “Violence is often the single most evident marker of manhood.” (kimmel 148) By this kimmel means in order for a man to be seen as a “man” he has to be tough and aggressive.

After watching the CBC documentary on violence in schools , I was not surprised about mother’s not knowing on what goes on in their children’s schools and everyday lives because of personal experience. I’ve witnessed everyday fights and violence in my school and I was not proud of it. Innocent boys were shown a different side of them due to violence.  “More than one-third of students between the ages of 14 and 21 say they were physically assaulted at least once before reaching high school.” The documentary isn’t the first time I heard about this topic. This topic is being ignored world wide. Not only is it violence among boys but girls are fighting among one another over a guy or a silly situation but we refer to this as “drama” why? Is it not considered violence? Shouldn’t girls be disciplined as much as boys?

Boys bully and are bullied on a day to day basis. “You play like a girl” is the number one saying when it comes to team sports in school. In kimmel’s “masculinity” what it means to be a man is to be unlike a woman.” (kimmel 2) By this he means boys aren’t supposed to show any actions that are meant for girls “only” like crying, wearing the color pink, gossiping, pampering themselves etc. Not only is this bashing women in general meaning women are seen as “weak” and “fragile” but its pretty ironic because women are the reason men exist. Giving birth takes a lot of power and strength not every women survives it ,so before a man calls a women weak and fragile they should ask themselves how they got onto this planet in the first place. Women can play sports just as well as men or video games but we never mention that.

In the Canadian broadcast corporation episode we can see the interviewer tries to question a staff member at a school, but she refuses to answer any of his questions and this says a lot about the school and how no adult is taking into consideration that students should be shown disciplinary actions and should be taught right from wrong. The staff member seemed embarrassed and guilty by not wanting to answer any of the reporter’s questions. This is clearly something that needs to be taken into consideration and dealt with immediately. Teachers aren’t offered a job to just teach their subjects (English, French or Math). They are supposed to make kids feel safe to come to school and to show them good from bad. The students should not be blamed at all in this situation but the teachers and parents should be in my opinion. How can a child know what to do and not do if they are not being shown right? It’s not as simple as learning to walk or riding a bike.

Men are taught to be superior and in power in society that when it comes to women a lot are mistreated, disrespected and raped! This is unfortunately a norm in the world but abusing and assaulting a women does not make you powerful! The way a boy is taught to treat his mother (the women who put him on this planet) is the same way a boy should be taught to treat any girl. In the text “Defining Men’s Studies” by Kilmartin, Christopher, the author says “A good ideal of behavior is learned through imitation, boys receive many of these messages through merely observing the behaviors of men in their families” (Kilmartin, 2) By this he means if a father mistreats his wife then the son will most likely mistreat his wife when he is older. A good father figure is definitely important in order for a boy to turn into a good man. In my opinion genetics does not play a huge roll in a way a boy turns out to be, but the way a boy is brought up does.

Works cited

Kilmartin, Christopher, and Andrew P. Smiler. “Defining men’s studies,” The Masculine     

            Self, Cornwall on Hudson, NY, Sloan Publishing, 2019, pp. 1-7.

Kimmel, Michael. “Masculinity”. International Encyclopedia of the social sciences. Ed. 

           William A. Darity, Jr. 2^nd ed. Vol.5. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008.1-

            5. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 9. June 201. 1-5. Print.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/school-violence.marketplace-1.5224865

On Tuesday March 3, a presenter named Jay Marquis-Manicom spoke about online male supremacism and the alt-right. Jay is an anthropologist who stated a lot of interesting things which stood out in his presentation. He said the alt-right and far-right are not unified. The far-right have a lot of arguments but are very educated. The left values equality where as the right values hierarchy. He also stated that the alt-right won’t have a racist constitution take over Canada.

Jay spoke about liberalism and how he was not for it, he stated liberalism is “the established political order that we live in.”Jay built on ethnographic data to theorize about masculinities within the movement with a particular focus on gendered hierarchy. He concluded that “ male supremacism constitutes one path into the alt-right.” He also stated how the alt-right gives people a right to be who they are. Also anti feminism brought up and how it is the online male-supremacism. “Feminism is seen as a catastrophic ill.”-Jay He kept repeating the word “red-pill” and said it acts as a filler and recruiting ground.

In the men’s right activism movement and it’s sub-movement “the red-pill has expanded and bloomed online, offering support and advice to men who feel their masculinity is being challenged by societal shifts.” Jay mentioned how he had a friend named Felix who also took part in the alt-right group.

I can connect this presentation to the reading covered so far in the course. Both (the readings and the presentation) deal with the concept and idea of “Masculinity” and it’s power and rights. What it is to be a man in the workplace, or in society in general. “Males hold primary power and predominate in roles of political leadership, moral authority and societal privilege.”

The person I interviewed for this blog post is my boyfriend. I asked him these three specific questions and this was his response:

Me- Why are you close to your friend?

Boyfriend- I’m close to my friend because he’s not just my friend he’s my best friend. He’s like a brother to me. We like to do the same things on our free time such as playing basketball and playing video games. Our families grew up together which made us feel like brothers. We are always at each others houses. We also went to the same school which made us bond together. We like the same stuff when it comes to food, hobbies, etc. We tell each other everything even our darkest secretes without judging one another.

Me- What kind of things do you like to do together?

Boyfriend- My Best friend and I like to play basketball together on a daily basis without getting tired of it. We like to spend family quality time with our families. We love spending time with our girlfriends as much as we can. We like to go over to one another’s house to play video games such as 2k and fortnite.

Me- Have you ever told your friend how much he means to you? What did you say and how did he react?

Boyfriend- Yes I’ve told him how much he means to me not just because he’s a best friend to me but hes actually a brother to me since I am the only child. When I told him he said it right back to me he wasn’t shocked or anything because we felt the same way. I remember we were playing video games at my house when i said it and after he said it back we hugged it out and then got back to the game.

1. When Micheal Kimmel writes “institutions accomplish the creation of gender difference and the reproduction of gender order through several gendered processes” by this i think he means that (schools, workplaces, religion , families) are what defines someones sexual identity. This is similar to the discussion in the fourth episode of “Man enough” that we watched in class where as the group of men spoke about how a man has to be tough, independent, cool, and be a leader in school in the workplace in a family etc. If they do not fit any of these categories they are bullied and abused.
2. When Micheal Kimmel states “Understanding how we do masculinities… opens up the unimaginable possibilities of social change” by using the word “masculinities” and not “masculinity” i think he is trying to say that in every religion/culture there is a different meaning to being a “man”. In the episode “Man enough” the men say that the boys are taught different ways of what it means to portray yourself as a man meaning depending on their religion and how they are raised in their families.

In the documentary The Mask you live in the, stuff that was said about boys becoming men really stood out to me. One particular thing that stood out to me was when a Mother named Gabby said how her son Roman was bullied and abused in school because he did not have a father figure to guide him through those times and this made him feel lonely and different.

Another thing that was said in the documentary that stood out to me was when statistics showed that 1 in 6 boys are sexually abused. This part was really touching for me because men have to be seen as strong and powerful but yet some boys are being sexually abused instead of being taught how to be a good gentleman. This is really sad because it’s not only females who are being sexually abused in this society but so are Males no matter the power there “supposed to have “

One last thing that stood out to me in this documentary is when someone said men don’t say or do anything because they will loose their status in peered culture. No one should have to hold back their emotions or pain when it comes to things like this and holding in your pain does not make u a man there’s no such thing as that and it’s sad how men need to be view this way that way they can be viewed as superior to women.

When Carlos Andres Gomez spoke about the young boy who wanted to confront him mom that he was gay after going to a gay club with his friend by accident, but the mom laughed and seemed disgusted when she heard about the gay club. The boy was scared to confront that he was gay to her because of the way she acted to him going to a gay club. The documentary better helps me understand his experience because a lot of boys do not have a father figure growing up and this shows that a lot of boys are scared to express how they feel and are scared to come out because being gay or being Bi isn’t what a man is supposed to be.

For me an inspiring person is someone who believes in themselves and who believes in others. When they speak of their desire it is with devotion and passion. A man who inspires me is James Franco. James Franco is a published poet, has a PhD in literature, teaches film and NYU and USC and is an Artist/actor. As for qualities he has great ability to put thoughts into action, and there is no wait once he sets his mind on something. James takes action while radiating energy and enthusiasm. He inspires me because he doesn’t stop at one career and isn’t afraid to try new opportunities. He doesn’t limit his ability to be just an artist. James inspires others to live a life without limits. His message is brilliantly important remarkable.

Club sandwich