In the paragraph about gender and institutions, Kimmel talks about the gender expectations  that society sets through the gendered institutions that determines how an individual will act in a community. Gender institutions can be workplace, family, school or even the media. In other words, boys and girls are expected to behave a certain way, to dress a certain way or to choose a certain career path in the future. For example, in older days, the only “acceptable” jobs for women were administration (being a secretary) or other “office jobs”, whereas for men it was jobs such as being a firefighter or police officer. In the episode of Man Enough, they talk about how men are “put in a box”, which means that they are expected to act tough, to not show any signs of emotions or weakness, to be misogynist, and they are taught that they are stronger than women and that men need to protect women. Sometimes, being in that box is easier than stepping out of that box, which makes that some boys and men conform to those gendered expectations and institutions.

Furthermore, Kimmel mentions that masculinities come plural form because of it can exist and be interpreted in so many ways. According to Kimmel, masculinity varies from one culture or country to another, through history, society  and finally through one’s personal life. In respecting those different forms of masculinity, we allow social change in the sense that we will allow more man to feel comfortable in their own definition of masculinity, as a result, they will less find the necessity to prove that they are man enough. As the men put it in the episode of ‘Man Enough’, men should become allies to women instead of trying to prove that they are different to women. Instead of conforming to the “bro code”, which implies silence  and inaction when a woman is being harassed by another men, they should not be afraid to speak up and be an ally to women. Therefore, if we allow man to define  and be comfortable in their own masculinity, we will allow such social changes to occur.

According to Kilmartin’s study of masculinity, one of the many characteristics that defines what a man should be is independence and inexpression. In the paragraph Kilmartin describes what a man, who is inexpressive and independant, might look like and there are a few key aspects that stand out, such as self-control, solving problems independently, never show any signs of weakness or emotions, being strong both physically and in character, which means to have a strong personality, and finally to never socialize too much with others.

In my opinion, a perfect example that embodies those characteristics is the well-known fictional character named James Bond, also known as Agent 007, who is a British Secret Service Agent and appears in a series of movies that have also been adapted into comics, animated series, video games, etc.

To begin with, just by the looks, he seems as a very intimidating and charismatic character. In series of movies, he conducts his missions solo and never seems interested at getting help from anyone else, which proves the aspect of solving problems independently. He often makes use of violence as if to prove his superiority in physical strength. In some scenes, there might even be people being tortured by the “bad guys” but we see no signs of empathy or towards whatsoever on his face, or he often engages in briefs relationships with women and he is shown to play with the woman’s feelings by having “one night stands” with her and then move on to his missions the next morning. He never really have other social intercourses other than with those women or when his missions requires him to do so.

For all those different reasons, James Bond conforms Brannon’s Themes of Contemporary Western Masculinity when it comes to inexpression and independence.

Shekinah. B

The man that inspires me is my dad. Me and my dad have always had a unique bond, we’re so similar personality wise that we either fight like no other or we get along very well. He is a very caring, calm and often quite man, who is also full of patience and love for his family. Growing up, he has always intrigued me, because he, most of the time remained quite, as if he seemed trapped in his own thoughts. My mom told me it is because ever since he was a teenager, he had to take on huge responsibilities. His father died when he was only 18 years old, and him being the only guy in a family of 5, he had to become “the man of the house”. Sometimes I wonder what went on in his head during this particular time of his life; how he felt about the sudden loss of his father, and about his new load of responsibilities.

He is also a very hard working man, that dreamed big for his future. I still remember the day he told me and my mother that he wanted to immigrate to Canada; we didn’t have much money but him and my mother made it happen. As soon as we stepped in Canada, my dad didn’t waste any second and went on to find a job. This is how he was: a hard-working man that always wanted to make sure that his family had food on the table and a safe place/roof to stay. When he would come home, exhausted, after a long day at work, he would still spend time with my mom, my sisters and I.

For all of these reasons, my dad inspires me everyday to strive and work hard to reach my goals and to dream big. I have never really taken the time and thought about all he has done for me and never realized how much he inspired me, all I know is that, one day, I will give back to him. For all the love and patience that he has shown me and for all the hard work he has put in for our family, I will make sure that he gets nothing less.

My favourite food is pasta.