Blog three: status and achievements
Blog 3: Status and Achievement
As stated on page five of Defining Men’s Studies, achievement and status is defined as; successful men who have achieved success through the fields of work, sports, and sexual conquest. The one man who is the most obvious in accomplishing this definition is Hugh Hefner.
Hugh Hefner in the filed of sports has successfully published many articles where women posed for athletes. You may of seen Hugh on television for being admired for his success and for his sexy conquests. He was the founder and co-editor of the playboy magazine. He was also known for his playboy mansion where he has invited several celebrities and wealthy people to party and enjoy women. At his death it was publicly understood that he was worth around $50 million. Later, the market research firm Wealth-X released that Hugh Hefner was worth at least $110 million, with roughly $45 million in liquid assets. many men looked up to Hugh. Hugh was seen as The Man. Based on the definition of someone who has status and achievement,
Hugh Hefner’s accomplishments would suggest that he has achieved this. Some examples of his success that categorizes him as a man with status and achievement are is work, making him millions and being praised with sexy women. He was very much involved in the celebrity and athletic community and will never be forgotten.
By: Daniel Bohbot & Alexandra Morgan Arseneau
Blog 3: Hugh Hefner
Blog 3 (example)
Blog #3: Defining Men’s Studies
Our definition for this assignment is adventurousness and aggressiveness. I have chose Howie Mandel as a counter example for this definition.
In the definition it describes masculinity to have characteristics of taking physical risks and acting out violently. I thought Howie Mandel was a good counter example because he does not have a violent history and is very open and accepting. When people think of a masculine man, they often think of a “tough” man who often does not show many emotions that might make him appear “soft” or “weak” in the eyes of other people. Luckily, it is starting to change but only because people like Howie Mandel (and many other men) who have started speaking up about mental health. He has recently started talking about his Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, OCD. This is something that is very important because it starts to break down the stereotype and expectations that a “masculine” man cannot show “weakness”. I find that Howie Mandel did take a risk but it was very different then the type of risk implied. Talking about his mental health was a risk he took because the stigma around masculinity and showing emotions is very strongly intertwined and for someone as popular as him to come out and say that showing emotions and dealing with mental illness does not make you weak or any lesser of a man it starts to break down that stigma. In the definition of Adventurousness and Aggressiveness to take physical risks. This is something Howie Mandel talks about and said : “We take care of our dental health, we don’t take care of our mental health.” and goes on to speak about how counselling should be in the picture just as much as going to the dentist and the doctors.
Blog 3: Antifemininity (counter)
The person I chose is Tyler Gregory Okonma also known as Tyler, The Creator because he is the complete opposite of what Brannon’s definition of a man is in the textbook The Masculine Self.
Just like any other artist, he express his emotions and life situations throughout his music, but what makes him particularly special is the fact that he released an album called “Igor“, an album where he openly admits his love and heart breaks with a man. Every track on the album is a story about their love life, commencing from the start of their relationship to their break up. He is not someone who portrays emotional stoicism because in one of his songs he says “Don’t leave, it’s my fault” referring to the problems he had in the relationship with the man. Besides his music, he also doesn’t avoid any behaviours the might be construed as homosexual. For example, he dresses however he wants ranging from wearing wigs to wearing cheetah print clothings to wearing colourful bright shirts.
To conclude, Tyler, the Creator oppose to what Brannon’s definition of a man is because he doesn’t hide his emotions and doesn’t let the gender norms stop him from wearing what he likes.
Blog#3 Defining men’s studies
Blog 3 : Breaking down gender norms 🏳️🌈
Hey guys!
For those who don’t know who Billy Porter is well, he is known for his acting roles in Broadway, New York and for his awards like the Tony Award for Best Lead Actor in a Musical.
However, he is more than what meets the eye.
Porter was raised in East Liberty, Pittsburgh. He lived with his sister, stepfather, and mother. His early years were unhappy because he was suffering for years at the hands of his abusive and homophobic stepfather that sexually assaulted him. Which made him ran away from home at the age of 15 and returned home for a brief time but eventually made his permanent escape at the age of 17 when he left for college. And in college he found his way into theatre where most of his self identity grew. Long story short, he is now a pop singer, LGBTQ activist, actor, vocal coach, and Broadway performer. BUT what made him famous as an actor was his appearance in the red carpet.
What a fashion icon!!! He is one of the first actors to wear those types of outfits to prove that labeling oneself is BAD.
To continue, based of the textbook The Masculine Self by Kilmartin and Smiler (Antifeminine), Billy Porter isn’t masculine enough. Or rather isn’t a man. They said that men aren’t supposed to show any girly emotions. To not be in any ‘female jobs’ such as being a secretary, elementary teacher, or in Porter’s case be a broadway actor and a LGBTQ activist. It is also mentioned that they should wear manly clothes like a suit or pants. Well, for Porter, as you can see in that picture, he mixed his outfit with a suit and a skirt. Lastly, it is mentioned that any homosexual behaviours are to be avoided by man. Well, once again, Billy Porter broke that ‘rule’ because he married a guy. All this to say that he doesn’t fit with the factors that the textbook mentioned. Porter is a gay man that breaks gender norms because he is allowed to. That is his way of expressing his identity to the world. Doing ‘sissy stuff’ is basically his way of life.
HE LOOKS FUEGOOOOO!!!!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Blog 3: Anti-Femininity
Among the four of Brannon’s definition of a man, Mike Tyson fitted the “Anti-Feminism”. As a man and a boxer he was known for being very aggressive, fast and had a very good reflex. Due to his boxing career since a very young age, he grew as a very tough and stoic type of man. Though, in 1992, he committed a crime where men are very known for, sexual aggression/rape. Given the fact that he committed this crime, we can clearly say that he behaved as a sexual predator like how men are generalized in the society. In addition, Mike Tyson’s physical traits are very muscular. He had tattoos, he was a bulky and his aura seems very intimidating. He have shown nothing feminine.
Blog 3: Status & Achievement
As for the assigned subject, mostly the status and achievement of men is seen as being the most successful in their work, sports or any other field they work in. They also get more admiration and recognition only if they are powerful. As a result, they start thinking they are superior to women. This leads to sexism, which is the discrimination of genders. In this case, ambition is one of the driving forces for men which drives them to work for being in a leadership role.
How Nelson Mandela contradicts the statement that men gain status and achievement by being superior? How does he NOT fit into the category?
Nelson Mandela was born on 18 July 1918 in South Africa. He grew up with a dream to make his own contribution for freedom struggle of his own people. He fought against so many racial injustice that was being done by the apartheid (a system of discrimination based on people’s race and cultures) government of South Africa.
The government in Africa was full of racism and hatred towards the non-whites in their country, and therefore they used to prefer white people more. They used to offer all the high class facilities to those people and for non-whites they didn’t provide much educational and employment opportunities. They even used to separate them from their families and friends. They in fact used to give them a harsh treatment. They were also beaten up brutally.
Nelson and his co-activists joined African National Congress (ANC) in 1943. He was a law student and along with his co-activists, advocated in the mass campaign against racial injustice. Nelson was often inspired by the writings by socialist thinkers against racism. He was also influenced by the non-violent strategies of Mahatma Gandhi who was a freedom fighter of India. Most of the work of ANC was focused on removing the racial injustice in their society, therefore it consisted of strikes, boycotts and other acts of civil disobedience.
Nelson had to spend more than 40 years in prison, out of which he spent 27 years as a central figure in the prison during the struggle against this apartheid. He served as an inspirational person who fought bravely for justice and equality. He fought for the transition of their government from apartheid to democratic. This was also the purpose of his life, to get their country to be democratic and where people live freely. He wanted to fight even till his last breath.
This shows that no matter how much struggles he went through, he never gave up. He was also devoted to democracy, equality and learning. No matter how much racism he faced, he never reacted back to it with racism.
He was the president of South Africa for five years (1994-1999). He was also awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1993. This shows that he did not actually care about his superiority towards anyone else who were considered to be a minor. He always wanted to treat everyone equally and with respect. He wanted to end the process of racism.
Lovers an Fighters | Section 21 