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TAKE HOME EXAM Gender is the cultural dimension of sex, which is a biological material dimension. Like anything in culture, there is nothing true or permanent about gender except it is a historical, dynamic, meaning-making system. Since gender culturally establish correlates of sex, the attribution of gender are based not on an inspection of the sexual organs of individuals but on the judgements of their performance in relation to the culturally constructed gender categories. If a society establishes a structure on the basis of sex and gender, males and females will be granted and limited at the same time to certain privileges. In the Western culture, the social construction of sex and gender has placed social expectation on men. The masculine world is expected to be non-emotional, loud, messy, money makers, math and science oriented and most of all, exhibit assertive behaviours that demonstrate power and authority. As a result, these social expectations on men have valorized and yet subjugated them at the same time, leaving them in a position of an unrealistic reality of masculinity. In this exposition, I will analyze the role that popular culture plays in the early stages of men’s lives, household, workforce, educational system and athletics. In the end, I will conclude that although masculinity has its benefits to the masculine world, it also subjugates them because it creates an unrealistic expectation on men and it encourages men to be violent and aggressive in their behaviour. Much of the ideas about masculinity come from the media. What we see on television or in the movies, what we read in the newspaper or in magazines, what we see on billboards or hear on the radio, reinforces societal expectations of masculinity. The images in popular culture represent men as heroic and strong. It also portrays men as violent and angry, leaders, problem solvers, confident, successful, athletic, lacking sensitivity, and authoritative in the public sphere. As a result, these expectations advance the notion that a ‘real man’ is one that is demanding or aggressive in getting his desires and goals. Hence, a man is expected to be in his proper sphere of action which is the economic and political arena and as well, he is expected to be the head of the household, for which he must provide for his wife and children. Furthermore, society looks forward to the masculine world to be strong and not admit to any uncertainties because if they do, it is perceived as a sign of weakness. Despite the fact that men are at an advantage in society, they are subjugated and brought under control by these social expectations. The media images of masculinity are present in a male’s life as early as the first stages of infancy. When a baby boy is born, he is distinguished and characterized by his gender before he can take his first breath of life outside his mother’s womb. As well, when a baby boy is brought home from the hospital, he is dressed in blue clothes because it helps friends, families, and even strangers to identify the sex of the child. In the article “The construction of Masculinity”, Michael Kaufman stated that “masculinity is unconsciously rooted before the age of six, and then positively explodes at adolescence” (Kaufman, 115). With that in mind, men were socialized at a young age by their fathers, mothers, teaches, mentors, friends, and other role models such as television and movies that boys are to play with guns, planes, engage in ‘contact’ sports, be tough if they get hurt and independent. As a result of ideas, attitudes, behaviours and beliefs that men learnt in their childhood and adolescence, they matured believing that they are to behave in a powerful, active masculine manner (Kaufman, 109).
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