In reading Kimmel's Masculinity as Homophobia, I was able to read some information that I relatively new already but also read some information that was new to me especially the historical content that was provided by Kimmel. In reading this article, I mostly picked up on a few major points. For instance, some reoccurring ideas that were presented in this article were that men are seen as dominant figures, men should not act like women or hold characteristics of women and finally men feel they must prove themselves to other men.
Some historical references Kimmel provided really showed how the dominant male has evolved over the centuries. This I can understand simply from my history classes I have taken over the years. There were always cultures that had men running families and women subservient to them. However, Kimmel's references to of the Genteel Patriarch, Heroic Artisan, and the Marketplace Man were a few references I was unfamiliar with, but found to be a little interesting to what he was discussing.
More familiar information such as men making sure they do not show characteristics that are commonly seen in women and also men trying to prove themselves to other men are areas that I believe are still seen today. Men are afraid to be labeled as "sissies". In Kimmel's (1994) article, I was pretty shocked to read that "in one survey, women and men were asked what they were most afraid of. Women responded that they were most afraid of being raped and murdered. Men responded that they were most afraid of being laughed at" (Noble, 1992, pp.105-106). These answers just seem way off from each other. As for men trying to prove themselves to each other to show their power and accomplishments, I find there to be a lot of double standards when comparing to women. One double standard that personally bothers me is the fact that men are accepted when they elaborate and brag about their sexual conquests and compare each other by how many women they are with. However, if women do the exact same thing, she is labeled promiscuous and is looked down upon in society. This is just one example that came to mind when reading about the topic of men proving themselves to other men.
I agree with the majority of your assessment on Kimmel's reading. Relating it now to what we have learned from cultures outside the mainstream I wonder how we can address as teachers, the contrast between creating a safe GLBA environment in our classroom with cultures where the male dichotomy is still in a very patriarchal state. An example came from Kimmel's reading where some South American cultures have a very different idea about homosexuality; they will only tolerate or accept homosexual males who are extremely effeminate.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to learn how much emphasis our society puts on males to prove their masculinity; it is likewise true for societal pressures for females to appear feminine. Double standards exist in most cultures and concepts of sexuality are relative. In one PBS documentary, I saw that women in a remote village in China have the power to choose multiple partners. In fact, part of the ritual is for women to have multiple partners in order for them to procreate. U.S. standards would demoralize the Asian women; but to them it is a cultural expectation.
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