Masculinity
Description
In the video The Mask You Live in, it is suggested that America’s narrow definition of masculinity is harming boys. Pressured by the media, their peer group, and even the adults in their lives, boys confront messages encouraging them to disconnect from their emotions, devalue authentic friendships, objectify and degrade women, and resolve conflicts through violence. Research shows that compared to girls, boys in the U.S. are more likely to be diagnosed with a behavior disorder, prescribed stimulant medications, fail out of school, binge drink, commit a violent crime, and/or take their own lives.
Andrew Reiner in his article “Teaching Men to Be Emotionally Honest,” also condemns the narrow definition of Americans regarding masculinity. • Read the article “Teaching Men to Be Emotionally Honest” by Andrew Reiner in They Say/I Say (589-595). In the article Reiner says:
Despite the emergence of the metrosexual and an increase in stay-at-home dads, tough-guy stereotypes die hard. As men continue to fall behind women in college, while outpacing them four to one in the suicide rate, some colleges are waking up to the fact that men may need to be taught to think beyond their own stereotypes. (590)
• In an essay of your own, argue either for or against Reiner’s argument that men are scared to show the full range of emotions and the pressure of conventional tough-guy masculinity is having devastating consequences on American males. • Support your argument with evidence from several credible sources.
Use one of the following templates for your thesis:
• Andrew Reiner is mistaken because he overlooks • Andrew Reiner’s claim that rests upon the questionable assumption that • Andrew Reiner is surely right about because recent studies have shown that • Andrew Reiner is right that , but he seems on more dubious ground when he claims that • While Andrew Reiner is wrong when he claims that he is right that
