Fight Club Masculinity Essay

Throughout the film, Fight Club there are several examples of masculinity traits that are naturally occurring but have been socially constructed. This film exemplifies masculinity in the fullest, specifically in its main characters: Tyler Durden and the narrator. The physical violence that is found in numerous scenes in Fight Club is one of the many portrayals of masculinity. Along with the physical violence, there are several other examples of masculinity traits that have been socially constructed, such as power, dominance, and the belief that men should not express excessive emotion. These examples of masculinity are socially constructed on account of social norms in the film. In the beginning of the film the narrator attends a meeting for men with testicular tumor. These men are perceived as less masculine because of their health. The attendees of these meetings are given time to cry their emotions out, the narrator is reluctant at first to participate but eventually starts crying when he realizes he is around men who have been emasculated. He participates only because he feels safe around other men who feel less masculine like him. The belief that men should not cry is a prominent example of how social construction has affected the perception of
The narrator creates fight club because he has been emasculated by his career and believes that fighting is the solution to regaining his masculinity. Furthermore, the members of fight club also join in an attempt to regain their masculinity that they have supposedly lost just like the narrator. Without a doubt men have always been expected to be tougher and more violent than women, but who’s to say that women cannot be tough and violent as well. Therefore, the characters in the film are socially constructed to think that violence makes them more of a man, but it does not it just make them a violent