Masculinity As Homophobia Analysis

Michael S. Kimmel’s article of, “Masculinity as Homophobia: Fear, Shame, and Silence in the Construction of Gender Identity,” is exploring how men perceive this idea of masculinity/masculine and how it came to be. It discuss the pressure of what men have to prove to show their idea of “manhood” in society. This article points out the important part of masculinity where men have to compare themselves to others and live up to what a masculine man really is. The approval of other men. Michael describes this idea of masculinity as a “homosocial enactment” which is basically the idea of how each gender should act and the body language and language as well. (2) They must hide their weakness or any signs of inadequacy and emotions. He writes, “ that
This whole idea that men are stronger and better than women. But the rude remarks that men make, “ that furtive silence when make sexist or racist jokes in a bar.” (2) When I bring racism I mean that white men are seen as superior and heterosexual men. Last but not least this whole idea of “homophobia”, “ homophobia is a central principle of our cultural definition of manhood.” (2) It’s not just the idea of fear but the idea of being seen as a feminist as weak. “Homophobia is the fear that other men will unmask us….that we are not real men. We are ashamed to be afraid.” (2) The concept of homophobia exist because men fear being view/exposed as a feminist which is bogus not all men have be masculine to be a man. You can’t act a certain way to be a man, you can’t speak a certain to be a man, and you can’t walk a certain way to be a man. There isn’t any true idea of what a man really is, it’s what society wants us to believe. They want you to believe that you have to act, speak, and think a certain way to be seen as a man. The results of masculinity were racism, sexism, violence and