The book “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” written by Ken Kesey was based on the life in the mental institute with the cuckoos the narrator is Chief Brodmen. He is a half Indian he let everyone believe him that he was deaf and dumb but instead he is observing the Big Nurse “Nurse Ratched” who is the head of the ward who physically and mentally controls every male patient that she has in her ward. Nurse Ratched a woman who threatens the masculinity of men in the story. Most women in the story. This shows how the women in the story overpower the men who are in the…
In the book "In the Country of Men", Hisham Matar, the author discusses his childhood experience in the 1970's during the revolution in Libya. The time when men overpowered and completely dominated women. The title itself describes Libya as a country that belongs to men where women are used like tools. We see that Suleiman wants to become a man as soon as possible through the story but on the other hand, the story also talks about a female being Suleiman’s mother - Najwa who thinks she lost her freedom when she was just 14 and had to get married. However, after all the development from the 1970’s till today, the current generation considers both men and women equally powered.…
One of the most important things to a man is feeling that he has a sense of power, especially in any relationship with a woman. Without this feeling of masculinity a man may feel weak and powerless. In the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest the author Ken Kesey expresses this in the relationships between Billy Bibbit and his mother, Dale Harding and his wife Vera Harding, and Chief Bromden’s father and mother. Kesey also proves this through the characterNurse Ratched. The sense of being a true man, being dependent and having a lot of power is what truly gives a man a life. The reader can see Kesey convey this in the downfalls of each man who lost his masculinity to a woman. Dale Harding is an intelligent, educated and effeminate man. Harding…
Distinctively visual imagery can either entice or distance us from the world of the characters.…
Masculinity is an extensive concept that is prevalent in many films. Filmmakers embed this concept in their films in order for viewers to model. Masculinity can be defined in several different ways, but in general terms, it is the capability of stepping up in situations. In a classic Western taking place in a distant town of Big Whiskey, whores offers service for cowboys at a bar. One day, two cowboys, Quick Mike and Davey Bunting cut up and scar a whore Delilah Fitzgerald, after her smirk remark towards Quick Mike. As a consequence, Strawberry Alice and the other whores set up their revenge for the disturbing event by arranging a bounty to kill the two cowboys. All of these events trigger many killers and cowboys to pay Big Whiskey a visit, each person facing a test towards their masculinity. Masculinity in this case is who can size up their opponent and win in a Western duel. Alcohol is a factor in who becomes successful and survives this competition. The movie Unforgiven puts a strong emphasis on alcohol and its relation to masculinity.…
This juxtapostion of this distinctively visual impression of her appearence in the depiction of her “Sitting with her sewing basket and a copy of the young ladies journal”. This seeming paradox of the bush women who has been physically and metally shaped by her surroundings and her feminine side, makes the responder build an image of the drover’s wife as more than a one dimensional woman which is suggested by Lawsons decision not to give her a…
In this essay called “The High Cost of Manliness” written by Robert Jensen, a journalism professor at the University of Texas, in Austin, he tells us that “if we could get rid of the whole idea of masculinity, we have a chance to create a better world for men and women.” He states that it’s not easy to be a man in our society, especially with the demands that come with the dominant conception of masculinity, which is where men are perceived to be tough, competitive and aggressive and must show those qualities in order to prevail as a “real man.” He mentions that DNA does play a big role in a person’s behavior and that our genetic endowment is influenced by culture. The guys that don’t meet these expectations and who are caring and show compassion toward others are often called sissies, fags, or even girls. Jensen states that culture also seems to be linked to a recurring intellectual fad called “evolutionary psychology”, which creates a gender difference between men and women, and thus making it necessary to choose which gender distinctly shows more masculine characteristics than the other. For example he reminds us of the 9/11 World Trade Center tragedy when male firefighters rushed into burning buildings, risking and even sacrificing there lives to help save others, and recognizing this as a sign of strength and masculinity, who is to say that women wouldn’t have done the same if put in that same situation. Jensen explains that the reaction to rush in a burning building to help those in need by those firefighters was “simply human” and for society to automatically assign these type of human qualities to a specific gender is “misguided and demeaning to the gender that is assumed not to possess these qualities.” Yes there are obviously physical differences between men and woman such as size, and reproductive organs, but he says when you think about it, men…
The Drovers wife shows the harsh landscape of the australian outback through the tough times the drovers wife has to endure by herself to survive. The perception of her is that she is a protective mother and a persistent battler against the diasters of the australian outback. The use of alliteration “no undergrowth, nothing to relieve the eye…nineteen miles to the nearest…civilisation” shows the drovers wife as being desolated and isolated from society.…
The effect of the harsh environment sustained by the drover’s wife is clearly seen through Lawson’s description of her physical appearance, “The gaunt sun-browned bush women”. This is then reinforced by the cruel and provoking imagery used to portray her children “ragged, dried up look”. Powerful imagery of the physical toll on this “once young city woman” is applicable in establishing a strong impression of the woman battling against isolation of the bush.…
The concept of being a man, and the idea of manliness, has been debatable in recent decades due to acts of feminism. Paul Theroux wrote Being a Man and was very opinionated as he said the idea of manliness was wrong and oppressive. Harvey Mansfield wrote The Partial Eclipse of Manliness, and stated that the concept of being manly has diminished and been overpowered by feminism. Both of these readings have provided valid and doubtful points in the discussion of what constitutes being manly, as well as how North American culture views the stereotypical man. Both authors are very opinionated and biased in their readings as they do not have any outside sources supporting their beliefs, but they do make effective arguments which further their attitude and outlook on manliness.…
Text Summary: ‘The Drovers Wife’ is a short story by Henry Lawson about a woman who is left alone in the harsh Australian bush to look after the house and children while her husband is away sheep…
What images come to mind when you hear the words masculinity and femininity? According to Michael S. Kimmel (2000), an American sociologist, specializing in gender studies, “… the concept of masculinity is produced within the institutions of society and through our daily interactions” (p 110). From all the advertisements we see on television to the models that appear on the magazines we read, in recent years there has been much discussion on how women feel as though they have a particular stereotype to live up to. Despite this being true, according to Jackson Katz, women are not alone in feeling pressure to fit a certain gender mold. San Jose State University is often celebrated for the rich diversity in the campus community. The meanings of…
In Sharon Bird’s work, “Welcome to the Men’s Club: Homosociality and the Maintenance of Hegemonic Masculinity,” she explains what is homosociality and masculinity. Homosociality is when there are no sexual attractions held by men for members of their own sex. But according to Lipman-Blumen, homosociality promotes the distinction between men and women through segregation in social institutions. Not only that, Lipman says it also promotes the distinction of hegemonic masculinity and nonhegemonic masculinity between the opposing sexes. This leads to masculinity. Masculinity in Bird’s definition is divided into three different viewpoints, emotional detachment, competitiveness and the sexual objectification of women. Bird defines masculinity as being emotionally detached from all situations. For men to express feelings is to reveal vulnerabilities and weakness. It is not considered a social norm or socially acceptable to express emotion because emotion is associated with weakness and femininity. This results in men encouraging internalizing feelings and emotions to avoid being labeled as weak by their own male group. The second viewpoint of masculinity is competitiveness. Competition with other men demonstrates male dominance and masculinity. In Bird’s case, she reveals that men always compete to prove that they are better than the other person so they could become a higher rank in their hierarchy of masculinity. Those who do not compete are considered disadvantaged and weaker. Weakness is a trait that is considered associated with femininity. “A man risks a loss of status and self-esteem unless he competes” (Bird 128). The last viewpoint of masculinity, “sexual objectification of women,” is reviewed where male superiority is maintained. To maintain male superiority, men are expected to have less heteorosocial relationships and are expected to have more homosocial relationships. The reason for this is because Bird states that men should distance themselves from women.…
I agree that the dominant form of masculinity and femininity are changing, however, this change has been going on for several generations now. Women are becoming the breadwinners while a lot of fathers are becoming stay-at-home dads. Some of the changes that come with women taking on more masculine jobs is the way that they dress. Since many jobs require respect women have gone from wearing dresses and cute hairstyles to wearing pants and cutting their hair off short to appear more dominating. On page 296 in our book the author points out that our society today actually promotes “tough femininity” as a lot of today’s actresses are seen taking on the more masculine…
Manhood was shaken to its core during the Great Depression. Never before has an era had such an altering impact on the way we perceive masculinity. This is best portrayed in the popular culture of the day that demonstrated conflicting views of men at the time. This division of what masculinity is developed directly from the cynicism, escapism, and the traditional view of what the American man should be.…