The Androgynous Man Noel Perrin Summary
What is Femininity & Masculinity Anyways? Ever watch a man do the laundry? Or a woman work on cars? Well, believe it or not it does happen. Many people believe that when you're a women you're suppose to act and talk feminine and when you're a man you're suppose to talk and act masculine, but in reality both men and women have both feminine and masculine characteristics. People also believe that there's a danger in limiting people to one or the other, which there is. You're taking away basic human rights. If a man wants to be a nurse he should be able to be one not because of his sex. If a woman wants to go to war then let her. Its good that both sexes have both characteristics so life is mostly equal and people have more choices. Compared
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to how it was back in the day, women used to stay home and take care of the kids and the house while the husband worked. This set up the stereotypes thats we have today. In our century, society has changed the way we look at femininity and masculinity, whether it be speech patterns or the stereotype gender roles men and women share a lot of characteristics. A man who does the laundry isn't considered gay or too feminine. He could be married with 4 kids, but his wife works over time so he has to take over the chores she doesn't have the time to do. A woman can become a mechanic but that doesn't mean that she's more masculine. Both men and women can perform the same activities of the opposite sex. As Arron Devor states in his essay "Gender Role Behaviors and Attitudes", "Members of both genders are believed to share many of the same human characteristics, although in different relative proportions; both males and females are popularly thought to be able to do many of the same things, but most activities are divided into suitable and unsuitable categories for each gender class." Yes a man can do the laundry but it might not be done as well if a woman did it. But, some gender roles can be done even better by the opposite sex. This is where danger comes into play. People are judged and ridiculed for what they do instead of what they 'should' be doing. "Persons who perform the activities considered appropriate for another gender will be expected to perform them poorly; if they succeed adequately, or even well, at their endeavors, they might be rewarded with ridicule or scorn for blurring the gender dividing line" (Devor, 4). My dad likes to cook and wash up after dinner and I see no harm in that. In the typical household those are woman's role's but so what, somebodies got to do it. The men and women who share feminine and masculine characteristics are considered androgynous.
Everyone believes that if you are a man you're suppose to be so macho and if you're a woman you're suppose to be so feminine and pricy, but thats not how the world works. Not every guy wants to hit the gym to get big and not every female wants to get her nails and hair done every day. Noel Perrin is a prime example of a androgynous man. In his article "The Androgynous Man" Noel Perrin talks about how he isn't the manliest man nor is he feminine, but he shares both characteristics with the roles he plays as a father. Perrin states, "Men who are not 100 percent red-blooded Americans- say, those who are only 75 percent red-blooded- often fail to notice their freedom. They are to busy trying to copy the he-men ever to realize that men, like women, come in a wide variety of acceptable types." What some people don't realize is what Perrin stated. Everyone is different, not every guy is just masculine and not every women is just feminine. There just characteristics of what you 'should' be. Perrin shares how he is a "..fairly good natural mother". Now being a mother is considered to be the nurturing and Perrin is that exact role. He states how he enjoyed sewing his daughters pants when she first learned to crawl. Also he even tends to household maintenance. Taking on different gender roles is what makes up todays society, nobody should be judged on it just because of your
sex. Gender roles are only one of many characteristics shared between men and women. Speech patterns is another. Most kids in todays society tend to have to same type of speech, weather it be male or female. I was at the mall just walking around as I over heard girls talking to each other. Their language sounded that of a boy's. They were referring to each other as "dude" and "bro". I have to admit I fall guilty of that too, but that's just how society is today. "Speech characterized by inflections, intonations, and phrases that convey nonaggression and subordinate states also make a speaker appear more feminine. Subordinate speakers who use more polite expressions and ask more questions in conversation seem more feminine" (Denvor, 8). In reality some men speak more politely then women, but that doesn't make them more feminine or women any more masculine. In some ways women and men often have different ideas about what's appropriate and different ways of speaking. Deborah Tannen explains communication differences in her essay "But What Do You Mean?". She states 7 biggest areas of miscommunication among men and women. One example she uses is how men and women fight. "Many men expect the discussion of ideas to be ritual fight--explored through verbal opposition. They state their ideas in the strongest possible ways, thinking that if there are weaknesses someone will point them out, and by trying to argue against those objections, they will see how well their ideas hold up" (Tannen, 15). Men usually are the aggressive fighters always looking to get their point across the right way. While working I over heard a fight that broke out between a couple about money issues. All the blame came down on the woman and how she didn't contribute enough, which made the women feel attacked and in the wrong. Tannon states exactly that, "But many women take this approach as a personal attack. Worse, they find it impossible to do their best work in such contentious environment. If you're not used to ritual fighting, you begin to hear criticism of your ideas as soon as they are formed." Once women learn to stand up to a man they learn to respect you. But Tannon contradicts herself in the end of her essay by stating "THERE IS NO 'RIGHT' WAY TO TALK. When problems arise, the culprit may be style differences--and all styles will at times fail with others who don't share or understand them, just as English won't do you much good if you try to speak to someone who knows only French". Which in any case is 100% right. Everyone has there own style of talking and thinking weather your a male or female. There's no right way of speaking masculine or feminine. Speaking like a man or a women is just a stereotype characteristic. Everyone is their own individual person and have the right to speak and think the way they want to. So what does it mean to be masculine or feminine? There isn't really a clear answer, it's all in what you believe. But it's fair to say both men and women share feminine and masculine characteristics. What the bigger danger is, is that people are judged for this. Why should people be judged on femininity and masculinity? What make's a person is their personality, what's on the inside. The ones who are judged are the ones who suffer. They're left out, not accepted for who they are, and that's what creates low self-esteem and all kinds of health issues such as depression and some even hurt themselves. So don't judge a man for doing the laundry or a women for fixing cars. Their being who they are because they have the right to and nobody should tell them other wise.
to how it was back in the day, women used to stay home and take care of the kids and the house while the husband worked. This set up the stereotypes thats we have today. In our century, society has changed the way we look at femininity and masculinity, whether it be speech patterns or the stereotype gender roles men and women share a lot of characteristics. A man who does the laundry isn't considered gay or too feminine. He could be married with 4 kids, but his wife works over time so he has to take over the chores she doesn't have the time to do. A woman can become a mechanic but that doesn't mean that she's more masculine. Both men and women can perform the same activities of the opposite sex. As Arron Devor states in his essay "Gender Role Behaviors and Attitudes", "Members of both genders are believed to share many of the same human characteristics, although in different relative proportions; both males and females are popularly thought to be able to do many of the same things, but most activities are divided into suitable and unsuitable categories for each gender class." Yes a man can do the laundry but it might not be done as well if a woman did it. But, some gender roles can be done even better by the opposite sex. This is where danger comes into play. People are judged and ridiculed for what they do instead of what they 'should' be doing. "Persons who perform the activities considered appropriate for another gender will be expected to perform them poorly; if they succeed adequately, or even well, at their endeavors, they might be rewarded with ridicule or scorn for blurring the gender dividing line" (Devor, 4). My dad likes to cook and wash up after dinner and I see no harm in that. In the typical household those are woman's role's but so what, somebodies got to do it. The men and women who share feminine and masculine characteristics are considered androgynous.
Everyone believes that if you are a man you're suppose to be so macho and if you're a woman you're suppose to be so feminine and pricy, but thats not how the world works. Not every guy wants to hit the gym to get big and not every female wants to get her nails and hair done every day. Noel Perrin is a prime example of a androgynous man. In his article "The Androgynous Man" Noel Perrin talks about how he isn't the manliest man nor is he feminine, but he shares both characteristics with the roles he plays as a father. Perrin states, "Men who are not 100 percent red-blooded Americans- say, those who are only 75 percent red-blooded- often fail to notice their freedom. They are to busy trying to copy the he-men ever to realize that men, like women, come in a wide variety of acceptable types." What some people don't realize is what Perrin stated. Everyone is different, not every guy is just masculine and not every women is just feminine. There just characteristics of what you 'should' be. Perrin shares how he is a "..fairly good natural mother". Now being a mother is considered to be the nurturing and Perrin is that exact role. He states how he enjoyed sewing his daughters pants when she first learned to crawl. Also he even tends to household maintenance. Taking on different gender roles is what makes up todays society, nobody should be judged on it just because of your
sex. Gender roles are only one of many characteristics shared between men and women. Speech patterns is another. Most kids in todays society tend to have to same type of speech, weather it be male or female. I was at the mall just walking around as I over heard girls talking to each other. Their language sounded that of a boy's. They were referring to each other as "dude" and "bro". I have to admit I fall guilty of that too, but that's just how society is today. "Speech characterized by inflections, intonations, and phrases that convey nonaggression and subordinate states also make a speaker appear more feminine. Subordinate speakers who use more polite expressions and ask more questions in conversation seem more feminine" (Denvor, 8). In reality some men speak more politely then women, but that doesn't make them more feminine or women any more masculine. In some ways women and men often have different ideas about what's appropriate and different ways of speaking. Deborah Tannen explains communication differences in her essay "But What Do You Mean?". She states 7 biggest areas of miscommunication among men and women. One example she uses is how men and women fight. "Many men expect the discussion of ideas to be ritual fight--explored through verbal opposition. They state their ideas in the strongest possible ways, thinking that if there are weaknesses someone will point them out, and by trying to argue against those objections, they will see how well their ideas hold up" (Tannen, 15). Men usually are the aggressive fighters always looking to get their point across the right way. While working I over heard a fight that broke out between a couple about money issues. All the blame came down on the woman and how she didn't contribute enough, which made the women feel attacked and in the wrong. Tannon states exactly that, "But many women take this approach as a personal attack. Worse, they find it impossible to do their best work in such contentious environment. If you're not used to ritual fighting, you begin to hear criticism of your ideas as soon as they are formed." Once women learn to stand up to a man they learn to respect you. But Tannon contradicts herself in the end of her essay by stating "THERE IS NO 'RIGHT' WAY TO TALK. When problems arise, the culprit may be style differences--and all styles will at times fail with others who don't share or understand them, just as English won't do you much good if you try to speak to someone who knows only French". Which in any case is 100% right. Everyone has there own style of talking and thinking weather your a male or female. There's no right way of speaking masculine or feminine. Speaking like a man or a women is just a stereotype characteristic. Everyone is their own individual person and have the right to speak and think the way they want to. So what does it mean to be masculine or feminine? There isn't really a clear answer, it's all in what you believe. But it's fair to say both men and women share feminine and masculine characteristics. What the bigger danger is, is that people are judged for this. Why should people be judged on femininity and masculinity? What make's a person is their personality, what's on the inside. The ones who are judged are the ones who suffer. They're left out, not accepted for who they are, and that's what creates low self-esteem and all kinds of health issues such as depression and some even hurt themselves. So don't judge a man for doing the laundry or a women for fixing cars. Their being who they are because they have the right to and nobody should tell them other wise.