Tag Archives: act like a man box

Owning Your Body: Body Shaming Comebacks

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This is an interesting article about how a number of men and women celebrities who have been body shamed for both being “too skinny” or “too fat.”  Prison Break star Wentworth Miller is particularly interesting because he breaks norms of masculinity described in chapter 7.  He discusses his depression, an issue commonly faced by many men, but one that often is not talked about publicly.

Miller responds to a meme that went viral mocking his weight gain.

Of course, my favorite response is Amy Schumer’s!  But, you’ll have to check out the article to get her take on it.

Gay or Boxed In

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We all have heard that hit song “Same Love” by Macklemore. I was listening to it in the car today, I mean really listening to the lyrics. In the beginning he talks about how he thought he was gay because he could draw and kept his room clean. He associated those skills with being feminine. He was putting him self in the “box” that we have been talk about in class during chapter one. His mom had to tell him it was okay that he has feminine factors about him self and make him relies that does;t make you gay. Later threw the music and lyrics he talks about how we just call each other faggots when we do something stupid or girly and we don’t relies that it can hurt. “Call each other faggots behind the keys of a message board; A word rooted in hate, yet our genre still ignores it”. If you really listen to this video he really explains the gender box we put ourselves as children or even as adults because we feel trapped to do so by society or even our parents.

Ford’s Speed Dating Breaks Gender Norms

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[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Nyr1Ao7iZA[/youtube]

This Valentine’s Day, instead of breaking hearts, Ford is breaking gender norms with their ad titled “Speed Dating”. In their ad, Ford recruits a professional female stunt driver to go on a series of blind dates with unsuspecting men.

While on the date, the stunt driver offers to give her dates a lift in her new 2015 Mustang. Upon first entering the car, her dates clearly pull from the stereotype that “women can’t drive”. Her dates make comments such as, “Should I drive?”, “I could show you a thing or two”, and a few even instruct her on when to switch gears. Little do they know they are in for a big surprise.

During the drive, the stunt driver tries to “turn around” in an empty parking lot. However, instead of turning around she puts the pedal to the metal and reaches speeds of 120mph while doing a series of doughnuts. The guys are clearly surprised at their date’s capabilities and feel that they had wrongly stereotyped her.

Ford is showing the world this Valentine’s Day that women can break out of their gender boxes.

Breaking the Box

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I am sure we have all experienced something along the lines much like the people in the PSA with not being in your “correct” gender norms.  For example I knew many girls in high school that played softball but many others thought that was not a sport women should play.  Another example is being in a situation when you tell a young boy not to be a “wimp”.  We have all done it, but we are all more aware of the implications it can have later on.

In class we have been going over the idea of gender boxes in which the society around us puts us in.  However, I do not think that people outside of taking a gender class realize this.  I did a basic google search about breaking the gender norms and stumbled upon this wonderful PSA.  Both men and women have these ideas of what society wants us to be, but it is up to us in order to break them.  This video is a great example of the “Act Like a Man” Box others are always challenging each other or putting one another down and testing our own boxes.

 

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2GIu5ZpnTM[/youtube]

Albanian women choose celibacy to become men

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This is a great example of how culture and personal interactions help us develop our ideas of gendered identity.  In this case, people who are born biologically women in Albania choose (or are told as children) that they are male.  They then act as, dress as, and perceive themselves in ways that are associated with masculinity.  The pictures in this article are fascinating.

‘Man up’ — the fear that keeps men from acting human

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Great reflections on the Richie Incognito bullying scandal from LZ Granderson on how language and interaction with other men help reinforce narrowly defined versions of masculinity.

From the article:

You know those electronic collars that zap dogs that stray outside their electronic fences?

That seems to be the purpose of everyone’s favorite and seemingly innocuous phrase, “man up.”

Just mumbling those two words in a typical guy’s direction delivers a psychological shock that discourages him from venturing outside the restrictions of our traditional view of what it means to be a man.