Mask Project
“Mitchell! Don’t be a wimp! You just cut yourself a little. Stop screaming.” What my youth leader didn’t know was that it was a four inch cut that went to the bone on my forehead. Why do we say things like stop crying? It is because we were socialized to believe that men can’t be wimps and we don’t question it as we pass it on to our friends and children. We don’t even realize that we may be wrong. Men have been socialized to believe they must be strong because our parents were told it and they passed it on to us and we can’t believe they are wrong. It is a cycle of socialization(Harro, cycle of socialization) that we need to stop. I have been socialized as a man to be strong, cool, and defensive.
How have I been socialized as a male, not what I have belived, but what I was told? As said in a study online by Sparknote,(sparknote, editors, http://www.sparknotes.com/sociology/socialization/section4.rhtml) “Studies show that boys are more physically and mentally active than girls. ” This is a result of socialization. We were all told to go out for sports, or to work out, And we obey because it is what everyone does. There are other cases. we are told to to play boy video games, such as world of warcraft, or skyrim. This is because we are sppose to kill and defend. However, we are to lazy to do it for real so we use our thumbs. We are both and positively socialized.
Men are socialized to be "manly". “Even as tiny babies, boys and girls are dressed differently, according to what is considered “appropriate” for their respective sexes. Even parents who strive to achieve a less “gendered” parenting style unconsciously reinforce gender roles.” (sparknote, editors, http://www.sparknotes.com/sociology/socialization/section4.rhtml.) We also are told to be like the stereotype of men, buff, cool, even mean. I was told that it was weird to wear girl clothes. We also are pressed into sports and team work. These can be good things, but they are restricting.
Now we will look at how we are negatively socialized. A huge example is movies and the media. An example is the movie that came out in 2004, Mean Girls. Even though it is about girls, it shows how men care for women in the media. They portray men as only wanting women and sex. This is totally unfair to both men and women. They also say that men only get to know women to have sex with them. This is also completely untrue, but it still is restricting. A man can’t get to know a woman without being having the sanction (a punishment for breaking the norms of society) of weird looks. We should be able to get to know whoever we want without getting weird looks and being bullied.
Change is necessary in my opinion. Even the positive socialization is slightly restricting. Just as sociologist Bobbie Harris says, “Our first socialization is things like, don’t cry, boys should be strong, don’t kiss boys, you kiss girls.” This is a huge problem. I should be aloud to kiss who I want, but I can't because others find it disterbing. We need to prevent the negative and change the positive. We should tell boys to be who they want to be, not who we think they should be. Men need to be in control, but in charge of themselves not others as much.
If we want to stop the problem at the heart we should change what we are doing right now. The men in this society need to be able to do what they want. Right now we even control that. There are men jobs and women jobs. This socialization has hit me less because I have been in society less than others, mostly because I have grown up very, very sheltered. However, it has still hit me. There is an idea that all men silently stay in, stating things like, men must be strong and cool, like the way I have been socialized. We should stop the “man box” and make a moldable man idea. This will free men to be who they want. Improvements will be huge because men and women won’t need to worry about a man being weird by not following the norms of society.
How have I been socialized as a male, not what I have belived, but what I was told? As said in a study online by Sparknote,(sparknote, editors, http://www.sparknotes.com/sociology/socialization/section4.rhtml) “Studies show that boys are more physically and mentally active than girls. ” This is a result of socialization. We were all told to go out for sports, or to work out, And we obey because it is what everyone does. There are other cases. we are told to to play boy video games, such as world of warcraft, or skyrim. This is because we are sppose to kill and defend. However, we are to lazy to do it for real so we use our thumbs. We are both and positively socialized.
Men are socialized to be "manly". “Even as tiny babies, boys and girls are dressed differently, according to what is considered “appropriate” for their respective sexes. Even parents who strive to achieve a less “gendered” parenting style unconsciously reinforce gender roles.” (sparknote, editors, http://www.sparknotes.com/sociology/socialization/section4.rhtml.) We also are told to be like the stereotype of men, buff, cool, even mean. I was told that it was weird to wear girl clothes. We also are pressed into sports and team work. These can be good things, but they are restricting.
Now we will look at how we are negatively socialized. A huge example is movies and the media. An example is the movie that came out in 2004, Mean Girls. Even though it is about girls, it shows how men care for women in the media. They portray men as only wanting women and sex. This is totally unfair to both men and women. They also say that men only get to know women to have sex with them. This is also completely untrue, but it still is restricting. A man can’t get to know a woman without being having the sanction (a punishment for breaking the norms of society) of weird looks. We should be able to get to know whoever we want without getting weird looks and being bullied.
Change is necessary in my opinion. Even the positive socialization is slightly restricting. Just as sociologist Bobbie Harris says, “Our first socialization is things like, don’t cry, boys should be strong, don’t kiss boys, you kiss girls.” This is a huge problem. I should be aloud to kiss who I want, but I can't because others find it disterbing. We need to prevent the negative and change the positive. We should tell boys to be who they want to be, not who we think they should be. Men need to be in control, but in charge of themselves not others as much.
If we want to stop the problem at the heart we should change what we are doing right now. The men in this society need to be able to do what they want. Right now we even control that. There are men jobs and women jobs. This socialization has hit me less because I have been in society less than others, mostly because I have grown up very, very sheltered. However, it has still hit me. There is an idea that all men silently stay in, stating things like, men must be strong and cool, like the way I have been socialized. We should stop the “man box” and make a moldable man idea. This will free men to be who they want. Improvements will be huge because men and women won’t need to worry about a man being weird by not following the norms of society.