I was both interested and impressed by Susan Bordo’s piece
‘The Male Body,’ for I’ll admit I was not expecting the article to explore so
deeply the issues of masculinity and manhood. Instead, I anticipated hearing
about the (somewhat belabored) points of how aggressive and violent today’s
growing boys have become, and how this concern is further perpetuated, if not
caused, by the media. However, I found it incredibly valuable to discover the
varying influences by which men are compelled to act out and act up. I was
taken aback by the astounding pressures put on men these days. As the article
describes, boys are often rewarded for assertive and even violent behavior;
Bordo explained a teenage football player whose coach and teammates encouraged
and forced him to be rough and aggressive on the field. And the consequences of
his actions were hardly condemned; rather, they were celebrated. “Play rough
and you will get a college scholarship; toughen up and you will get a date; act
violently and you will gain respect.” These could all be voices heard in the
voices of boys’ heads. Conversely, as Bordo shrewdly notes, these standards are
in direct relation to rape, sexual assault, gang activity, and violence. A boy
can be punished for such crimes, but in he is only receiving discipline for
learning, consuming, and emulating his influences. This is certainly not to say
that men should be quietly excused for raping a woman because he was merely
succumbing to societal pressures of behavior. On the contrary, this discrepancy
only exemplifies Bordo's exploration of the double standard or Catch 22, which
I believe is the cornerstone of the argument.
I was also curious upon first glance that the article was
written by a woman, for the article deeply explores the male body and masculine
image. I was interested in Bordo’s story of the university professor inviting
football players to a part, and she stated that she had“ left the women at the
mercy of these guys.” This anecdote reminded me of the submissive and passive desired
stereotype of woman. Do men really like their women weak, thoughtless, and even
helpless? It often appears that woman are objectified in a dangerously literal
sense. Crimes against women are glamorized, which is a troubling consequence of
the intensity of the male body image today.
Blair, I think you touched on some very important points. We are continuously telling and teaching boys and men to be tough and violent, but if they out step the boundaries by the slightest bit, they can get in serious trouble. We hold boys to this harsh double standard that is extremely hard confine too. It is interesting to see this in boy’s sports. On the field, court, and ice boys are taught to be dominant and aggressive, whereas if girls play in this same way, they are seen as a “dirty player”, which is looked upon as bad sportsmanship. But for guys, the more aggressive you are correlates to a higher skill level. However, if boys show any signs of aggression in the wrong setting they can get in a severe amount of trouble. That is why the double standard or the “double blind” is so hard to achieve without out being cast directly into either the gentleman or beast category.
ReplyDeleteMichael Murgo
ReplyDeleteI never really thought about the impact of sports behavior on behavior off the field. You're right; aggression is encouraged and even rewarded when playing sports because it typically improves the player's performance. When athletes think about how to achieve success on the field, they of often translate these means to their every day lives off the field to achieve success, resulting in aggressive behavior in all aspects of their lives. When I played basketball, I was known as the "gentle giant" because my mother had always taught me to be gentle and respectful to those around me. When my dad told me one day after a game that I couldn't play video games because I wasn't aggressive enough, I decided that I would rather be gentle than aggressive and told him that I was quitting basketball. Of course, as I grew up, I realized that it wasn't a binary (you didn't have to choose one or the other) and that it's all about knowing when to be what and balancing them. I feel as though the men who are very aggressive in all aspects of their lives may have not realized this yet.
As Blair poses the question of whether or not men really do like their women helpless and thoughtless, I started to think about the stereotypical relationship of a football player and cheerleader that is portrayed in countless movies. The football star is a strong and aggressive male that usually has social skills that are limited to strictly talking about football. The cheerleader is an attractive female who tends to have weak academic skills and an "air-head" personality. What I find ironic though is that in many movies where this football, cheerleader relationship exists, it usually ends up with either the football star or cheerleader discovering love with the "gentle" and "harmless" nerd of the school. To the public eye, this sends a confusing message that furthers the double bind of being a gentleman or a beast.
ReplyDeleteby Jenn Hyslip
DeleteJohn Gallagher
ReplyDeleteI like how Blair talked about athletics and how players are rewarded. Recently I have been following the murder trial of George Huguely who is a former lacrosse player at UVA, currently a day away from his sentencing. What he did was awful, sad, and wrong. However following the murder, so much of the media's attention was on the fact that he played lacrosse, and it was the aggression from that that led him to kill his girlfriend. This article was interesting to read and relate to this unfolding story regarding Huguely. So again, it is something to think about when you look at the rewards and scholarships that are given out to kids who are simply tougher and more aggressive than others.
I'm happy that Blair pointed out how athletes are rewarded. i always felt in high school and sometimes here that athletes can get away with anything, especially male athletes. It's weird how our society places them on a pedestal even when they aren't good or winning anything. This whole athlete discussion made me think about Kobe Bryant and his situation where he allegedly raped a fan. He has been proven innocent but people still have their beliefs otherwise. But I remember when the whole ordeal was taking place the comments that I heard from people who defended him. They totally placed the blame on the victim and made it seem that he was incapable of committing rape due to his athlete's status.
ReplyDelete