“Be a man!”, they say, but what does it mean to be a man? Society teaches males to suppress their emotions instead of expressing them. Being a man states that males should be strong physically and emotionally. Men are often sought out to be leaders, they are often seen as a strong “masculine” human being who before were regarded as the powerful ones. Paul Theroux regarded being a man as what he despises. Why? Because according to him, it is where a set of rules and standards are put up in front of you to follow. It doesn’t matter what you want as long as you follow those set of standards created by society. Only then, people will consider you as a man. According to Paul Theroux, “The whole idea of manhood in America is pitiful-in my opinion.”. He defined it as a hideous and crippling lie, that not only insists on difference and connives at superiority, it is also by its very nature destructive-emotionally and socially harmful.
Although many have said the same answers as to what Paul Theroux said, we will look on the other sides of being a man, may it be negative or positive. This concept papers’ main objective is to prove that men are not only defined by mere standards created by society but, men are also unique human beings who suffer and feel the same hardships as women do. Because at the end of the day, we all have problems. And the degree of every problem is not an excuse to change the unreasonable and unequal mindset of society.
The main purpose or idea of this paper is to end toxic masculinity or to change the usual perspective of people of how they think about being a man. We had interviewed some “men,” and asked them the same question which is obviously: “what is being a man?” According to our interviewees, they stated the definition of being a man is a broad topic, for the idea is subjective to each person. But when asked to define being a man in their perspective, it’s about how a man acts with maturity, one that is defined as a man acting with a reason for every action he does and can justify why his judgment and reasoning is the way it is. Another interviewee stated that being a man is not how society depicts men: Men should be a man of their words. Someone that has a variety of emotions and isn’t scared to show these emotions, because if a man is just how society depicts it, it would be as if we were talking to statues.
Men should be physically, mentally, and emotionally strong. Being a man shouldn’t be told how to act, especially when society is responsible for it. Responsible for telling men how to act. In this time of age, millennials have changed the depiction of men and have broken society’s chains. Examples of these are the choice of clothing. What we wear is our choice, garments should not have a gender affixed to them in the first place. If you feel comfortable and confident in that type of clothing, go for it. Challenge your settled ideas about gender roles. Stereotypes are the views of the shallow-minded. Second, emotional stability and capacity should be strong. This is one of the most toxic stereotypical descriptions of what men should be. Everyone can be emotionally weak, despite gender. Being a man does not define high emotional stability.
To sum it all up, we encourage to end the toxic masculinity or any gender issues that violates everyone’s freedom to be whatever they want to be. What we need to remember is that everyone can be whatever they want, it’s their choice. Society is what keeps our true selves hidden, it lets fear cover us from judgment. Gender roles should be abolished, for the next generations will still learn the genders the stereotypical way. We want society to realize that our gender is not something that will hinder us to do what makes us happy. It doesn’t matter if you’re a man or a woman, that is just a label. It’s still the same if we’re either of the two; we still breathe, run, eat, work, etc. If you’re a man then okay, men should not follow standards created by society but rather do what makes them happy.
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by: 11-HUMSS
- Santos, Princess Aimee F.
- Santos, Julia Louise
DEPICTION OF MEN 