The Mask You Live In

This documentary was extremely eye opening. I did not realize that men went through the struggle that women went through when it came to identity. I can now see clearly the pressure that men go through just like women do to fit into and please society. The cultural and societal expectations and views of men are somewhat horrifying. They are taught through the media and through male model figures that masculinity means power and not showing emotion and battling through. We are conditioning men in our society to live up to a stereotype that we don’t actually appreciate or in a lot of ways value.

            

From the beginning, from a very early age boys are told to be tough. They are told not to cry and that fighting is okay is you’re showing dominance or winning power or respect. This can then lead to more aggressive behaviors. From men’s aggression that is often conditioned from a very young age can come drug use and sexual violence and delinquency and school dropouts and many other problems. It was alarming to hear and read some of the statistics for boys and men in the country right now. The amount of violence, the amount of drug use, the amount of rape or sexual aggression, the amount of fights, the list is staggering. It is crazy to think that one of the main reasons for this type of behavior is because we teach that a boy needs to be tough, he needs to be dominant. He needs to be masculine and not show sensitivity or weakness.  

      

There is so much that needs to change. That change can start in the home. If it can’t be found in the home it can start in the schools or on sports teams if we can educate others and ourselves about the issue. We as parents or teachers and educators or coaches or just individuals trying to set a standard, we can try to take away the societal pressure that is placed on boys and men. Just like we can with women. In order for something to actually happen, we have to stop reinforcing what is seen on television or in the movies. We need to let men show emotions. We need to encourage them to be emotional and sensitive and not bottle up all their pain and anger and sadness. We need to make men, and all individuals feel whole. We need to make them feel valued and as complete human beings. The research shows that the current behaviors and actions of men are not as positive as we would like them to be. It is going to take conscious effort to better the behaviors and actions of individuals who feel an immense amount of pressure to preform and impress because of ambiguous, yet very clear pressure and stereotypes.