Masculinity is a concept that varies from time to time. However, the true essence of what defines a male still remains. A "true man" is one who provides for his family, has the physical stature that society deems appropriate, and remains dominate over females. These traits do vary over time. Long ago, it was typical of a man to have a family. However, recently there are men that remain unmarried and do not have families. Therefore, the fact that they must provide remains unfulfilled. However, in their own homes their parents might place some expectations upon them. This could include helping his father, or if he does not have a father, helping his mother. In these cases the son is seen as the backbone of the family, next to the father. A son is expected to help his family as much as possible. As for those males that do not have families, they may be expected to have these qualities in them, although unused. In recent times this trait does seem untrue as women are also beginning to become dominating figures in society and it is not necessary for there to be a ‘man’ in the family. Another way for a man to provide for his family is to provide them with protection. Long ago there use to only be men in the army. They would go off to war to protect their country. Thus, in protecting the country they are protecting their families. This also ties in with men dominating over women. Although this is drastically changing in today’s time, it was very typical. In The Epic of Gilgamesh which was set long ago in the past, one of the ways that the protagonist Gilgamesh asserts power over the villagers by raping their women. By asserting power over the women he is able to show his masculinity. Although this does not happen as explicitly as then it still happens. In wars often times the soldier’s rape the women of the opposing country. They do this to show that they have in one way dominated over the other country, and to de-masculinize the enemy. By raping the women of the opposing country they are sending a message to the country that basically says ‘you are less masculine then us because you can’t even protect your women from us.’ This shows that by dominating over women a man’s masculinity is ‘heightened’. Moreover, countries are usually spoken about as if there are women. For example, Mother India, Mother Russia, and Mother Germany. When speaking about countries textbooks even tend to use the pronoun she. Thus, as soldiers are typically male, the males are protecting the female country. However, this is changing because an increasingly larger number of women are joining the military, and the police force; however it is still found in today’s media. For example, superhero movies are constantly portraying the image of a ‘damsel in distress’ who the man has to save. Some examples would include, Spiderman and Mary Jane, Superman and Lois Lane, Batman and Rachel Dawes. This view is further encouraged in George Orwell's 1984 by the dominate view of Big Brother. Big Brother is seen as an authoritative figure that is there to protect the society. This comforting and protective figure is a trait that society wants their men to portray, and they do so. Another trait that society seeks from their men is for them to be well-built. This is also shown in 1984. Winston is constantly complaining about his weak body. These traits are seen as not what a man is supposed to be like; in fact they are the exact opposite. It is no coincidence that Big Brother, who is seen as a man, is the leader, and not Winston. This view of masculinity is shown through every aspect of media that there is. For example, Gilgamesh is a strong and handsome man who goes around asserting his dominance. This can also be seen in today’s media. Men are shown has having the rock hard abs, the large muscles, and drastically killer good looks. Some examples would be Ryan Reynolds, Bradley Copper, and Vin Diesel. This is the ideal view of masculinity today. Personally, I believe that today’s view of masculinity comes from the old view. The strong man that is dominate today probably has to do with the fact that the presence of muscles proves that this man is capable of protecting his family/country, and can be a ‘protector’ of the women in his life. Although many aspects of masculinity have changed with the emergence of women as a dominate force, the basics still remain even in today’s society.
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