Proposal

Mark Wild

11/11/2012

English 1A

Proposal: The roles of gender in the united states are socially constructed through culture and not biological.

Ethos: After traveling from coast to coast Michael Kimmel interviewed many young men age 16 to twenty six and found similar ideologies of what they considered a role of a man to be.  Common themes emerged and from his research he concluded that men in the United States identify a mans role as one that was strong, emotionally distant, self sufficient and tolerant to suffering.  Through his investigation he was surprised to find that purpose to maintain the eidos of a man isn’t for the women, rather it is monitored and compared by other men to keep each other in line. “The Guy Code’ as Kimmel describes is a governing force run by generations of men that has concreted an expected role men play in this country.  Many men trust and follow their role models, it could be a baseball player to fictional solder, in the media in this culture it is always exaggerated depictions of a man’s man, the gender roles are consist. I claim that the role of gender in the United States is merely socially constructed by influences from advertising and culture and are not biological. There is no model on how we should live our lives; there is the influences around us that shape us for who we are.

Logos: In Michael Kimmel’s article “Bros Before Hoes” he concludes that there is an underlying influence from other men in the United States to maintain a specific role. These influences can come in many forms such as insults, mannerisms; ones own interest, and lifestyle. Interesting enough, all derive of these pressure derive from one incentive, to essentially take someone else’s manhood.  According to Kimmel, “Everything that is perceived as gay goes into what we might call the negative playbook of guyland. Avoid everything in it and you’ll be alright. Just make sure you walk, talk, and act in a different way from the gay stereotype: dress terribly; show no taste in art or music; show no emotions at all.”  In other words, don’t act in a way where people might perceive you as homosexual. It is apparent that this is socially constructed; the pressure from your peers is forcing you to adibe by their lifestyle. In a culture that prizes men to fit into the “eidos “ of a man, it is hard to identify into a lifestyle that is on the other side of the spectrum, like homosexuality. In turn crippling ones ability to stay true to themselves for fear of being rejecting and isolated from the community.

Pathos: This is abstract in its own manner,  as one considers the roles of gender as the norm in the US. It has been that way for generations, our parents and grandparents have abided by these roles without question. The government at times has reinforced these roles through wartime, ever so redefining what is a man, and for good reason. Though now we are living in a different time, a place in history where by the grace of technology and advanced communication we are now getting a glimpse of the age of individualism and through a troubled economy the burden of capitalism has forced both sex’s to be integrated into the working world. Now, in this time, in a world where 29% of household families are run be single parents we must redefine what it is to be female or male, or manly or unmanly. We have seen through countless propositions the pressure to unify homosexuals and recognize them for love, for marriage. I say enough with the pressure of gender roles, we are all born and develop differently. We need a country of people who are confident in themselves, for a better America. We need to break the  social pressures  that define a man or a woman, and instead give them the encouragement and love to develop into the person they have always wanted to be.

http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s1337.pdf