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(Image may be scaled down and subject to copyright. Image from http://www.javno.com/)
or should an ideal man looked like this
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(Image from Wikipedia)
It seems so normal to us that a real man should have some muscle if not fully built. What's people's reaction to people with muscle, like skinny male body? I found this post (RingsWorld.com) online and the responses are something I expect people to react somehow. The reason I expect people to react that way is because that is how this Westernized culture has taught us. Being a man, you are supposed to have broader shoulder and chest; you are also supposed to have greater muscle mass. (Man, Wikipedia) I also find the definition in an online dictionary for the word, man. Here is one of the definitions for "man" - a man who has the qualities that people think a man should have, such as being brave, strong etc. (Longman Online Dictionary)
At this point, I have better understanding of why men's identities are the way it is. What about you?
Works Cited:
"Man." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 8 Apr. 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man>
"Really Skinny Guy." RingsWorld.com. 8 Apr. 2008 <http://board.ringsworld.com/really-skinny-guy-t14824.html>
Longman Online Dictionary. 8 Apr. 2008 <http://www.ldoceonline.com/>
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2 comments:
"Being a man, you are supposed to have broader shoulder and chest; you are also supposed to have greater muscle mass."
I liked how you pulled out the western concept of what a man looks like and labeled it as such: western. Do you think it's translating over to other cultures as well, dealing with patriarchy as a global institution and not as a western concept?
In your in class presentation, you spoke about how it made you think about patriarchy in your own experiences from a chinese background, can you speak more to how you began to reflect?
Men as representing strength, wisdom, intelligence, power and then having a "softer" side (when crying). Looking at the language of "softer" which is often refrenced as a femine quality, why do you think having a "soft" side is so frowned upon in society? Where can male-identified persons represent this aspect of themselves?
In Chinese culture, male is a dominant role in the household. Father holds absolute power in the family and mother is like an assistant to father. That's the kind of idea I have been taught since I was little.
After examining this concept and did the research for it, I start to think why can't father be a househusband, and why can't wife go out and make living? If the husband is really good at organizing and cleaning house, why can't he be the househusband? This concept is considered to be an awkward idea in Chinese culture.
The language of "softer" is one of the problems with U.S. society in my opinion. Majority of males don't know how to represent this aspect of themselves and problems start to get on surface.
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