Topic 2.4 Masculinity
Danny’s friends are the Manhood Warriors, so to speak, are fighting to preserve the hegemonic masculinity.
And you know what? the warriors don’t even need to be there to protect, to intimidate, to put pressure… boys and men take them into account without even realizing it when they behave the way they do…
because the warriors already live in them.
As the American feminist theorist Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick sustains, homosocial relationships is a form of “male bonding”, which is characterized by homosocial desire and intimacy, as well as homosexual panic.
Homosocial desire refers to men turning their attention to other men, and homosexual panic refers to the fear of this attention gliding over into homosexual desire.
According to a research on coping mechanisms (how you deal with difficult situations), teen boys who feel insecure and who don’t know how to act in a balanced adult way, tend to quickly become violent and homophobic to “prove” they are strong and heterosexual.
In an attempt to emphasize heterosexuality, hatred of homosexuals and misogynist language and behaviors are developed.
If we want to balance this social inequality we have to disassemble the pyramid.
In societies that prioritize the male point of view, and that women are treated unjustly Feminism aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality.
And it besides working with women for their empowerment, engaging men is absolutely necessary to change things.
Lately, there have been increasing the number of national and international associations, foundations and different movements who works with men and boys to end violence against women and girls, promote gender equity, healthy relationships and a new vision of masculinity.
One good example is the global movement White Ribbon (whiteribbon.ca). If you check their site you’ll see that “Through education, awareness-raising, outreach, technical assistance, capacity building, and partnerships, White Ribbon’s programming challenges negative, outdated concepts of manhood and inspires men to understand and embrace the incredible potential they have to be a part of positive change”.
