Masculinity,whateverymaleistaughttohaveatayoungage.

Manypeoplecanagree
thatfemaleshavethehardlife,butmanypeopledontthinkabouthowtoughthelifeofamale
canbe.Amongsociety,formanyyears,therehasbeenastereotypethatfemaleshavelittletono
advantages,whilemaleshavemany.Butnoonestopstothinkthatwhilewomendealwiththe
phraselikeagirl,mendealwiththephrase,beaman.Itispossiblethatbothfemalesand
maleshavestrugglesinlife.
Eventhoughwomenareoftenlookedatastheunderprivilegedgender,menalsohave
strugglesoftheirowngrowingup.Beingaadolescentinthebodyofamaleisverydifficultas
RebeccaWalkerhasdescribedinherbook,
PutDowntheGun
,ashersonstrugglestofitinin
hismiddleschool.Shesays...Iwouldhavetodevotetoensuringthatmysonstrueselfwould
notbeentirelysnuffedoutbytheculturalimperative.Inoursociety,manyofusaredevoured
intoitsexpectationsandwhatitwantsustothink.Asamother,Walkerhastodevoteherlifeto
makesurehersondoesnotchangewhoheisfortheotherslikings.Thisgoestoshowthateven
thoughwomenareoftenlookedastheoneswhochangethemselvesforsociety,menalsohaveto
meettheexpectationsothatwomenwilllikethem.AsPaulTherouxalsosays,Eventhe
expressionBeaman!strikesmeasinsultingandabusive.Itmeans:Bestupid,beunfeeling,
obedient,soldierlyandstopthinking.Societyismakingmenintorobotsratherthanseeingwhat
isdeepundertheskintheywearandfacialexpressiontheyshow,notbeingabletoshowthe
intereststhatexcitesthesoul.
Themalegenderisoftenexpectedtobetough,butthisisoftentakenasunfeeling,
immunetopain,feelingsandcompassion.Oftentimesthetermboyandmanhavetwo
differentconnotations.Boyislookedasweak,immature,andvulnerable,however,manis
lookedstrong,tough,andunsympathetic.AsGretelEhrlichexplainsin
AboutMen
,Itsnot
toughness,buttoughingitoutthatcounts.Inthiscase,Ehrlichshowsthewaymasculinityis
definedinsociety,whichinthiscaseisnotbeingtough,buthowthedifficultsituationsare
handledbythemale,defineswhotheyare.Iftheyarevulnerableorinvulnerable,strongorweak,
compassionateorunsympathetic,italldefinesthemasaperson,eventhoughitshouldnot.The
waysocietydefinesgendersisverycontradicting.Societysaystobeaman!,butifamaleis
insensitive,heisahorrifyingperson.Inotherwords,beingunabletopleasesociety.
Oftentimes,thestereotypelivesthatwomenarebetterthanmenatschool.Buthowtrue
canthisbe?Therearemanysmart,wellknownmenoutintheworld,veryfewwomenare
wellknown.Sowhatmakesthisstereotypelive?AsMarkBauerleinandSandraStotsky
say,Butboyspreferadventuretales,war,sports,andhistoricalfiction,whilegirlspreferstories
aboutpersonalandfantasy.Thisgoestoshowmanyofthetimes,whatboysareinterestedin
areoftenignoredornotchosen.Thismeansthemalegenderisnotengagedwiththereadingor
schoolwork.Manyofthetimes,thegenresthatgirlsareinterestedinarepickedratherthanthe
genresboyslike.Sincethiscontinuestohappen,manymalesarenotintriguedinschoolwhichis
anotherneglecttothemalegender.

Mendingthisproblemisnotaneasytask.Thewaysocietyviewsmasculinityislikea
woundthatisinfectedandwilltakeyearstoheal.However,smallstepscangoalongway,for
example,selectinggenresthatboysareinterestingintoimprovegrades.Ifteachersadded
interestinggenrestolearningmaterial,boyswouldbemuchmoreengagedinschool.Thiswould
helpnotonlyhelpwithbehavioralandgradeissues,butdisprovesocietysstereotypethatmen
arenotgoodintheeducationdepartment.Inaddition,wecanletmalesknowitsokaytoshow
emotion.Thiswaymanyboyswouldfeellesspressuredtobehaveacertainwayandliveupto
animpossibleexpectationthatsocietyhassetupoveryears.Theseatinystepsthatcangoalong
waytoprovethatsocietyiswrong,thatthereisstillhopetoclosethedeepincisionthatsociety
hascreatedinus.Byaddingsomething,anything,nomatterhowsmallinsize,canimprovethe
waysocietydefinesandhasbeendefiningmasculinity.
Sometime,inthenearfuture,wewillallrealizethetwistedwayssocietybrainwashesus
tobelievetheirwayisthecorrectway.Weneedtoallrealizethatweareallequalnomatterhow
muchsocietysugarcoatsitsthinking.Itisverynecessaryforpeopletorealizethatmenand
womenbothtrytoendeavorwhatsocietysetsinplace.Butbothgendershavestruggles,both
gendershaveexpectationsthatarealmostimpossibletofollow.Itshouldbetheresponsibilityof
theindividualtorealize,thatsocietysstandardsarebasedontheimpossible,becausenooneis
perfect.