Post 5

Recently, we have explored how socialization affects males and females and how something like gender can be so taken-for-granted. Our society tends to push people towards one end of the spectrum. Masculinity and femininity are factors of social construction. Our society pushes men to be "masculine", or strong, muscular, not sensitive, unemotional, and more. Boys feel pressured to fit this standard, so when they don't, much bigger problems occur. One of those problems being resorting to violence to prove masculinity. In class we read the article by Kimmel and Mahler, and this showed us that the main factor in shootings is gender, specifically men. We learned that when men feel that their masculinity is taken away from them, some resort to guns to prove their manliness. We also focused on femininity, and the pressures on girls from society. Through multiple videos in class including Killing us Softly, we explored how society pressures girls to be perfect-thin with long hair, flawless skin, bright eyes, and more, even though the women we see in ads are far from real. Ads use photoshop to enhance these models, making girls believe they must fit this idea, even though these photos are fake. As as result, women strive to fit this fake image of perfection, even though it's unattainable because it is not real. This is prevalent in my life whenever I watch tv or go to the mall. I see commercial after commercial and ad after ad advertising for hair products or skin products using a model that has been photoshopped. All in all, society puts unrealistic pressures on each gender, leading to consequences and problems that aren't worth it.