Seminar Paper #8

Humanities 150
Seminar Paper #8
Due Tues March 15
Respond to one prompt from EACH GROUP below.

group 1:
Why is it important to identify the gender of the perpetrators of violence? How would gendering the discussion help contribute to reducing violence? What is the difference between saying “male violence” and “men’s violence”? What is the difference between using the common term “violence against women” rather than the less commonly used “men’s violence against women”? And why is this difference significant?

What are some of the potential effects on boys and men of trying to live up to our culture’s ideal of physical size and strength? Emotional effects? Health effects? What is the relationship between cultural ideals of male strength and steroid abuse? Why are guns sometimes referred to as “great equalizers”? How do individual and cultural notions of manhood contribute to boys’ and men’s gun ownership and usage?

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group 2:
Many feminists have argued that sexualizing violence makes the violence seem less threatening, and hence more acceptable. Cite and discuss an example from a Hollywood film (e.g. There’s Something About Mary, or Psycho) where a sexualized depiction of men’s violence against women helps to obscure the violent aspect.

The rugged individualist ideal – as represented by the Marlboro Man – plays a powerful ideological and political role in our society. How does the ubiquitous message that a “real man” makes it on his own influence contemporary political debates about such issues as homelessness, welfare, labor unions, crime, etc.?

What are some of the emotional and psychological reasons why boys and men are so much more likely than girls and women to act out violently? What are some of the emotional and psychological reasons why boys and men are so much less likely to seek help with emotional problems? What are the consequences of this reluctance? What is the connection between the traditional ideal of the “real man” and invulnerability?

What would it mean to have more diversified images of masculinity? What sorts of images work against the stereotypical image of the “real man”? What would their characteristics be? What are some examples of alternative masculinity prominent now in American pop culture? How are these images different from those of traditional masculinity? What are some examples, other than those in the film, of boys or men who show vulnerability, or who are not stereotypically “masculine,” and are respected for it?