I believe that the author of “Men Growing Up to Be Boys” is
correct about how the media is influencing men to lose many of their more
admirable qualities typically associated with masculinity. Men are thought of
as being strong, confident, and the future of society. But with today’s media,
this isn’t exactly true. I know from personal experience that men can sometimes
be bigger “babies” than women when it comes to certain things. Both my father
and my boyfriend turn into hopeless boys when they are sick and rely on others
to take care of them; they act like the world is ending. I feel like media
allows men to let other decide who they are.
As women are increasing autonomous, men feel as though they
are being less needed in today’s society, which isn’t true. In “Men Growing Up
to Be Boys”, Lakshmi Chaudhry states, “Women may still bear the greater burden
of domestic work, but American males today do more at home than their fathers,
and are happy doing it.” I believe that this statement is completely true. Think
about your mother at home and how much she does around the house and if not
her, your female housekeeper. But then look at your father and look how much he
does as well just doing different things than your mother. One gender shouldn’t
feel less important than the other, just as one gender shouldn’t feel more
powerful than the other. One day in this world, people will hopefully view male
and female as equal and equally taking on different roles.
In “ Why You Shouldn’t Have Children”, the author, Caitlin Moran
argues that motherhood might not actually be the most noble calling for women,
as it is usually portrayed in our society. Like many women, I want children one
day, but there are women out there that would rather do other things with their
life, and that is perfectly fine. Some women aren’t meant to have children and
would rather may travel the world or become some well-known doctor. Whatever their
reasoning may be women weren’t made to be baby makers. Women were made just like
men, to make their own decisions about their bodies, their lifestyles, and what
they plan on doing with their life.
I can relate to you Chelsea from your bit about how your boyfriend and dad turn into hopeless boys when they are sick. I’ve seen that first hand from my dad. When he gets sick he acts like my chihuahua. In need of constant attention. He’ll ask the same questions over and over. “Is my forehead hot?”, “Can you get this for me?”, “I’m sick!”, etc. Its really annoying how he turns into a big baby when he isn’t feeling well. When he isn’t like that though he is a pretty good example of what a typical man should be because he does get the job done outside the house. He knows a lot about carpentry, plumbing, electric, mechanics, car stuff, you name it. If it wasn’t for him I would be a perfectly prime example of what men my age are like nowadays because I do have some of those skills that I learned from him. Chaundhry said todays masculinity is a Peter Pan version of the old days. My grandfathers age. I definitely did not want to grow up and have to learn and do difficult things. To sacrifice and be a man. I resisted for a while like she said. I do agree with her that the media is to blame for a lot of it. The ads we see on TV really do try take advantage of our insecurities and exploit them for their profit.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you saying that women are just like men. That they are free to make their own choices about their bodies and lifestyles. As much as that is true it’s unfortunate how there is so much pressure on women to “become complete” by having kids when really there is no logical reason for EVERY women to have kids. Thats excessive I think. I agree with Moran that while becoming a mother can be an incredible and eye opening experience, It doesn’t mean that not becoming a mother will limit her life experiences.