The focus of my term paper rests on a very contemporary idea regarding the transformation of the status of men in this new super-sonic era. We all have by now been well acquainted with a term called the “metro-sexual man.” The traditional norms of masculinity were essentially avoidance of feminity, restrictions, pursuit of status and achievement, self-reliance, strength, aggression and homophobia. But recent statistics dated over the last few decades show that the pursuit of achievement and status is not as important to men as it used to be. Men these days don’t really show any restriction of emotions or disconnection of sex from intimacy as they used to do earlier. Infact the transformation is so intense that they no longer find sexual freedom universally enthralling. The most significant shift in this context is the fact that there is a lot lesser avoidance of feminity among men. In this new age we encounter the emergence of a new species of men who have very happily embraced those customs and attitude that were once taken to be the territory of women. The idea referring to “masculine” has seen a considerable shift and as a result modern concept of how a man should be, how he should dress, how he should carry himself or behave completely differs from the ideal man of the previous eras.
This new man, the “metrosexual man” is a heterosexual individual with a strong concern for his looks and appearance. He is typically, fashionable and generally urban. At times he may also display many of the lifestyles and tendencies of stereotypical gay-men. With the advent of the new era women did a lot of things that were previously considered to be more men like and a lot styles and behaviors that are now considered feminine were in the past a part of the men’s domain. Hence, it appears so that as the concept of femininity conquered more territory, masculinity became more restricted. Perhaps “metrosexuality” is a reaction against this shift, as some men feel too confined within their traditional gender roles.
The Essay on Silence And Men And Women
Men Fear Women, and Other Generalizations Kruegers article, Women Readers and the Politics of Gender in Le Roman de Silence, focuses on several different interpretations of the romances intentions towards presenting the role of women. No conclusions are formed as to whether or not the author of Silence, Heldris, is being misogynistic or proto-feminist. Krueger points out that this question of ...
This recent and almost weird change is the result of some change in the attitude of the very society in the wat they view the men. The differing point of view in the visual culture of society as a whole is probably influenced by the sudden rise of ecrtain images of men whoich are by nature different from the earlier versions of the traditional and hegemonic masculinity. Though these alternate images seem quite radical, they are celebrated by the popular media as novel images of a loving father, a sensitive spouse, an adorable husband. This point that I made, I am sure everyone will be supporting it. I would rather accentuate on this point to establish my point of view. I choose to take up cinema, the most popular form of mass media as the most integral text for my research regarding this evolution in the notion of “masculinity”. Since according to my opinion Hindi cinema is the medium that makes this shift the most evident.
With the advent of the new-age bollywood films somewhat starting with Yash Chopra’s “Dil to Pagal Hai (1997) and Karan Johar’s “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998)” the audience of the Indian subcontinent have encountered a completely different blend of the masculine protagonist in the films-“ The metrosexual hero!” The caring, sensitive, ultra-well groomed man of the nineties is completely opposite to the ‘angry young man’ notion of the seventies. The specific masculinity of Saif Ali Khan in “Salaam Namaste” or Shah Rukh Khan in “Calte Chalte” is nowhere in any relation to the characteristic masculinity of Amitabh Bachchan as ‘Vijay’ in “Zanjeer” or “Mard”.
Once upon a time and thereon very long time the Bollywood hero had a square jaw, a mood with some great gravity and a glinty gaze. But that has changed. The new generation of bollywood’s young, leading men are softer of cheeks, have limpid stares and quite a happy-go-lucky air about themselves. When Shah Rukh Khan began strolling in as the sensitive, good-looking, free-spirited, party making, soft natured young dandy in “Dilmale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge”, he essentially became a new crop of leading men who started remaking the central casting image of what a male film star should look like. The new hero is less the Amitabh Bachchan in “Mard” or Dharmendra in “Aankhen” and more a Hrithik Rosahn in “Kaho Naa Pyar Hai” or a Shah Rukh Khan in “Chalte Chalte”. The casting directors and the movie executives are of the view that this shift has taken place during the last decade. Young men who look and seem very different have replaced the earlier generation of the action heroes, more responsible and principled by nature as the characters they portrayed on screen.
The Term Paper on To What Extent Do Sport And Leisure Reinforce Traditional Images Of Masculinity
To what extent do sport and leisure reinforce traditional images of masculinity? Sport and leisure are two strong factors that influence traditional images of masculinity. This reinforcement can obviously be seen by taking a look at common peoples lifestyles. For example leisure time is the time that people like the most and therefore everything happening during the times of leisure gets credit. ...
I say they are different because all these man and the characters they portray on screen are more encircling on their dresses, their accessories, artifacts and sexual body rather than the actual masculine space of power, authority and identity. The circulation of this well-groomed man ensures the creation of a notion of new age trendy masculinity that the masses of this age very easily tend to link with. What comes into focus then at an undercurrent level is that these images are sort of a break from the traditional representation of men in patriarchy. In “Mard” very catch line that goes in sync with the protagonist is that ‘…mard ko dard nehi hota!’ In contrary a song sequence of the film “Kal Ho Na Ho” shows the male protagonist at a beauty parlor being pedicured, manicured while he sings ‘….dhyan ab apna zyada rakhta hoon, sochta hoon main kasisa lagta hoon, aina ho to dekh leta hoon, kaise yeh chehra aisa khila hain!’ This stylized representation of the new man is a rhetorical gesture that constructs the new man as monolithic. He is comical, takes the initiative in domestic chores, even applies a soothing balm to the aching forehead of his stressed out wife.
At this juncture, now after that much of discussion the questions that seem evident are,
• What is this change in dress code and behavioral pattern of the metrosexual hero actually doing?
The Essay on The Biosocial Differences Between Middle Aged Men And Women
The Biosocial Differences between Middle Aged Men and Women Middle adulthood is believed to be a period of transition and change. People experience changes physically, as the functioning of most systems slows down. People experience transition emotionally, trying to decide what to do with their lives. How they handle these changes is influenced by gender, genetic predisposition, their families and ...
• Is it changing the very definition of “man” and “maleness”?
• The way they perform on screen and their body language (the new age hero is even more nagging, and as emotional as to cry quite often)- does it create a new notion of gender?
• Is the onscreen and of screen presence of these new age heroes create a new identity?
• And finally is this in any way an emancipation of feminity in this new era?
• Are the seeds of traditional patriarchy still hidden in the psyche of this metrosexual man?
According to the views of some of the respondents whom I interviewed for the content of my paper, the evolving style of the Bollywood leading man reflect a more feminized Indian society. Men these days, the4 metrosexual heroes wear shirts with floral prints, color their hair, and most importantly they are quite prone to succumb to an emotional breakdown and even cry at times of distress completely disgracing the traditional norms of their gender roles. The rise of the metrosexual male may be due to the strategy to appropriate the feminist demand for fluid gender roles without threatening the structure of everyday relationships that the new age feminist demands poses. Wearing one’s attitude on one’s sleeves is a kind of de-materialization of actual social relationships that the men and women of today inhabit.
Then the significant point that I feel needs to be accentuated is “gender role”.
A person’s gender role is composed of several elements and can be expressed through clothing, behavior, and choice of work, personal relationships and other factors. These elements are not concrete and have evolved through time. Like women have started wearing trousers and men have started going for trendy haircuts and fashion salons. In a country like ours, for ages gender roles were traditionally divided into strictly feminine and masculine gender roles. But these roles have diversified today to quite an extent making completely new male and female gender roles acceptable. One example is the “sensitive new age guy”, which could be described as a traditional male gender role with a more typically “female” empathy and associated emotional responses. Simultaneously, the traditional feminine gender roles have become less relevant and hollower in the contemporary Indian society. For example, the cliché that women do not follow a career is obsolete in the contemporary India today. On the other hand, in the media there are attempts to portray women who adopt an extremely classical role as a subculture. Women have taken upon many roles that were traditionally reserved for men. They have even nurtured behaviors and fashions, which may cause pressure on many men to be more masculine and thus confined within an even smaller gender role, while other men react against this pressure. For example, men’s fashions have become more restrictive than in other eras, while women’s fashions have become broader. Men these days have started growing their hair to a considerable length mimicking the popular Bollywood icon like John Abraham and women have begun to cut their hair to lengths previously considered appropriate only for men, like Barkha Dutt has.
The Essay on A Womans Role In Society Is Primarily That Of A Wife And Mother Do You Agree
A womans role is primarily that of a wife and a mother do you agree? The big debate about a womans role, and place in the society has been going on for a long time, and is still continuing. Women have been fighting to be able to stand on the same podium as men for over decades of years. However, I do agree with the given statement that the primary role of women in the society is to be a wife and a ...
Further in many cases, the elements of convention or tradition seem to play a dominant role even in deciding which occupations fit in with which gender roles. For example, in India, physicians have traditionally been men, and the few people who defied that expectation received a special job description: like a “woman doctor”. Similarly, there were terms like “woman lawyer”, “lady barber”, “male secretary,” etc. But in the recent years we have found salons specializing only with women. Men like Manish Malhotra and Sabyasachi has successfully entered the arena of fashion designing as leading figures in the world of beauty and fashion. Hence, what we see here is a complete and successful inversion of the accepted notions of gender roles. According to a lot of feminists, that traditional gender role is oppressive for women. They believe that the female gender role was constructed as an opposite to an ideal male role, and helps to perpetuate patriarchy. With a development in the societal conditions in the last few decades, changes ion the roles assigned to women has undergone a change. Numerous studies and statistics show that even though the situation for women has improved during the last century discrimination is still widespread: Women earn a smaller percentage of aggregate income than men, occupy lower-ranking job positions than men and do most of the housekeeping work. Then the question that seems to nag is that is men’s use of feminine accessories and makeup ensures that they have no biases regarding the domestic chores? Are they all supportive of taking care of the household and act caring in their everyday lives?
The Essay on Risks For The Relationship Women Men One Male
Who is more Fortunate? Are men or women more fortunate? Physically, men may be more fortunate; for men do not give birth, do not have to deal with periods and menopause, and do not spend a long time getting prepared each morning. But what is the answer if we just look at the temperament? In relationships, men are surely less fortunate than women: men often must take risks for the relationship; ...
The truth that we have to accept is the shift in the visual representation of masculinity is at the end of the day unable to influence the notion of women’s gender specific role. Washing clothes is still a women’s job irrespective of their class background. The traditional form of patriarchy used to confine women to the interior of the home. But within the new form of patriarchy as characterized by the metrosexual man, women are seen as active in public life, their emotions are given importance, their likes and dislikes are seeked for by their spouse (who even don’t mind dressing according to her will)…but still the interior of the home remains her domain. The transformation that has occurred is that this interior has become the space for her emotional fulfillment rather than a confinement as earlier. It is the space that celebrates her sexuality.
Hence, the concluding point that I want to make is that the new recasted gender role of both man and woman in this new age of metrosex is based on the complimentary nature of both the sexes. Apparently, it seems that this new order is representative of liberation. But no real reversal is encouraged in the framework!! This response regarding men and women’s relationship can be seen as a result of the dissatisfaction with the masculine self itself. To understand the complexity of male dominance the responses that the respondents I talk to was instrumental. The way they reacted and answered to the questions I asked revealed a subjective position for men in feminism. The male respondents made it evident that they had internalized the construction of masculinity as of the present age.
The Essay on Men And Masculinity Feelings Most Females
Men and Masculinity Why are men so sensitive when it comes to their masculinity This question came to me when I began reading the introduction of this section on sex. I believe that men are pushed into a social stereotype just like women are. They are told how to act, when to cry, and when to be tough from a very young age. These traits are not only bestowed upon them by their parents, but by ...
Survey in English
Question 1:
Age?
What do you do?
Your educational qualifications?
Question 2:
Will you call yourself a modern individual?
What do you understand by masculinity?
What is your consideration of yourself as a man?
What is ypur idea about feminism?
Where will you locate yourself in comparison to men prior to your generation?
Question 3:
Which form of mass media gets the most attention from you in a day?
a. newspaper b) magazine c) TV.
Why?
Do you read any men’s magazine? If yes which one?
Why do you prefer this?
Which recent movie did you like the most?
Do you feel akin to the male protagonists in these movies?
Which is your favorite male character?
The male figures that you see regularly in the mass media, like the actors or politicians, whom do you like the most? Who appeals to you?
Question 4:
What do you understand by the term “metrosexual”?
Will you consider yourself a metrosexual man?
What is your opinion about men’s beauty contests?
Do you think that the relationship between men and women have undergone a change within the paradigm of the family?
Which is more important to you- family, profession, or something else?
Bibliography
• Chopra, Radhika: “Encountering Masculinity: an enthnographer’s dilemma”, South Asiasn Masculinity: Context of Change, Sites of Continuity, ed. Radhika Chopra, Caroline Osella & Filippo Osella, Women Unlimited, New Delhi, 2004.
• Johar, karan states this in “ the private I series” written by Malavika Sangghvi, Times Life, A supplement ofg Sunday Times of India, 16 January 2005, Page 2.
• Hall, Stuart: “Cultural Studies and Its Theoretical Legacies”, Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism, ed. Vincent B.Leitch, Norton, New York, 2001.
• Tolson, Andrew: The Limit of Masculinity, Tavistock Publication, London, 1977, p 144.
• Ghosh, Sushmita: Reshaping Masculinity: A stylized Practice in Male Culture”, Thesis paper, Master of Philosophy, Women’s Studies, Jdavpur University, 2003-2005.
• Simpson, Mark. (July 22, 2002).
Meet the metrosexual. Salon. www. Google.com.
• Dr. Ronald F. Levant’s Masculinity Reconstructed.
