The Main Factors of Masculinity - Essay Example

The main point is that men have been forced, in the past at least, to conform to a very limiting stereotype and they have been ridiculed if they dare to step outside of this narrow concept. By defining the word with a perspective of looking back in time, I would hope to encourage people to think about a different approach for the present and the future. Robert Jensen’s technical definition of masculinity is certain psychological or social traits that inherently come with being biologically male and he summarizes this in a more informal form with the phrase the tough guy.

The negative aspects of this definition are quite clear to Jensen, and he describes the “toxic” effects which prevailing ideas of masculinity have on men today. Jensen stresses the cultural values attached to gender divisions and advises that we do not need the extremes of masculinity and femininity any more, and we should concentrate instead on humanity, which can be shared by people of any gender. I think this is quite unrealistic and that masculinity as a concept is likely to last for a very long time.

Rather than banning the use of the term, I would rather see it transformed with new and more positive meanings.