History Of Sexuality

“Now. Which is [a] young man supposed to be: an animal or a gentleman?” (Bordo 150) Susan Bordo poses a very compelling age-old question, with no correct answer. There are many instructions on how much of a role masculinity should play with men, though many of them conflict. The following essay will discuss this unanswerable question through the analysis of societies expectations on how men should “be” in the world. It is safe to say that lately, women have attempted, somewhat successfully, to be seen as equal to men.

It is societies’ expectation that men are to “[Not to] hold back. Be a man. Be a wild thing.” (Bordo 150) This is seen through much of the media, advertisements especially, in which the man, who is more aggressive and macho, trumps the dorky sensitive male. Take The Breakfast Club as an example: The character of Emilio Estevez, the popular and the ideal boy, is completely overshadowed by the character of Judd Nelsen, the rebel. Nelson’s character is to show no emotion, and to evoke an air of mystery because he is to give nothing away of himself; one side the ideology of masculinity.

In terms of the way men are supposed to look, there are not many conflicting views. Men are to be rugged, masculine and never be labeled вЂ?cute’. Bordo describes one man who talked about his experience of being called cute. “He would have felt somewhat sexually diminished, being regarded (as he put it) as a вЂ?puppy dog rather than a Sean Connery.вЂ™Ð²Ð‚Ñœ (Bordo 148) It is important to understand the difference in when it is acceptable to call a man cute, and when it is not. This particular term is not a positive one when referring to a young bachelor, trying to be successful in his fortune 500 companies. However, when speaking of the family man, endearing terms such as вЂ?cute’ and вЂ?sensitive’ do not seem to be a problem, because that is what the media and society expects.

However, “the requirement that men behave like gentlemen orders them… to act in a contradictory