Friday, April 29, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Blog Post # 7 - "Chicano Men and Masculinity" [Revised]
After reading "Chicano Men and Masculinity" by Maxine Baca Zinn, I noticed that the Chicano's masculinity is all about being better than the woman. This is why machismo is brought up, where the man think he's is better than the woman. He is the head of the household and has control over everything which means he is the dominant one. I think this is how they prove their masculinity, by first having control of his family and wife. Maxine Baca Zinn says "the machismo concept constitutes a primary explanatory variable" (24). The family is like a hierarchy, the man being being first, the woman second, and the children below them. It can be seen as a man ruling, which is the same exact view machismo. If they wouldn't have control over this how would they be able to say "I am a real man."
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Blog # 5 - Internment Camps & Slavery
Can the experience of internment camps, discussed by Espiritu, be compared to slavery, as Marable presents it? Why or why not? If these are comparable, how did these two event impact/shape masculinity of these two groups of men?
I don't think the experience of internment camps can be compared to slavery. I say this because Asian and Black men had different experiences which resulted in being seen differently. Because of the internment camps Asian-Americans had lost everything, and when they had left the camp, they had to find a job in order to live. "Most men found work as janitors, gardeners, kitchen helpers, and handymen..."(Espiritu, 37). These jobs were seen done by women, so Asian men were seen as weak and fragile. Black men were slaves and had masters that had them do all the physical labor, while Black women were seen doing the housework. Manning Marable says "Black men were only a step above the animals--possessing awesome physical power but lacking in intellectual ability" (18). Black men were seen more masculine not because people said they were strong, but also because people actually saw them do the work. Asian men were seen doing things that don't require much strength which is why they were seen as a woman.
I don't think the experience of internment camps can be compared to slavery. I say this because Asian and Black men had different experiences which resulted in being seen differently. Because of the internment camps Asian-Americans had lost everything, and when they had left the camp, they had to find a job in order to live. "Most men found work as janitors, gardeners, kitchen helpers, and handymen..."(Espiritu, 37). These jobs were seen done by women, so Asian men were seen as weak and fragile. Black men were slaves and had masters that had them do all the physical labor, while Black women were seen doing the housework. Manning Marable says "Black men were only a step above the animals--possessing awesome physical power but lacking in intellectual ability" (18). Black men were seen more masculine not because people said they were strong, but also because people actually saw them do the work. Asian men were seen doing things that don't require much strength which is why they were seen as a woman.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Friday, April 1, 2011
Who's the Man?
The male in Theroux's "The Male Myth" and the Black male in Marable's "The Black Man: Searching Beyond Stereotypes" are equally masculine. Both men are told what to do. Marable's text mentions the Black male being a slave: "...the white man reluctantly looked to his Black slave to protect him and his property" (17). White men told the slaves what to do, and the slaves had to listen to them. It is something similar to what Theroux says: "The whole idea of manhood in America is pitiful, a little like having to wear an ill-fitting coat for one's entire life" (101). Men have to wear a "coat," and that coat is everything that society tells them to do. How their behavior should be and telling them to complete certain expectations of society, because if they don't, they won't be a normal man.
- Marable, Manning. "The Black Male: Searching Betond Stereotypes." Men's Lives. Ed. Michael S. Kimmel and Michael A. Messner. New York: Allyn & Bacon, 2001. 17-23. Print.
- Theroux, Paul. "The Male Myth." Across Cultures: A Reader for Writers. Ed. Sheena Gillespie and Robert Becker. New York: Pearson Longman, 2008. 101-105. Print.
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