Look at the results from Tuesday's survey on the traits of masculinity, which I also showed in class. How important are the top two responses, muscles and athletics/sports, for establishing masculinity? Should we be working to take into account other characteristics?
The results were very interesting. I would have thought that many more people would have chosen bravery or protector. Both muscles and athletics are things that many people associate with guys, I mean you rarely ever see a girl who is ripped and has big muscles with an interest in sports without also hearing the word dyke associated with her. It bothers me that we as an American society look at aggression as being manly. This could mean a few things. It could mean that people expect boys to be rowdy and that is what we are now calling aggression, or it could be that there is more abuse going on, or at least known of, and people are viewing that as aggression. If the latter is the case then we have some serious problems as a society.
The word "dyke" is considered very insulting, because it has traditionally been used as a slander for lesbian women. If a woman who is physically strong and has an interest in sports is immediately insulted because of that, isn't that a serious problem? It could potentially steer girls away from physical fitness and sports, which are really very healthy for them.
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