I watched the documentary, “Guyland: Where Boys Become Men” (2015), and it is clear to see how men have been trained to act through American media such as television and movies. According to the documentary, masculinities seemed to come from the men that came before them. Men who grew nuclear families, show bravery by going off to wars, holding the same job for 40 years, and retiring as successful men with wealth to their names.

With this, the film states that there are always 4 rules to live by as a man in order to get to this state. Rule 1 is no sissy shit. A man should be strong enough to control his emotions. Rule 2 is to be a big wheel. A man with lots of money means he has solidified his success, therefore, adding to his masculinity. Rule 3 is to be a sturdy oak. Men have to appear as if immovable objects when faced with conflict, especially in sports or the military. Lastly, is rule 4, which is to give ‘em hell. This rule states that men need to be ambitious risk-takers even when unnecessary. Ever seen the movie Jackass?

 As woman’s rights and sexuality progressed, these 4 rules started being used to extreme and unnecessary levels. The cause of the spread of these toxic masculinities was and is the media. This is where masculinities are reproduced. It grows the more content is created that resembles toxic traits of masculinity. This documentary focused mainly on hegemonic masculinities represented within the media. Lots of the examples came from movies. Before watching this documentary, I did not realize all of the examples of hegemonic masculinities in all these movies that I have adored for most of my life! One example they showed of the unacceptance of subordinate masculinities is from one of my all-time favorite TV shows, Friends. Ross Geller asks his friends if they have seen his “salmon-colored” shirt. In this scene, Ross is reluctant to use the word pink because he knows his friends would make fun of him for it. His sister, Monica, responds, “no, I haven’t seen your PINK shirt”.  Monica exposes Ross for wearing a pink shirt because she follows the hegemonic belief that pink is not a masculine color and if a guy were to wear it, they should be made fun of, even if it is salmon colored not pink.

This is an exemplification of hegemonic masculinity that coincides with the four rules the documentary discussed previously. Wearing a pink shirt would be considered sissy shit, therefore, it can not be tolerated by others. It is so important to recognize these flaws within the media we part take in every day, especially our favorites. We may be watching an inappropriate representation of a certain group of people and not realize it and even worse, we could bring these beliefs into our own lives. Therefore, this behavior would continue the strain of toxic hegemonic masculinities. For the sake of moving forward, we should recognize when we see this in the media in order to fix our behavior accordingly.

Works Cited:

• Giphy. “- Find & Share on Giphy.” GIPHY, GIPHY, 20 Jan. 2020, https://giphy.com/gifs/family-1950s-home-movies-3o7abssrxPf5iJwNos.
• Michael-Lazar. “Using ‘Preview.redd.it’ Instead of ‘I.redd.it’ · Issue #653 · Michael-Lazar/RTV.” GitHub, https://github.com/michael-lazar/rtv/issues/653.
• “Stream Classic Cinema, Indie Films and Top Documentaries.” Kanopy, https://www.kanopy.com/en/usask/video/144407.