Tough Guise 2

Many people think the very concept of “gender issues” is synonymous with “women’s issues.” Talk about why this is so. And discuss how this misconception makes it difficult for many men, and women, to understand the gendered nature of men’s lives.
By focusing the gender issue on a given group, the subordinate group is often the target of being helped while the dominant group which is men is the target of criticism. In most cases the underlying issues are uncovered as all men are often seen as the causes of all problems that women face. The effect of this approach is that women fail to acknowledge that everyone is a human being, and that men too are faced with similar problems as they do.
What is the difference between using the common term “violence against women” rather than the less commonly used “men’s violence against women”? And why is this difference significant?
Violence against women takes into totality that men are the main subjects or perpetrators of violence against women. It does not look at the perpetrators as being women or men but makes a generalization that women are the only people who face violence. However, in most cases it does not show the violence that women commit against women, which gives a false impression that all violence against women is by men. On the other hand, men’s violence against women brings specificity to the actions in place. It focuses the use of violence in the given cases to be committed by men.
What do you make of the increasing presence of overtly sexualized male bodies in advertising, posed in provocative, at times submissive, ways? Could this increased visibility of the male body as sexualized object – rather than as a powerful agent – be a response to shifting attitudes in the culture about masculinity?
The sexualization of the male bodies is used to show the positive aspects of masculinity.

The submissiveness of men shows that they are not entirely negatively masculine but also touches on the gracefulness that can be attached to masculinity. However, it is difficult to totally distinguish the objectification of male bodies as their bodies are only used and not their words.
Given that media glamorize violence (something those in the industry admit as a problem themselves), and assuming that this glamorization can lead males, in particular, to commit violent acts, why is it that so many more males exposed to the same imagery do not commit acts of violence? Does this suggest there’s something more than biology going on here?
Men exposed to violence in the movies identify the imagery as part of the masculine urge to defend the weak or to command respect. The men are also aware that the violence taking place in movie is made up of fantasy and thus they do not take it as the manner in which people should operate. The culture of violence is seen as dangerous. The thrill that men and boys get from the movies is that of witnessing their super heroes doing acts of courage, and often some toughness used to establish masculinity. The video gaming which involves games showing violence often is used for the competitive aspect that is part of men. At times the scenes of violence are part of the comedy that men fancy but it does not entirely lead them to acts of violence as they understand the real world in which they live and the consequences of using violence. However, the culture that one grows in influences behavior.