Dainty Masculinity: An Oxymoron
Testing the Fabric of Masculinity at the Expense of Women’s Safety
Masculinity is celebrated in every respect, shadows every other concept of being and dominates cultures across boarders. So why is it then that this concept is so inherently fragile? Anything short of Conan the Barbarian is brushed off as less than. But wait, according to heteronormative ideals, having long hair, parading in knee-high boots and a thong better suits the costumes of a bartender at Coyote Ugly. Well some might say, “But he can wear it because hes strong and manly!” Well yea but what constitutes manliness in the first place? By the looks of it, the only differentiating attribute between the characters in Coyote Ugly and Conan The Barbarian is the violence used.
It seems as though violence serves as a safety blanket to give the“okay” and confirm a “manly” action. Men can wear tutus so long as they’re butchering meat or tackling each other in a game of rugby. But stand alone with a tutu and you’re immediately crowned with any stigmatized term. Masculinity is not malleable unless violence is inserted within the action.
So why is violence and terror a normal mannerism for men? Why is it okay for men(especially men with stature and power) to behave as barbarians, and toward women to say the least? Our own POTUS embodies these characteristics which subsequently promotes fluid disrespect and bigoted rhetoric against women or any other individual that doesn’t fit the masculine mold. These passes we give men to act primitive are reinforcing standards of demoralizing women and further heightening the pedestal masculinity sits upon.
Moving forward, I want to analyze an incident that occurred already this year in January. An eighteen year old Hollywood local named Bethany Nava was legally riding the Red Line Metrorail with a ticket she paid for before she was confronted by a police officer. She was viciously ripped from her seat and aggressively yanked off the subway train for having disobeyed a subway rule — not law, but rule. Nava had her foot up on her seat yet was not inhibiting anyone from sitting in the seat next to her. She refused because there was no sign posted to authenticate his demand. When the officer’s power was undermined and his masculinity was threatened by a young female, he turned to violent measures and pulled her by the arm to get her off. What’s more is that another female named Selena Lechuga spoke out against the officer in an attempt to help the already terrified teenager and she was arrested as well.
We see in the video that the more and more the officer was told he was wrong in his actions by other bystanders, the more aggravated he got and more willing to flaunt his authority. This incident perfectly exemplifies Lucinda Joy Peach’s point that law enforcement identifies violence as a form of male power and a needed measure to demonstrate dominance in society. In “Is Gender Male? Law, Gender and Violence”, Peach points out that violence is gendered male and generations of men in power have only perpetuated this norm. Male judges, persecutors and judiciaries have failed to protect women and other victims of violence by men because laws (made by men for men) have failed to recognize women as actual victims of abuse and instead have painted them as pieces of furniture in a mans violent world.
So again, why is masculinity so protected by our modern laws and social constructs? Simple answer is that its too fragile to not have a bodyguard.
