How comfortable are you with current views of masculinity and femininity?

Respond to two of your classmates posts within the same forum. Your response should be a thoughtful reflection on the individuals post and overview. It is expected that you will remain respectful and considerate. Opinions that differ from that of the poster should be accompanied by supporting facts. Your two response posts will average in to your class participation grade. These posts can be as simple as a 2-3 sentence response or more.
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classmate 1 AT:
1. How comfortable are you with current views of masculinity and femininity?

I think that the current ideas of masculinity and femininity are largely accurate for their respective populations of cismales and cisfemales; however, I just wonder why we even continue to reinforce these ideas. As a male who is more feminine than most, I just wish we could find what we would consider to be a good person and teach accordingly. Yes, we have to make sure that children have appropriate sex education for their biological sex and, later, sexuality, but I don’t see why we continue to reinforce ideas that women need to be more caring than men, when everyone would be better off as a caring individual.

2. Are you doing any thing to change current views of masculinity and femininity? Do you see or know of others trying? Is it working in our current society?

I am not participating in any large political opposition to our current concepts of masculinity/femininity, but I personally don’t always abide by what is considered appropriate behavior for men. I am more caring, more artistic, more nurturing. I like wearing nice clothes, and at parties, I sometimes toy with the line of gendered clothing, even though I identify as male. I think that gender expression and gender identity don’t need to be inextricably tied together. There are non-binary people who still present as traditionally masculine or feminine. It was revolutionary when Katherine Hepburn popularized “women’s menswear,” but I don’t think that women wearing pants should be the end-all-be-all of that.
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classmate 2 SH:
. How comfortable are you with current views of masculinity and femininity?

I feel like current views of what is means to be masculine and feminine are starting to break away from the traditional views that are typically place on girls and boys at a young age. For instance, women today are starting to go after the things they want such as a promotion and asking for a better raise. While on the other hand men are being encouraged to be more vulnerable and expressive when it comes to their emotions. I like seeing masculinity and femininity transition into become less associated with gender because it allows people to be comfortable with who they are and not have to constantly worry about what people would think. Separating masculinity and femininity from gender releases the limitation on how people can expressive themselves.

3. Talk with your parents and or grandparents or with people of other generations. Ask them what it meant to be a woman or a man when they were your age. How does that differ from yours.

After discussing with my parents the topic of what it was like to be a man and a women in their generation it gave me insight as to how their generation were not as outspoken and assertive as young people are today. For example, black men and women back then endure a lot of racial discrimination, which made it difficult to have the confidence to share one’s opinions. Meanwhile, in my generation we fight against others how try to silence our voices as well as maintain a certain level of self-assurance to continue to share our thoughts, whether others agree with them or not.
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classmate 3 AG:
1. How comfortable are you with current views of masculinity and femininity?

Prior to reading chapter 1, I was very confident in my understanding of masculinity and femininity. However, I now realize my knowledge is very limited on these topics. I’ve had the privilege to not have any problems with my identity and have not witnessed anybody close to me endure that difficult task. The idea of whats masculine and what’s feminine is not something I’ve thought about. Growing up, I was told what’s considered a boy toy and whats considered a girl toy and that has always made sense to me. To see the ideas I grew up on challenged is extremely intriguing to me. In the last decade or so, I’ve noticed older generations routinely criticize and call out younger rappers or athletes for the way they dress or act. These older folks would explain how the younger generation acts too feminine and use that as a means of insulting them. This definitely has made an impression in my views on the topic.

2. Are you doing any thing to change current views of masculinity and femininity? Do you see or know of others trying? Is it working in our current society?

The current climate in the nation shows there is a growing desire for change. Whether it be a need for prison reform, police violence or immigration, people have voiced their frustrations with the institutions in place at the moment. Gender equality is no exception, and part of this includes masculinity and femininity. I believe a big obstacle in overcoming gender inequality is knocking down stereotypes we have based on gender. This is something I’ve caught myself doing and tried to correct. Along with correcting myself, I’ve corrected friends of mine when I felt something they said was out line. Something little like that is definitely a start but I feel I still need to educate myself more on topics regarding masculinity and femininity.

Dear Classmate 1,

Your response to the question is insightful and shows that you have reflected on the question well. You present food for thought for your audience by asking the question, “why we even continue to reinforce these ideas” the question allows the reader to reflect on your views about the prevailing ideas of masculinity and femininity. I agree with your views about the need to change the current attitudes, such as gender roles that limit what women can achieve in society. You answered the first part of the second question, but your response could have been better if you focused on the three parts of the question. However, I find your reflection and answer to the first part of the question quite intriguing. You provide a strong stance on personal views about the need to change the prevailing views on masculinity and femininity, which is impressive.

Dear Classmate three,

You begin your response with an exciting background of your feelings about the current views of masculinity and femininity. I strongly agree with your reflective thinking that the chapter has changed your attitude towards the prevailing ideas of masculinity and femininity. The chapter has provided numerous lessons about the question, and I like the way you relate them with your personal experience. You begin your response to the second question with the need for change in the current climate in the nation, which I find impressive. Your response reveals the desire to be part of the change, such as attempts to correct others whenever they have a wrong view of the topic of masculinity and femininity. I find your response intriguingly insightful.