This is a great example of anti-femininity
Day: February 5, 2020
Blog 3: Status and Achievement
Jim Carrey has been a comedian, actor, writer, and artist since the 1980s. He is 58 years old and still very active with his roles and works. He rose to fame in the 1990s and has remained popular ever since. He is well known for his many comedic movie roles (i.e. The Mask, 1994 and How the Grinch Stole Christmas, 2000). He defies the theme of status and achievement by not depending on his success in sports or his sexual conquests. Unlike several celebrities and actors who become famous by playing sports or being lucky with women, Jim Carrey made it to the top by being funny and genuine. He has earned the respect and admiration of all of his fans and everyone who has enjoyed his movies, all while staying true to his values and comedic acts.
Sources:
https://www.biography.com/actor/jim-carrey
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Carrey
Blog 3: Inexpressiveness and Independence
“Read stories of restless people who always end up alone and hate being alone because it’s always themselves they can’t stand being alone with…” (Aciman p.96) Men always have to prove others that they have the power to do everything alone, that they don’t never need anyone to help them, to encourage them, to love them… Elio in Call me by your name by André Aciman is always caught between the ideals of what a man should be and his own impulses on what he wants – to be loved and acknowledge by another person. Elio, while it may sometimes be hard for him, tries to never hides his feelings and dependence from Oliver; going in the direct opposite of what a European man in the 1980’s should be doing, acting and feeling. Throughout the story his dependence to Oliver grows stronger and stronger, but just as every good thing as its end, Oliver must go back to U.S. leaving Elio alone in the town where their wildest dreams became reality. In the movie version of this story directed by Luca Guadagnino, the story ends in the ultimate display of expressiveness, a long scene where Elio is shown crying by the fireplace. Crying because of the realisation that the relationship between him and Oliver was simply a summer dream come true. Expressing the sorrow of the loss of all the dependence and love he felt towards him trough his tears. Elio clearly defy the main idea itself of what it is to be independent and inexpressive where “men should be strong, sturdy, independent, and in control of themselves, even in the most difficult of situations”.
Blog 3: Anti-femininity
Karl Heinrich Ulrichs was the first gay man to advocate for gay rights. He did so during the mid-1800s in Germany. Ulrichs was attracted to clothing and activities traditionally deemed feminine from a young age (Karl Heinrich Ulrichs- Making Queer History, https://www.makingqueerhistory.com/articles/2018/3/13/karl-hinreich-ulrichs). In “Intro to Men’s Studies”, Christopher Kilmartin defines anti-femininity as the direct refusal to associate with tangible and intangible aspects of femininity such as clothing, emotions. The film “The Mask You Live In” suggests the idea that when men discriminate against gay people , they are in fact truly attacking women. Therefore, it can be argued, in my opinion that being an advocate for gay rights, especially when one is gay themselves, they are subverting anti-femininity. We live in a heteronormative society, meaning everyone is assumed to be straight. Therefore, the “default man” or the “traditional man” would certainly be, a straight man. In this regard, being a gay man is a subversion once again.
According to a study done by the University of Geneva, there is a positive correlation between feminine qualities in men and homophobia (The Feminization of Men Leads to an Increase in Homophobia, https://eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-01/udg-tfo012219.php). It is argued in this study that masculine traits were traditionally formed from being the opposites of feminine traits. Certain traits that are listed in the study as being seen as masculine are: a lack of emotional display, aggression, and homophobia. Homophobia is directly listed as a masculine trait. Professor Falomir of the University of Geneva said, “Homophobia is the alternative way of asserting [heterosexual men’s] masculinity. Thus, if, as they say, masculinity is seen as the opposite of femininity, then homosexuality, some might say the opposite of homophobia, could well be a trait considered part of femininity.
Blog 3: status and achievement
Ma Yun, also Jack Ma, is a Chinese business magnate and philanthropist. He is the co-founder and former executive chairman of Alibaba Group, a multinational technology conglomerate. As of January 2020, Ma is China’s richest man, with a net worth of $44.3 billion, as well as one of the wealthiest people in the world, ranked 20th by Bloomberg Billionaires Index and Forbes. He is considered as prominent business leader, and is frequently listed as one of the world’s most powerful people, with Forbes ranking him 21st on its “World’s Most Powerful People” list. He also serves as a role model for startup businesses.
While before he became a rich and successful business man, Ma was not so popular and grateful. It isn’t difficult to find Ma is not handsome at all, in some point of view he has a special appearance. And he experienced many obstacles. As Ma himself stated that he took four years to pass the Chinese entrance exams, he got rejected by Harvard Business School ten times, and he was even the only one job applicant who was rejected by KFC when there was twenty-four people went for job.
In my opinion, Jack Ma is a typical man who gain achievement and admiration by successful in his work. Now I believe people would hardly reject Jack Ma as a powerful billionaire. Just as Kilmartin intro to men studies said “men gain status by being successful in all that they do, especially in sports, work, and sexual ‘ conquest.’ Powerful men earn the respect and admiration of others.”
Bibliography
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Ma
blog 3: Adventurousness
The theme which was assigned to me was adventurousness. For this theme, I chose Olaf from the movie Frozen as he is known to be a funny and humorous character from the movie. He has a great adventurous side to him throughout the movie. He likes to have fun and is always in a positive move through any adventure that he goes through. At the beginning of the movie, when Elsa runs off into the hills, Anna meets Olaf in the snow. When she first meets him, she becomeS friends with him right away and he insists that he joins her and Kristophe on their journey to find her sister. Although Olaf is very adventurous, he also is a realistic thinking character which does not like to take too many uncalculated risks. This does not stop him, however, from always wanting to travel and join them on their quest.
I chose Olaf to represent adventurousness because he is a character which was placed in the movie to comfort Anna and Kristophe and to take them on an adventure. Without Olaf, the movie would fall flat and there would be no main plot.
Blog 3: In expressiveness and Independence
Thanos
According to the text Intro to Mens Studies, “men should be strong, sturdy, independent, and in control of themselves, even in the most difficult situations”. (Kilmartin 6) The first guy who comes into my mind following that statement is Thanos. For those who don’t know who Thanos is, he is a malicious man in the Avengers who succeeded to destroy half of the population with the snap of a finger, literally.
Going back to the text, it is also declared that, men should not show any symptoms of weakness and must act stubborn at all times. In the movie The Avengers: Endgame, Thanos physically felt weak after destroying everybody because he almost died. However, instead of taking charge of powerful acts with half the population, he moved far away to a different planet where he can be a nobody and not show that he is incapable of being who he anticipated to be.
It was also stated that, strength is another quality that makes a man, a man. Thanos attempted to show physical strength but fighting superheroes and stealing each infinity stone to destroy people. This being said, he fits the theme because he is the epidemy of strong and stubborn
Bibliography
Farokhmanesh, Megan. Avengers: Infinity War’s big bad Thanos is getting his own origin story. 2018. the verge. https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/16/17243794/avengers-infinity-wars-thanos-origin-story-marvel. Accessed 5 February 2020
Kilmartin, Christopher. “Defining Mens Studies”. Intro to Mens Studies. Accessed 5 February 2020
Blog 3: Status and Achievements
Karl Largerfeld was mostly known as the creative director of Chanel (A luxury company for high fashion and accessories). He is recognized because he was the one who made Chanel rise to fame and prestige once again after some difficult times for the company. He was also the creative director of Fendi (another luxurious brand) and he possessed his own label of clothing. His net worth was estimated to 300 million dollars and his salary was 50 million per year. Karl was admired and respected because of the sheer number of fashion creations that he invented in the 20th and 21th century.
On the other hand, he was suspected of being misogynistic and racism. He also made some fat shaming comments that showed a true lack of respect for women.
One of the comments he made was: ‘The thing at the moment is Adele. She is a little too fat, but she has a beautiful face and a divine voice.’ Another comment he made is that he was fed up with the me too movement and he said: “It’s unbelievable. If you don’t want your pants pulled about, don’t become a model! Join a nunnery, there’ll always be a place for you in the convent. They’re recruiting even!”
I think Karl Largerfeld fits the category of “Status and Achievement” because he had a great deal of power within the fashion industry and he got himself a title as one of the most renowned creative directors of the clothing and luxury world. If we measure his success with the money that he accumulated in his career I think we can say he is within the most successful people in the world. He is the classic example of a white man that makes a lot of money. In addition, the offensive comments he made about women could be an example of the feeling that women are inferior to men.
Sources:
https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-businessmen/richest-designers/karl-lagerfeld-net-worth/
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-47303921
https://www.lapresse.ca/vivre/mode/201902/20/01-5215449-lheritage-de-karl-lagerfeld.php
Blog 3: Antifeminity
a good example of antifeminity
Lovers and Fighters | Section 22 