Lovers and Fighters | Section 22

Shawn Mendes, also known under the name of Shawn Peter Raul Mendes is a Canadian singer. He is born on August 8, 1998. Despite his age, he is a talented artist. In 2013, he started sharing cover videos on various platforms. After a couple of month, his reputation skyrockets. At first, he decided to share his videos to pursue his passion. But later on, he got the opportunity to built his career with a professional company.

According to Kilmartin and Smiler’s textbook The Masculine Self, “Masculinity is characterized by a willingness to take (physical) risks and become violent if necessary.” Shawn Mendes is a good counter example because he is friendly and passionate. He is a singer that pursue his passion based on his own interest. Additionally, he will consider his fans perspectives because they are the ones that supported him from the beginning of his career. In an interview, he mentioned that “My goal isn’t to become an artist, but it is to become what my fans want me to become”. Apart from that, his music genres and styles are leaning towards “soothing love songs”. He expresses his feelings through the lyrics and through his voice. He is the opposite of what Kilmartin and Smiler’s definition of masculinity.

Relating to both the documentary and the textbook, on 2018, Shawn Mendes was criticized by his feminine behaviour:

“Mendes denied gay rumours, but they kept coming. Now he’s discussed the impact they had on him; in a Rolling Stone profile he said speculation made him obsessively police his own behaviour (“maybe I am a little more feminine – but that’s the way it is”), and it exacerbated his own internalised homophobia. “In my heart I know that [being gay is] not a bad thing,” he says.”

This is an interesting insight because in contrary with the documentary, even though he was being criticized by the society, he didn’t let it ruin him. He accepted himself and he didn’t let the rumours affect himself. On the other hand, he is a perfect counter example because he is the opposite of what the textbook defined as masculinity. He doesn’t show any signs of aggressiveness or violence.

In conclusion, I don’t think that there are specific qualities to define or characterize what’s a man. Everyone is different and unique in their own way. Therefore, I think that society should let go of this social norms and expectations on men.

Reference:

Hall, Jake. “Shawn Mendes Has a Point – We Need to Stop Policing Male Femininity.” I, 28 Nov. 2018, i-d.vice.com/en_uk/article/gy7j5m/shawn-mendes-male-femininity-sexuality.

O’Flynn, Brian. “Claiming Shawn Mendes Is Queer Is an Own Goal for Gay Men | Brian O’Flynn.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 28 Nov. 2018, http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/28/shawn-mendes-gay-queer-feminine-sexuality.