Michael Kimmel wrote in his paper on “Masculinity” that, “institutions accomplish the creation of gender differences and the reproduction of gender order through several gendered processes.”(Kimmel 3). In this statement, Kimmel is explaining how institutions such as the workplace or schools have gender bias built into them which unintentionally assigns certain work positions to a specific gender, presumably male. As we saw in “Man Enough”, men are often expected to fit a specific mold. Whether it’s playing hard sports or achieving highly valued careers, in each case, men are contributing equally in maintaining what is known as the “man box”. With the expectation to conform, men often override their true feeling of “right” or “wrong” in order to feel included, or at least not excluded… The constant fear of feeling uncomfortable is what allows gender order and inequality to be so persistent.

In his conclusion, Kimmel uses the term “masculinities”, implying that there is no exact definition to qualify a man, and that as Don Zimmerman argued, “a person’s gender is not simply an aspect of what one is, but more fundamentally, it is something that one does”(Kimmel 5). Adding on to this, a man cannot be qualified by his gender, but rather by his actions. Kimmel used this term in order to broaden the idea of a man, and to help see stoicism as a simple trait, rather than a must. Relating back to the fourth episode of “man enough”, this quote seems to summarize the hope that all men at the table shared when their discussion was coming to an end. The fact that a simple discussion between a group of socialized men led to such a deep understanding of the issue can only bring  us hope. As Michael Kimmel said, “this opens up the unimaginable possibilities of social change.

Masculinity and difference of gender did not occurred suddenly. As Micheal Kimmel writes “Institutions accomplish the creation of gender difference and the reproduction of gender order through several gendered processes.” First of all, the gendered identity of individuals shaped the institutions gendered. Next, the gendered institutions create gendered normative standards which are major factors for gender inequality. Then, Institutions themselves reproduces gender relations between women and men and the gender order of hierarchy and power. At last, differences between women and men, such as disadvantage and advantage, exploitation and control, etc. become “natural” outcomes.

The same way as sexual abuse talked about in the fourth episode of “Man Enough.”, masculinity is the root of why women are disregarded or sexually assaulted. Society accomplish the creation of inequality and exploitation of women. The collective socialization of manhood encourages men to win wealth and women. And sex is like about the male predator going after the female prey, dominating her, having his way with her and taking advantage of her.

Fortunately, more and more people realized the problem between men and women, and with many researches on masculinity being released, people get aware of masculinities, and are trying to change the gendered situations. As Kimmel writes, “Understanding how we do masculinities, then, requires that we make visible the performative elements of identity, and also the audience for those performances. It also opens up the unimaginable possibilities of social change.” Also, in the fourth episode of “Man Enough.” both women and men are responding to sexual assaults and inequality of women. I believe women will eventually become fully human and win fully worthy of respect. I believe women are flying alone as strong as men in the near future.

There are many institutions that supports gender difference such as in the entertainment and art industry. In the meantime, there are also a lot of institutions that promotes gender order such as school and hospitals . In Michael Kimmel’s text, he mentioned “Institutions accomplish the creation of gender difference and the reproduction of gender order through several gendered processes.” (Kimmel 3) Based on this quote, Michael Kimmel means that institutions are imposing specific characteristics and expectations towards men and women. As an example, in the workplace, gender inequity has always been present. It has been years that politician has argue for women rights and equity. However, there are still many women who perform the same jobs as men, but they are still underpaid because of their gender. In Man enough, the group of men are all high status people. However, they have decided to make an episode on masculinity, and how to help women. “When everything blew up and the world started talking about it and people started finally listening to the women who had been, unfortunately, talking into an echo chamber for years, it made it a little easier to get some men together,” Baldoni explains.

As for “masculinities”, Michael Kimmel used this term to define many “definition” of masculinity based on the era, the culture, the expectations, the stage of life… Therefore, we can argue that masculinities is the right word to define men since everyone is unique. So, men’s definition of masculinity can differ based on different aspects. In Man enough episode 4, Lewis Howes which is an entrepreneur has shared that he has been physically abused when he was a child. However, he felt insecure to share it with his surroundings because he fears how his pairs will perceive him afterwards. But, when he finally did share his experience, he felt relieved and proud of his decision. This episode supports the idea described by Michael Kimmel which is “By pluralizing the term we acknowledge that masculinity means different things to different groups of people at different times.” (Kimmel 2)

In Michael Kimmel’s publication on the study of masculinity for the International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, he affirms his belief that institutions create gender differences. What Kimmel means by this statement is that employers in various institutions often expect behaviors that can gender the employee automatically as a man, such as not having family responsibilities and having single-minded devotion to their job. He goes on to mention the view of sociologist Joan Acker, who considers that this structuring of the workplace can leave room for inequality between men and women. This might explain why, in Man Enough Episode 4 – #MeToo, entrepreneur Karen Alston was pressured into being in a relationship with her boss in exchange for a promotion.     

Kimmel also comments that: “Understanding how we do masculinities […] opens up the unimaginable possibilities of social change.” He pluralizes masculinity because he believes that the variations of gender are so large across different cultures that we cannot speak of only one type of masculinity. He states that that gender ought to be viewed as a continuously changing aggregation of meanings and behaviors; therefore masculinities is more fitting. In the fourth episode of Man Enough, many of the men discuss that they live their masculinity differently. For instance, entrepreneur and former professional athlete Lewis Howes mentions how his behavior is often not seen as being masculine by those around him. He is an affectionate man who establishes physical contact with others and likes to give hugs. He recalls the time he put his hand on his friend’s shoulder, but was stopped and was told: ”Don’t be gay.” Additionally, it could be said that this whole episode displays a behavior that is often not attributed to manliness: sitting around a table and talking about your worries and life experiences!