Traditionally, masculinity was associated with tough tasks. That is shown in the history of fathers at home where women would stay at home taking care of children, men worked away from home in farms and industries. However, this has changed over time due to gender equality. This resulted in women working in jobs that were considered masculine. Although, masculinity is still present in different games such as hockey, that is only played by men. Due to its lack of written laws to make the sport safe, hockey is a rough sport resulting in concussions and mental conditions that force players to commit suicide.

           Hockey may be considered the modern means of presenting the traditional masculinity where men engage in rough and dangerous play. It has some unwritten laws regulating the game. The lack of defined rules exposes players to the risk of physical harm. The fifth estate (2010) confirms that the unwritten law, also referred to as “The Code”, is about pride, solidarity, and sportsmanship  by the biggest and toughest player whose focus and talent is not scoring, but protecting the teammates and revenging on the opponents. Hockey shows traditional masculinity. Like in the past where men engaged others to protect their families, the enforcer’s job is to protect his team’s star player and getting revenge on the opponents. The game has a strong association with masculinity. This, sadly, has lasting psychological, physical, and health issues on the players and their families.

           Concussions are one of the primary impacts of the hockey game on the players. During the fights, hockey players sustain head injuries that have lasting impacts on the players. In an investigation of concussions among hockey players, the CMAJ reported 559 concussions during regular-season games and approximately 1.8 concussions per 1000 player-hours. However, despite the apparent connection between the fights and head injuries, the NHL does not see the link. This continues to make the game leave lasting impacts on the players and their families. Jennifer Belak Liang explains that before committing suicide, her husband had shown signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative mental disease (Smart, & Ellenwood, 2019, November 23). Head injuries result in concussions and brain injuries that further results in mental conditions that are responsible for suicidal thoughts among hockey players.

        From statistics, suicide among hockey players is common. In their article, Virginia Smart and Lisa Ellenwood explore the suicide of Wade Belak’s, an NHL enforcer. Belak’s suicide was the third death in a row of tragic as well as sudden deaths of the NHL enforcers. The report shows that like most enforcers such as Steve Montador and Todd Ewen, Belak suffered multiple injuries to the head when fighting on ice (Smart, & Ellenwood, 2019, November 23). That resulted in the regenerative mental condition. Lack of care from the league makes players struggle with feelings of guilt as well as isolation. With their mental conditions, retired hockey players have minimal to do with their lives. They often feel like their time was wasted because, despite the commitment to keep their hockey career, the league does not care for them after retirement. Critically, masculinity associated with hockey game denies players the necessary care, exposing them to physical and mental dangers, aspects that contribute to their increased cases of suicide.  

References

Benson, B. W., Meeuwisse, W. H., Rizos, J., Kang, J., & Burke, C. J. (2011). A prospective study of concussions among National Hockey League players during regular season games: the NHL-NHLPA Concussion Program. CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l’Association medicale canadienne, 183(8), 905–911. https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.092190

“Pain, Agony and ‘Years of Duress’: How Hockey Wives Are Fighting Back over Players’ Chronic Brain Injuries | CBC News.” CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, 24 Nov. 2019, http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hockey-players-enforcers-brain-injuries-1.5370444.

“The Code – Episodes – The Fifth Estate.” CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/episodes/2009-2010/the-code.

During both sessions in the auditorium, I learned a lot of stuff. In the first session, I learned how Indegeneous people are getting their land taken away by the canadian government. The canadian government is using that land for oil sands. The usage of oil affects the indegenous way of hunting for their food. Climate change is severely affecting the Indegenoous community. These people are being confronted for guarding their loved ones, their land and their waters. There are some cases of Indegeneous women being murdered and some have gone missing.

During the second session, I learned the struggles Muslim women have to go through. With the Bill 21, banning all religious symbols for educators, judges, and civil servants and other professions, it has a big affect on Muslim women sense of belonging in the province of Quebec. Nadia Naqvi mentioned that when she was teaching some of her colleagues would say racial slurs behind her back. This shocked me a lot because those people are grown people and should know better. She was in her first year of teaching which is why she didn’t confront them. Another thing that shook me was when Nadia or Laity walk around in public, people tell them “go back to your country” and many more things. 

These two sessions relate to masculinity. For example, when men are born parents assume that their son will like playing sports. They need to be strong, be the main income of the family, they are not allowed to show their emotions, etc… For Muslim women, it is the same. People assume Muslims are “terrorists” and their bad people. But in reality they are not. As soon as their born, they are being stereotyped.

The person I interviewed is Michael Cachiotti. His best friend is Julian Pelligrino. He’s been friends with him since secondary 1. They are both 17

1)Why are you close to your friend? Be specific.

Michael is very close to his best friend because Julian is someone he trusts a lot. No matter what the situation is, Julian is always there for him. They don’t go to the same school but everytime they see each other, it’s like they’ve seen each other for a long time. Julian always makes Michael laugh which is why their bond is good. When Michaels uncle passed away, it was very hard for him because he was very close to him. Julian was the first person that Michael turned too.

2)What kind of things do you like to do together?

Michael and Julian spend a lot of time together. They like going to Mcdonalds to hangout, they play hockey together and they are in the same soccer team. In the summer, they play soccer together and after they go eat an ice cream. They spend a lot of time together just doing anything.

3)Have you ever told your friend how much he means to you? If so, what did you say and how did he react? If you have never told him how much he means to you, why not?

He’s never told Julian why he means so much to him because he has never thought of it. He told me that men don’t really talk about that stuff. Men keep their emotions to themselves. He also told me he doesn’t feel the need to tell him “Why he means so much to him”.

On page 3 of “Masculinity”,  Micheal Kimmel writes, “Institutions accomplish the creation of gender difference and the reproduction of gender order through several gendered processes.” he means that men are disproportionately represented in many institutions including law, in politics, in schools , and the economy. In politics, there are far fewer women than there are men. Also, there are jobs that women and men but the women are paid less because of their gender. However, Women have made great strides in increasing representation in many of these professions. In “Man Enough” men are expected to play sports or to be all tough. They are expected to be the main income of the family.

On page 4 of “Masculinity”, Michael Kimmel says,”Understanding how we do masculinities…opens up the unimaginable possibilities of social change.” Michael uses the word masculinities because since numerous gatherings in the public eye characterize masculinity in various ways, some characterize it as somebody who doesn’t communicate their feelings and battle them, who doesn’t need assistance from anyone.This person is more of an independent person. Many people characterize it as someone who has no disgrace in communicating feelings and demonstrating helplessness. This relates to “Man Enough” because every single person at the dinner table has different ways to define masculinity. This all depends on how they were brought up or where they came from.

While watching the documentary, there are two things that shocked me.For example, the documentary explored the relationship between masculinity and athletics. Excelling at and having an interest in sports is often assumed to be the default position of being a man in America. Many men, from the day they are born, are given baseballs and basketballs and the expectation of athleticism. I liked when Joe talks about the commonly accepted myth that sports builds character. He says that, “In a win-at-all-costs culture, it’s strictly about winning at the expense of character development.” Ehrmann made it clear that sports cannot teach character unless the coach is intentionally teaching and implementing it every day. Ehrmann teaches his boys empathy and integrity. He wants them to become men who will be responsible and change the world. I think that that’s what coaching should be about, but today, many coaches police their teams in unhealthy ways. Another example in the documentary is when Steven and his  son, Jackson. Steven really stepped up when he told Jackson’s mother that he would raise him on his own if she didn’t want to. Steven showed how he had to struggle with letting down his guard in order to express compassion and intimacy. These were things he was never shown by his own father. He had to break down his own barriers after Jackson said, “Daddy, I’m sensitive.” Steven then went on to research how to be “sensitive” in order to have a better relationship with his son.

In the Carlos Andres Gomez text, Carlos said that in the US, if you see two guys holding hands, it is considered gay. When he went to Zambia, holding hands is completly normal and is not considered to be gay. In two different countries, the same action could mean two different things. I think a lot of guys don’t open up on their sexuality because most of them get bullied as seen in the documentary.

The person who inspires me the most is Cristiano Ronaldo. He is a professional Portuguese soccer player. Ronaldo inspires me because he is not only a very talented player, he has donated a lot of his free time to helping others in need. For instance, in 2005 Cristiano Ronaldo met a tsunami survivor from Indonesia named Martunis. Ronaldo paid for his education by raising funds. He also donates blood regularly. Cristiano Ronaldo is a kind person who is generous with both time and money. I believe these are qualities a person must have to be considered inspirational. In conclusion, Ronaldo is someone we could all learn from.

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