Today in class we talked about masculinity, and then we also addressed that the strongest emotion is love. One thing I never really thought much about was how males are always having to prove to everyone else how masculine they actually are. Everyday they are presented with situations that if they say something wrong, or act sensitive could end in them being teased, or thought less of than before. In certain cultures, the boys have a "right of passage" ceremony to become men, whether it be killing something or having to complete a mission to prove how masculine they are. What happens if part of what makes these men so manly is stripped from them?
Concussions are a huge issue now in football, with this year being the roughest season so far, with so many people getting injured. I remember one guy in class saying that he knew someone who got a concussion, and it was so bad that he can't play football now. Football was a huge part of this guy, as well as many other men out there... so what happens when an injury takes them out of such a big aspect of their life, and masculinity? This brings me to another point; men tend to avoid going to the doctor. Because men do this, they have a shorter life expectancy than women do. Men know that if they get injured, it could cost them their athletic career, so why go to the doctor? Men who have to go to the doctor seem to be somewhat looked down upon....they aren't tough enough to handle being injured and pulling throughout. When I think about it, I realize how true it is. My dad has gotten badly injured before, and didn't complain about it, and just kept on working. Later on, he bandaged up his leg, where he got cut, and that was that.
After talking about masculinity for a while, the topic was switched to what is the powerful emotion? At first I thought it was anger... which others did too, but it also makes sense that Love is the most powerful emotion. And how love can trigger many other emotions, including anger. We see all the time how women show their love, to their friends, their family, and companion, but it is much different than with men. Men are taught not to show most of their emotions as kids, and so as adults they don't, especially love. They must pretend not to show that they can love, because showing love is more of a feminine attribute....and men can't be seen with having feminine attributes.
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