Commentary on Micheal Kimmel's: (Chapter 8) Masculinity as Homophobia Fear, Shame and Silence in the Construction of Gender Identity

While reading Micheal Kimmel's Masculinity as Homophobia Fear, Shame and Silence in the Construction of Gender Identity I found that Kimmel in a unique way while shining light on some of the traditional elements. Of course we are aware of the stereotypical "manly man" and how he is supposed to act. Kimmel mentions a few characteristics such as being an athlete, with a good physical build and a great deal of power. However, Kimmel goes even deeper into this show of masculinity and reveals the constant struggle of a man. The struggle to prove that he is no "sissy" and to cut all ties that could possibly relate him to that stigma.

Just today I was watching a television series called "The Game" that illustrated this very struggle. The series surrounds a group of professional athletes (football players) and their wives/girlfriends. In the episode I watched today one of the team members came out about his sexuality as a homosexual man and was immediately ridiculed by his teammates who feared that his sexual preference would reflect on them. Unfortunately this is how our society works and this is also a good point that Kimmel brought up; often men are so worried that their masculinity card will be cut up that they are willing to overlook important issues that come up and even more their true feelings on these issues. Society molded this type of man by severely limiting the amount of "acceptable" emotions that a man can show.