Unit 2

Evolving Masculinity or Not??

In the starting of Unit 2, we are in the works of analyzing toxic masculinity. We are studying the articles “The Boys Are Not All Right.” by Michael Ian Black, “Not Your Father’s Masculinity.” by Matt Labash, and the documentary Tough Guise 2 by Jackson Katz. 

Jackson Katz, an American educator, film maker, and creator of a gender violence prevention and education program, brought up many important and urgent topics regarding toxic masculinity. Through years of observing and analyzing mass shootings, bullying, homophobia, and gun violence, Katz has been able to gather data and deeply analyze the reasoning for all this. 

One of the things Katz said in Tough Guise 2 is that should have a lasting effect on people is that there is a difference between being a man and using violence to prove you’re a man. A big part of toxic masculinity is believing that using violence is what a real man does. Take a fight for example. If two boys are fighting and one of them loses, more often than not, the boy that lost the fight will be called a wimp or get name called, while the other boy will get praised and told good job! There was a video clip in Tough Guise 2 where the dad told his son to hit him even though the son didn’t want to. He wanted to teach his son how to be tough. Then when the boy started learning from the dad how to fight and actually started punching, the dad said “good job son”. I see this with my brother and my dad all the time, especially with sports. My brother is very athletic but he is also very skinny and not so tough when it comes to getting hurt. Any time my brother cries my dad automatically tells him so suck it up and that he’s being a baby. Just like the father and son scene from the movie, my brother and my dad, this way of acting should not be normalized between father and son. This just adds to the toxic masculinity in our society.

 There was another scene from a movie shown in this documentary that was of two Native Americans and one of them was new to the tribe. The guy joining the tribe was very smiley and happy. The other guy already in the tribe told him that he has to look mean or people won't respect him. I believe that this is an instilled notion in America and it needs to change. 

Jackson Katz’s analysis of toxic masculinity and the reasoning behind it is very effective. He displays videos of newscasters talking about the wusifying of America, as well as the heart wrenching news reports of these mass school shootings. He shows real life statistics and examples of toxic masculinity. Then he explains how these incidents are so effective, unacceptable, and how boys actions in turn need to change. 

Michael Ian Black, an American comedian, actor, writer, and director, also wrote and discussed toxic masculinity. His op ed is about how boys express themselves and their emotions, but it’s also about how boys/men are trapped in this outdated model of masculinity and working toward change. Black’s Project aims to spark change in toxic masculinity with the use of real life examples and stating what we can do to make that change. 

I think a big point made in “The Boys Are Not All Right” op ed was “Boys, though, have been left behind. No commensurate movement has emerged to help them navigate towards a full expression of their gender. It’s no longer enough to ‘be a man’ - we no longer even know what that means.”  This is so true. I see women's empowerment and movements for women all the time on social media. Never do I see boys encouraging boys through movements. They just encourage one another through wrestling, sports, etc. Never for just expressing themselves and being boys. There was no movement to help boys navigate how to express themselves. In the future society could work away from toxic masculinity by using this as an idea. 

Another quote from this op ed that will stick with people is this “Too many boys are trapped in the same suffocating, outdated model of masculinity, where manhood is measured in strength, where there is no way to be vulnerable without being emasculated, where manliness is about having power over others. They are trapped, and they don't even have the language to talk about how they feel about being trapped, because the language that exists to discuss the full range of human emotion is still viewed as sensitive and feminine.” Everyone knows that the language someone uses greatly affects how we view that person, but in the case of boys expressing their emotions being feminine, that is not okay. It just adds to the case of toxic masculinity. Also, talk about an outdated model of masculinity! Toxic masculinity has been going on for forever! Think about the men in your life. You can see the chain. My dad instills these rules and traits in my brother, my grandpa instilled them in my dad, and so forth! Back in the day it was way more acceptable to call someone a faggot or a wus. Name calling and gay bashing is still happening today, just with different words. Now it’s “you’re so gay” or “pussy”. This is not okay. Instead of guys bringing down other guys, they need to empower each other. Then can move towards a less judgemental  and accepting society. 

Michael Ian Black does an awesome job of analyzing toxic masculinity effectively. He states the problem and then leads to the solution. Also he shows direct examples of toxic masculinity. For example he talks about how girls are encouraged and told they can do anything, so they outperform boys in school at every level. He stated that boys are always the ones involved in school shootings. 

I love how at the end of “The Boys Are Not All Right”, Black says “I would like men to use feminism as an inspiration, in the same way that feminists used the civil rights movement as theirs. I’m not advocating a quick fix. There isn’t one. But we have to start the conversation. Boys are broken, and I want to help.” 

Matt Labash, an American author and journalist, wrote about the topic of toxic masculinity in his article “Not Your Father’s Masculinity”. Matt Labash’s op ed is about how the concept of masculinity needs to change, but it is also about overcoming toxic masculinity and letting people from any gender be themselves without these societal rules. Through surveys and just being observant, Labash comprised reasoning and analysis for toxic masculinity. 

One of the things Labash talked about in “Not Your Fathers Masculinity” was #MeToo scandals. He said “But after years or #MeToo scandals, which have revealed weirdos and perverts and sex criminals, ‘toxic masculinity’ is now regarded as tautology in some quarters. In more than a few tellings today, just to be a man is to be toxic.” This says a lot in terms of actions of men and what is taught to them. 

Matt Labash brings up a survey that was done on masculinity. In GQ’s survey of attitudes on masculinity, 97 percent said they felt masculinity was changing, and 30 percent of men said that they were confused by the changes. What was really interesting was the fact that when men were asked what’s hard about being a man, they said, “having to listen to people who aren’t men or who are ashamed of manhood, constantly telling me how to be one.” As GQ said “They’re still living as men undefined by non men.” 

Matt Labash’s analysis of toxic masculinity and the reasoning behind it is very effective. He talks about other professionals and their take on the topic. For example he said “There’s a comedian Hannah Gadsby, who suggests men scale back their confidence, refrain from sharing their opinions, while looking ‘to traditional feminine traits’ and then ‘incorporating them into your masculinity.’” Traditional feminine traits is an interesting way of putting it. Whenever I hear traditional feminine traits I always think of a story my brother told me. After school one day, my brother was so shocked and amazed. There was a boy at his school who would always wear makeup and wear dresses. This boy wasn’t scared of what people thought of him. He expressed himself however he wanted and he overcame toxic masculinity at such a young age. No one bullied him or called him names. This story really makes me hopeful for the overcoming of toxic masculinity in our society. 

“Not Your Fathers Masculinity” ends with this quote by Mr. Abbey. “It’s the difference between men and women, not the sameness, that creates the tension and the delight.” Our diversity is our strength and as a society we need to work away from the toxicity of the norms for each gender and just be accepting of one another as humans.

Here is a link to a presentation about an Op-Doc called "Gorillas In The Crossfire". I made this presentation to analyze the analytical moves within this op-doc. Feel free to check it out!

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Al-i4_q-IZ21mIC12fQoC0q7qdsCe48-3vnghWGOSCg/edit#slide=id.p

From Poster Child to Protester 

The expose “From Poster Child to Protester” by Laura Hershey, a disability rights activist that suffered from muscular dystrophy, seems to be about fighting for the right for people with disabilities to be displayed as normal people on the telethon, but it’s also about showing the true reasoning behind the actions of the telethon. Laura Hershey tells her story of being a child on the telethon and her experiences in order to show that she’s knowledgeable and has the insight to know what goes down behind the scenes of the corrupt telethon. 

A lot of tension-filled moments were explained throughout this expose that aided the portrayal of the telethon. One that really stood out to me was Laura addressing the commentary after the protests. She said “The response to our protest has been interesting. Many people seem to resent our daring to object to these distortions, half truths, and stereotypes. I have been called “ungrateful,” “cruel,” and “insensitive” - simply for trying to encounter all this with the truth, with my truth. At the very least, I feel that the protest has enabled me and others to begin getting on record our own stories, in contrast to the misleading accounts that come from the telethon.” This is a very provocative, complicated moment because it shows the true feelings/tension between the protesters and the common public. Protesting in general creates a lot of tension especially with the telethon being a big deal in society. 

Another big tension filled moment was when Laura Hershey made the comparison between the MDA News Magazine and the Labor Day Telethon. She says “Does the organization fear exposing potential donors to the truths revealed so eloquently in its magazine? Does it foresee a decline in contributions if nondisabled people start to see people with disabilities as we really are? Is respect and awareness bad for the bottom line? Is raising consciousness incompatible with raising money?” There are a lot of complications between these two works of publications with their conflicting implications. From Laura’s perspective, the magazine has many articles about successful disabled individuals. It’s filled  with thoughtful writings in a realistic and respectful tone about children and their families. The magazine includes useful resources and true stories. On the other hand the Labor Day Telethon having little to no truthful language, using phrases like “victims” and “sufferers” to describe the disabled. Jerry Lewis’s telethon is just a bunch of pity work and it’s a big scam. Laura Hershey's description of the conflicting implications between these two publications really addresses the huge tension in society when it comes to people with disabilities and how to portray them. 

I can feel tension in my own life just reading Laura Hershey's take on everything. Everyone has a single story of a certain group of people. Laura talks about the danger of a single story towards people with disabilities. This makes me think back to my grandpa. One time my grandpa and I saw this person with disabilities in a store getting rolled around in a wheelchair.  When my grandpa and I were talking about it in the car I could tell he had a single story of them. He told me how he thought people with disabilities always need assistance and can't do things on their own. He thought they weren’t as capable as others just because they had motor and muscular problems. Laura, a former person who has muscular dystrophy, throughout the whole article talks about how people such as her accomplish so many things in life on their own, contrary to what many people that have a single story believe. Throughout this expose, Laura’s biggest example of the danger of a single story was the single story the Labor Day Telethon portrays on people with disabilities. Through the stories they show and the words they use, they make society have the same beliefs and single stories as them. This I believe, is the biggest danger of them all. The danger of people not being able to think for themselves with the biggest telethon around, telling them one and only one idea. 

This expose “From Poster Child to Protester” left me curious about so many ideas. Now I want to do lots of research on how money floods through telethons and where it all goes. I want to learn about the condition of muscular dystrophy and how it affects people. I’m also so curious about who gets chosen for these interviews and how they get chosen. Not only did this article make me inquisitive about all the ideas addressed but it also inspired me to make change in my own society and never just go along with one single story.

“Unacceptable Categorizing”

 “Either/Or” by Ariel Levy, an American writer, seems to be about Caster Semenya’s story and all the gender testing she went through throughout her track and field career, but it’s also about categorizing people by gender, our societal standards, and the sports industry. Ariel Levy shares Caster Semenya’s story and her hardship during track and field in order to remind people how controlled athletes' lives are and to show that it’s unacceptable to categorize people for their gender.

The idea of dangers of a single story circulates all throughout this article. It really shines through with the sports industry and even people who observe sports. The single story is believing the idea that men are always faster and more athletic than women. This pertains to Casters life specifically because the sports industry tries so hard to gender categorize, it runs on categorizing. The danger of this is people like Caster, that make it so that you can’t just easily categorize. Observers and fellow athletes  watching Caster had a single story of her. The single idea that she couldn’t be a woman because she was so fast. 

The International Association of Athletics Federations believes this single idea too. The staff in the I.A.A.F. were overly concerned with Casters gender and  the results her tests would show. They really hoped she could be subject to normality so they could place her with the men or the women.  “One such blog stated, ‘Caster Semenya is an interesting revelation because the 18 year old was born a hermaphrodite and, through a series of tests, has been classified as a female.’ With this blatant allegation, and bearing in mind the almost supernatural improvement, the I.A.A.F. believed that it was sensible to make sure, with the help of A.S.A., that the athlete was negative in terms of doping test results, and also that there was no gender ambiguity which may have allowed her to have the benefits of male hormone levels, whilst competing against other women.” (pg. 119).  Even though through multiple tests, Caster was identified as a female. The I.A.A.F. felt the need to double check and made her go through more tests to get negative results of her being a male. This is more evidence of the fact that the single story overshines common sense. The single story of women not being as athletic as men as well as the notion of gender categorizing.  

The questioning of how sports can be organized if not by gender really shows how much of an impact categorizing and single stories of athleticism between genders makes. A segment of Levy's article states that “If sex is not precisely definable, how else might sports be organized? Theoretically, athletes could be categorized by size, as they are wrestling and boxing. But then women would usually lose to men. Or athletes could be categorized by skill level. Almost always, this would mean that the strongest elite female athletes would compete against the weakest elite male athletes, which would be pretty demoralizing all the way around.” (pg.124) This deeply shows the mindset of athletic federations who decide how sports are divided. Federations whose personnel have a single story of genders, believing that men are always more athletic than women. Personnel that just goes by commonly believed stereotypes. 

Ariel Levy wrote this article of Caster Semenya in the hopes to exaggerate the dangers of a single story and to explain that not everyone needs to be subject to normality. 

Abby Bustin

WRT 105

Magazine Cover Analysis

February 2021

Muslim Doesn’t Equal Terrorist

Everyone’s familiar with the rumors that went around during Obama’s 2008 campaign. The New Yorker cover “The Politics of Fear '' by Barry Blitt puts this issue into the public's eye in a very visual, and interpretive manner. The New Yorker magazine is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, cartoons, and poetry. Artists take part in designing these covers to spark conversation and controversy. Throughout this magazine many compelling topics are put into art form. On July, 21, 2008, Obama's campaign was that topic.  

The cover “The Politics of Fear” just seems to be about Obama and his wife coming into the white house, but if you look more clearly, you notice they’re wearing turbans, robes, and more Muslim style clothing. The cover, through the clothing they wear and the looks on their faces, prevails Obama and his wife as a pro-war, extremist, anti American couple. If you aren’t from New York or you just pass by this magazine, you’d miss the true meaning. New Yorkers or anyone familiar with politics would recognize the rumors and what Blitt is referencing.  The artwork stems from the controversy about their skin color. Through Obama dressed up like Osama Bin Laden, a common terrorist figure in the picture frame above, Blitt’s instigating the beliefs of the president having a relationship with a religious extremist.  The artwork on the magazine cover of Obamas Muslim Faith, with the turban, the robe, and more, contradicts what Obamas campaign really was. His campaign was an effort to increase the involvement with the Christian Church. 

An article that analyzed “The Politics Of Fear” brought up another good point. Blitt made references regarding Michelle with a big afro, army pants, and an AK-47 rifle. Her afro is another racial stereotype, a symbol of African heritage. The clothing on Obama’s wife and her AK-47, associates her with the Black Panther Party. A black empowerment group that resorted to arming their members as a means of self defense.  

Blitt recognized the controversy about Obama's campaign on July, 21st, 2008 and through the NewYorker Cover he put this topic out there for the world to interpret.

 Rhetorical Sourcing 

SU Database- ‘We Are All Superheroes’

“We Are The Superhumans” trailer video had a common theme. Changing how people view disability in others, and molding the single story label into more than just that. The Telegraph Media Group Limited, a newspaper publisher, published an article titled “We are all Superheroes” that had a theme similar to this. All throughout the article, the true struggles of advocating for the Paralympics were shown. Included in the article were perspectives of the personnel, such as Greg Nugent, working through these struggles. Greg Nugent, the film producer and the marketing director of the 2012 games, worked most of his life advocating for disabled olympians. “ Nugent says ‘The Paralympics were incredible, better than the Olympics in so many ways, I thought if the story could be made into a film it would be the most extraordinary tale of courage, bravery, and brilliance. All the things that are often missing in the perceptions of disability. ” Most viewers of the Olympics would never in their life think of watching an Olympics with disabled and prosthetic athlete olympians. They especially wouldn’t use the words courage or bravery to describe people with disabilities. The two works “We Are All Superheroes” and “We Are The Superhumans” are trying to change that mindset of those people and many others in society. 

Abby Bustin

WRT 105

Unit 2 paper

19 March 2021

Way More Than Just A Disability

Is there even an Olympics with disabled people? Yes, believe it or not, there is. The 2016 Rio Paralympics is one of the most famous, well-known Olympics. It is a major international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee. There is a popular video called “We’re The Superhumans” that was posted on July, 14th, 2016. It displays segments of the Paralympics and shows what people with disabilities are truly capable of. 

“We’re The Superhumans” trailer video had a common theme. Changing how people view disabilities in others and molding the single story label into more than just that. The Telegraph Media Group Limited, a newspaper publisher, published an article entitled “We are all Superheroes” that had a theme similar to the “We’re The Superhumans” video. All throughout the article, the true struggles of advocating for the Paralympics were shown. Included in the article were perspectives of the filming personnel, such as Greg Nugent, working through these struggles. Greg Nugent, the film producer and the marketing director of the 2012 games, worked most of his life advocating for disabled olympians. Nugent says “ ‘The Paralympics were incredible, better than the Olympics in so many ways. I thought if the story could be made into a film it would be the most extraordinary tale of courage, bravery, and brilliance. All the things that are often missing in the perceptions of disability. ” Most viewers of the Olympics would never in their lives think of watching an Olympics with disabled and prosthetic athlete olympians. They especially wouldn’t use the words courage or bravery to describe people with disabilities. The two works “We Are All Superheroes” and “We Are The Superhumans” are trying to change that mindset of those viewers and many other people in society. 

One can pinpoint the efforts of The Rio Paralympics 2016 video trailer just by listening to the music and lyrics played throughout. “Yes, I can do anything, Yes I can!” were very inspirational lyrics with drumming in the background. The lead singer was moving around scene to scene in a wheelchair, similar to the athletes. These athletes were shown in wheelchairs, having a prosthetic, having no arm or some sort of disability. All these clips of activities like basketball, races, swimming, archery, and tap dancing show how truly talented these disabled people are. If an athlete is disabled, it doesn’t necessarily mean that he or she is handicapped. These terms are too generalized currently in society. As you may notice by watching the video, the paralympians were in fact, not handicapped. They didn't have a condition that restricted their ability to function physically, mentally, or socially. Instead they had a disability, a physical or mental condition that limits a person’s movements, or activities, that they worked through. Athletes with disabilities can be very successful with their disabilities.  “We Are The Superhumans'' video helps to normalize the fact that even with disabilities, these athletes aren’t less capable than anyone else around them. Rather, they are very capable and extremely talented.

A famous quote in the Paralympics says that “It’s in our Paralympic DNA to see obstacles as an opportunity to do things differently.” In 2016, and even now, disabled athletes have fought through and encountered challenges that come at them every single day. They still look at these challenges in a positive way. The Paralympic trailer video was posted to inspire and uplift all the people with disabilities at home feeling discouraged.

Later on, the viewers misinterpreted the intention of uplifting others to another level. Within four days of when the “We Are The Superhumans” video premiered, it was viewed at least 23 million times online. This popular video brought about a lot of criticism. This advertisement for the Paralympics faced major criticism for allegedly conveying unrealistic expectations of people with disabilities. Even when Channel 4 stated that it worked directly with disability organizations to ensure that their portrayals were accurate, Alvin Law, a broadcaster and a motivational speaker argued that the broadcaster was merely intending to promote Paralympic athletes as having the same athletic qualities as Olympic athletes. The question is why can't they? Why can’t these disabled athletes have the same athletic qualities as the typical Olympic athlete?

Well, the answer is they can. In society, many people are closed-minded and have a single story of disabled people. The single story is that people with disabilities can’t do sports and certainly can’t be in the Olympics. “We Are The Superhumans'' is crushing this single story but it’s also normalizing the opposite. The video is normalizing people with disabilities having talents, doing sports, and even being in the Paralympics. “We Are The Superhumans” video is relevant nowadays because society still thinks it’s acceptable to look down on people with disabilities. This is an essential time to make change and work towards treating people equally.

Prejudice and discrimination are still present towards people with disabilities. This prejudice needs to end now. We, as a society, need to end the thinking that all people with disabilities live in a wheelchair and can’t do everyday tasks. End the thinking that looks down on people with disabilities. Instead, we need to work towards being more open -minded and accepting of others who are different then us. 

“We Are The Superhumans” Paralympic video leads us in a step in the right direction. 

Unit 2 Reflection