Rum Tum Tugger

So, with all of this talk about masculinity and what it means to be masculine, I figured I'd add my own quandry to this ever evolving question. The theatre scene, most specifically dance/ballet/what-have-you, but men who dance. Are they considered masculine? I grew up in the dance world, so I would most definintely say by all means yes. But more specifically, I'd like to look at a particular dream man of mine from childhood - er should I say man-cat?

 

For those of you who don't know of the musical Cats or who Rum Tum Tugger is, I just want to say that he definitely is the ladies' man of this little gathering of kitties. All the cats come together on the full moon and blah blah blah, I have the DVD if anyone wants to watch it (I know every line to every song plus all the dialogue). Rum Tum Tugger is the typical "bad boy" that all the other guys are jealous of and the ladies love. What is it about the bad boy (should I keep putting in cat instead?) that attracts the ladies anyways? Plus he's a rock 'n roll guy, which is a double whammy, really. I can't even pin point for myself what it is about this character that is so ridiculously "manly man" for me.. what is even more disturbing and confusing for me is that the character is a cat... so, how should I feel about that? Anybody see any specific "masculine" features this man-cat shows that are only seen as something a male should posses??



I be on my Suit & Tie

As I was perusing Buzzfeed, I found this little interview with Justin Timberlake. This past week I have been on the verge of obsessing over his new album (no shame) so this clip of one of his latest interviews definitely caught my attention. I heard someone mention this interview a few days ago, so I thought it was time for me to hop on the bandwagon and get in on the latest JT news. However, just within the first few minutes of the interview, JT drops a phrase that we just so happen to be critiquing in class. See if you guys can identify a phrase that Justin throws around (ill give you a hint, less than 2 minutes into the clip). With our continuously developing critical ear and eye, its also interesting to hear how the live audience responds to JT's repeated remark. Also, how does Johnathan Ross react? His excuses and proceeding action emphasizes how he feels about the remark…disproving JT's accusation. Now, don't get me wrong here. I love me some JT, but I think he could have done without his demeaning and "conventionally masculine"jab.

The Wodaabe and beauty standards in general

"The end of masculinity?" features a short discussion about the Wodaabe people. Here's a short video by the esteemed documentarian Werner Herzog that gives us a glimpse into their world.

Standard of beauty exist in all cultures, but what are the key variables that determine: the criteria that contribute to those standards? the extent to which the standards are applied to different genders?

Are men in the US under more pressure to match up to beauty standards than in the past? Why might that be?

http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/27/living/harrods-gender-neutral-toys
If you guys want to check out this article, it's actually pretty interesting and really relevant to what we talked about today about children being restricted in many ways and how they are very vulnerable to bullying if they don't follow their specific gender stereotypes. I think it might be really cool to read the book sometime, it could be really good for our week where we focus in on childhood.

A bit of background on "sissy bounce"

I'd like to use the blog to give you a chance to get more background on information I bring up in class. One aspect of becoming a well-trained intellectual is to become as erudite as possible. That is, you need to read, read, read, watch, listen, read - more, more, more! Learn about everything so that you can build a huge database of knowledge about reality. The more data you have, the more you can see new patterns and challenge old ones.

So, from the New York Times: Sissy Bounce! Yerrrrrp.

First gay American team-sports athlete to be in the NFL?

A blog post if often little more than posting a link with some commentary.
When you post a link, you get the URL, copy and paste it, and give the link some words.

For example, I have the link: http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/mike-freeman/21946093/some-believe-atmosphere-is-safe-for-gay-nfl-player-to-come-out

But that's ugly, so, I give it a link title:  First NFL player to come out soon?
:)

Now, I mentioned before, you shouldn't just link drop. You need to add something to the conversation and in the process, help spark a conversation.

You can do that by not just dropping a link, but adding a quote, and then commenting on it.

This player's true concern, I'm told, is not the reaction inside an NFL locker room but outside of it. The player fears he will suffer serious harm from homophobic fans, and that is the only thing preventing him from coming out. 

I can't say anything about the inside of an NFL locker room, but I can say something about sitting in the stands, and I think from my experience at a Packer game, I can say that there might be some truth to this. I can see home fans not harassing the gay player, but at an away game? I think the slurs would be something fierce.

What might be more interesting to think about, in terms of what this means for masculinity, is whether or not it makes any difference at all if elite athletes come out. I think it might make a difference in terms of decreasing homophobia, at least anti-male homophobia, but I don't think that will automatically take a bite out of the patriarchy. These guys are still, in every other regard, perfectly sufficient in fulfilling conventional masculinity. That is to say:

1) Does this really represent the "overcoming of homopobia" or just a very narrow version of homophobia? That is, super buff athletic gayness is okay... but not "femme" gayness.

2) Does any overcoming of anti-male homophobia change anything in terms of sexist masculinity? Are these constructs related, necessarily?

((So, there you have it - a link, a quote, some analysis, and some questions to stir the pot. No pictures or video in this one, though. That's next.))

Getting started on the Masculinities blog

Greetings to the GEST280 blog. I would encourage all of you to use this regularly to post interesting stories/art/movies/songs that have to do with the study of masculinity.

Some advice for new bloggers:

1) don't just drop a link and say, "This is interesting" or "I think you might enjoy this." Analyze the story a bit, tell us why it is interesting or what particularly  makes this enjoyable.

2) be concise, interesting, witty and intelligent. Yes, easy to say, hard to do, but try.

3) learn the technology. Blogging and on-line publishing is the new medium through which we can best share our ideas. If you have trouble or don't know what you are doing, ask for help, or seek out help through the many resources available online. You can do this!