September Blog Post

Carson Sandau
Comm 160

"Men are not allowed to be afraid" (Andres Gomez). The first line in an article titled Man Up, tells one of the key identifying qualities a man must take to conform to a gender norm that society tells him he must be apart of to be a manly man. Talking about the concept of gender norms is a relatively new concept in the fight for gender equality, which in itself is a new concept. Gender norms are societal conditions placed on humans that depending on their sex, tells them how to act in society. Males are supposed to take on the masculine norm, being strong and rugged. Females are supposed to take on the feminine norm, being dainty and nurturing.

A common occurrence I see going through my daily life is boys being told to walk like a man, and talk like a man. Basically saying they need to be manly and not worry about feelings. The song Walk Like a Man does just this, telling boys to not get wrapped up in feelings, and flirt with many women, another male societal norm. A lot of 1950's and 60's music had this feel that men and women had to be a certain way to fit the status quo. This is where I think we get our modern day views on what it is to be a male and female in not only America, but many other countries that America has influenced. The idea that men will go to work and make the money, and the wife will clean and have dinner ready when he gets home.

We need to continue to talk about societal norms and how to combat them, because not many people want to or can fit into them. Many people are being forced to feel like they don't fit in or aren't apart of society, simply because they do not act the same as others. Lord knows I will not be the one fixing the car when it breaks down, not because I can't, but because I don't want to.