February Blog Post

Wade Bass

3/2/2017

February Blog Post

Fear: Beneath the Façade

            “Men are not scared. Men do not get emotional or complain. Men toughen up and do what they got to do.” Just like Gomez and many other boys out there, these were things that I heard growing up. This idea and expectation has put a lot of pressure on me at times and I suspect it has for other guys too. The fact that the idea is presented as an absolute is part of what makes it an unfair expectation. I could live with the idea that men (and women) should not be afraid most of time, or at least should not have to be afraid most of the time. The absolute nature of the statement creates a perfectionist and unreachable goal that isn’t fair to put on anyone (in this case men).

            This idea is also unnatural. Fear is a reasonable and necessary part of life. It warns us of danger to protect ourselves. So the statement is either trying to say men should not have this biological feature and go against nature to not feel fear at all. Or ignore this logical and necessary emotion that keeps us safe and suppress the feeling. So what kind of society pushes for traits that are unnatural? This question goes beyond this topic and reaches every other social group. Women should look a certain way even if they aren’t born with that body type. Society needs to reevaluate its ideals and accept that there are no absolutes when it comes to the way people should be.

References

What Society Says Men Can’t Be…  Bradley Johns