Blog Post II

Alexandra Olin

9/28/17

Blog Post II

Men are not allowed to be afraid. Within the very first sentence of Andres Gomez’s writing, he establishes an unseen importance on his topic of fear in regards to men. In society’s gender roles and expectations today, it is often stigmatized since childhood that men, or boys, should refrain from showing any un-manly emotion, such as fear or sadness. Any display of fear or crying, often results in the boys being scolded as explained further on in Gomez’s work. The idea that men are not allowed to feel fear is an important idea to understand. This is not because it is a preposterous idea to begin with, but because the idea that men shouldn’t show fear is still an idea perpetuating itself in young men today.

            Gomez explains in his writing that scolding younger boys when they display any kind of emotion not only is detrimental to young men’s developing mindset about emotions, but can affect relationships as well. It is vital in understanding how teaching men this irrational concept that being afraid is un-manly can negatively affect them for years to come. Within personal experience of encountering men that refused to show fear or sadness because it somehow in their mind made them less of a man, it is clear how much of a negative impact the stigma that men shouldn’t be allowed to be afraid has on today’s male generation. A perfect example of this negative stigma showing itself in society today is in Mel Gibson’s movie Braveheart. Within the film a scene depicts William Wallace being held within the prison about to be tortured and then executed. His young princess lover comes to give him a vial of poison to ease the pain of the torture. Wallace in the scene refuses the poison, explaining to her that if he was to take the poison and it should cause him to cry out and show fear, his whole cause would be lost. Although this example is not one the outright says, “Men are not allowed to be afraid,” it demonstrates how men, even 300 years ago, were taught that showing fear or sadness weakens the disposition of a ‘true’ man.

            Gomez’s quote not only shows the importance of stopping this stigma but helps understand future course materials in a sense as well. This is because within this course, we focus on identity and how it plays a role in our lives and how we communicate with each other. That being said, if men are not allowed to embrace the more emotional sides of their identity how can they fully understand the course materials? It is vital in crushing the stereotype that men should not show emotion in order to succeed within the course as well as in their personal lives as well.