Kats and Kivel

¶ … Guise" by Jackson Katz identifies violence and crime occurring predominantly at the hand of men. He gives statistics and percentages including rape and stalking as well as the 61 out 62 mass shooting conducted mainly by men. At first, he identifies in sections what could cause men to behave in such a violent way. He mentions the culture of violence in the United States and explains there are two sides of this culture, the side that craves violence and the side that becomes horribly offended by it.

Both sides remain inherent in most of the people in the country and it carries out to the men. Fathers teach their sons to accept the traditional idea of manhood. What it means to be a man is to show little emotion and when a man reaches a breaking point, show that in anger and violence. This tough guy attitude to show no feelings is all part of the boy code and has become deeply embedded into most cultures. This idea of manhood especially rings true for men of color.

Although white males represent many instances of crime in America, they are not often portrayed in such a negative light. They remain invisible. However, men of color, the minority, are represented in a negative light. When the stress of being discriminated reaches a head, a man of color will accept these concepts of manhood in order to show he is a real man. Stress also appears to promote violence in all men.

Some blame feminists, but really, what causes the violence in men is the disrespect they often feel and inadequacy from feeling, as though they are not regarded as a real man. The violent act makes them feel as though they can finally be seen as men. My reaction can be summed up in one word, enlightened. I did not realize that men felt so strongly about being disrespected and feeling like they have to adhere so strongly to such a narrow mold.

The concepts like racially motivated hyper-masculinity would be something I want to see Katz explore further. I feel the film in general changed my way of thinking in relation to the male image. I thought big muscles were important and showed strength, but in reality, strength can come from resilience, perseverance, kindness, and a willingness to grow and explore. Men do not have to be giant and muscled to be a real man.

The American culture among other cultures must diminish the level of violence shown in the media and in movies and films. I also believe strongly in immersing boys into what would be deemed classic feminine activities like dancing, childcare, and animal husbandry to grow empathy. Paul Kivel's article "The 'Act like a Man' Box" has similarities to Katz film in the sense that is attempts to analyze how men view what it is to be a man.

For instance, Kivel explains that men feel they have to be breadwinners; they have to be mean, violent, tough, bullies, angry, strong, and in control of women. Similar to the traditional perspective of men in American culture and other cultures, as Katz explains, men feel they have to be men and angry in order to show emotion. Katz lightly touched on it towards the end of the film, one of the first things that Kivel really hits home with, is men feel they have to be the breadwinners.

If men cannot provide for their families, for themselves, this makes them feel as though they are inadequate. As Katz mentions, lack of employment promotes higher incidence of violence among men. Kivel does an excellent job of highlighting some of the emotions that promote such violence in men. Feeling of fear, being alone, feeling vulnerable, hopeless, and worthless promote the idea that men must do whatever it takes to gain back control, to regain their manhood.

Katz explained in the racially motivated section that men of color often feel powerless and hopeless, and so they feel they have to adhere to these negative and violent stereotypes to make themselves feel like a man. Kivel also explains men in the "box" are expected to not cry. They can take it. They must take charge, know about sex, yell at people, and have no emotions. The violence often showed in the media, Katz highlights, has really increased over the years. Superheroes do not just simply through two punches.

They have to pummel their opponents to the ground. Fights become a means of killing someone vs. injuring them. Just like the idea that the barrel of a gun gives a man, power, many things covered by Kivel show that the idea of being a man propels the need to carry out such an ideal via a violent way such as use of guns. Another article by Kivel highlights the need for men to be violent and even promiscuous to show their manliness.

"At a very early age boys are told to.