A New Wave

While I've seen the film before, the unsettling portrait of masculinity in Jackson Katz's Tough Guise is still just as striking as the first time I watched it. I forget how devastating machismo's vicious headlock on boys and men is to their body image, emotional wellbeing, and the wellbeing of those around them. With that said, I believe that while this is still the dominant identity men take on, that standard isn't as uncompromising as it has been in recent history.

With the increasing popularity of independent films and "alternative" fashions, it seems as though the presence of hyper-masculinity is losing its footing. A new trend in male protagonists is the quirky, quick-witted nice guy in off-beat comedies like the enormously popular Juno, which is a stark contrast from the unflinchingly violent individualist characters found almost universally in action films. Leading men in these films are often imperfect and more realistic, placing value on humor and personality over aggression and enormous biceps. Additionally, the rising mainstream acceptance of clothes that were previously considered unacceptable for a "real man", like skinny jeans, is eroding the slim definition of a tolerable male image. Even within my recent memory, boys and men who wore skinny jeans were "gay" and would be harassed relentlessly, sometimes even confronted violently. Now (relative) fashion-forwardness is widely considered cool.

While narrow standards of what is considered masculine are still prevalent, the tide is beginning to shift, hopefully permanently. There is still a long way to go if boys and men are to be released from the unwavering mold of manliness, but it seems that things are headed in the right direction.