Fragile Masculinity with Men and Taylor Swift

I kind of want this blog post to be what I would answer to some of these questions in the learning objective and what I would've contributed to the class discussion. I also want to note I was unable to watch the films but did do the readings! The social construct of masculinity to me is probably more than I realize; I will say there are certain things I look for myself to determine if someone "is a man" (I say this loosely), but usually indicators in what they're wearing, how they carry themselves, and mannerisms. I do not have much male experience at home or in friendships in dating, and I think this contributes to how I view men. When it comes to what it means to be a man and this construct, men think they have to fit I think it goes something like this: Do not look weak, no crying or emotion, no girly related things or interests, and they have to be strong and in control. We as a society have caused men to feel that they have to meet these guidelines just like girls are expected to fit femininity in a certain way by always looking nice, knowing how to clean and cook, etc. What I immediately thought of was not being girly, and that was kind of what I wanted my main focus to be; I want to show what I am talking about with an example. How often do you hear a straight man say he likes listening to female musicians? I know they listen to them at least one of two songs, but it is close to never that they admit this. Most men do not say, "I love Taylor Swift!" If I heard a man say this and it was within the early stages of my knowing him, I would honestly probably think he was genderfluid or gay. It just doesn't fit the male social construct men feel they have to fit. These mindsets are harmful because it leads to toxic masculinity and violence. 

Additionally, these constructs limit people's opportunities and experiences because they fear being outside the box. One of the readings said, "normalize queerness instead of queering the normal,(Lind)"; Society is slowly making strides toward making space for queer to become "normal," but I hope sometime in my life, we can change the constructs we've created for men and women so that maybe one-day heterosexual men can say "I love Taylor Swift" with no fear of backlash.

Lind, Rebecca Ann. Race/Gender/Class/Media. 4th ed. Taylor and Francis, 2019. Web. 15 Oct. 2022.