12 Angry Men Themes

This section of the paper will go into a more in-depth discussion of the 5 key themes found in the participants' responses. As the biggest theme, time spent getting ready in the morning was in almost every response (see Appendix). The men lamented the fact that they would have to figure out how to do their hair and would most likely give up and put it in "a bad ponytail". Almost all the men that discussed getting ready also talked about how they would have to worry about putting on makeup. However, it is interesting to note that there are plenty of women throughout the world who do not wear makeup. In contrast, the women rejoiced in the fact that they "wouldn't have to spend any time, or maybe a minute" on their hair, "instead of 20ish minutes". …show more content…
This is understandable, as biological sex can be a major contributor to one's sense of identity. A few discussed the awkwardness of having the opposite genitalia. One male participant discussed waking up next to his wife and "freak[ing] out and feel[ing] extremely uncomfortable". Another participant, female this time, stated that she would "be super confused" and hide in her apartment. It was surprising to see the number of participants who felt they wouldn't even be able to go out in public if they were the opposite sex.
A theme that was mentioned by both sexes was how their physical appearance changing would affect how they feel about themselves. Women felt they would be able to dress casually and not have to worry about their appearance nearly as much. Men, on the other hand, reported that they would feel more self-conscious about their appearance, and would spend more time on it. One male participant said he would "check [himself] out in mirrors more critically". Another talked about how he would need to focus more on his diet and exercise habits as they would have more of an impact on his appearance as a …show more content…
The males felt they would have a hard time switching from the role of instigator to one less in control of the relationship. One participant said he felt dating would "definitely be harder", and another talked about how it would probably mean he would treat his sisters differently. Conversely, the women felt that being male would give them more confidence in their relationships. For example, one said, "If I saw a girl I thought was attractive I would smile really big at her, not worried about whether or not she returned the favor". Another said she would "man up" and ask a girl on a