Masculinity In Precarious Manhood

Masculinity is most precious and sacred to a man’s existence. With that being said, a man’s overall being depends on how well he exhibits his masculinity. The idea of precarious manhood is that men constantly have to publicly prove their masculinity because manhood is viewed as “tenuous” (Clay, 2015). In addition to that, men are conveyed as the most dominant of the sexes. Men, unlike women, have to define themselves by means of action versus through nature. In fact, history shows that young males would participate in cultural rituals and competitions in order to prove their manhood (Clay, 2015). This all connects back to the theory that the men are made, not born, which is discussed in the Precarious Manhood article. By observing three …show more content…
Though all men at some point in their life work hard to prove their masculinity, they do so in different ways. Because manhood is tenuous, meaning once it is achieved it does not guarantee that a man will always have it (Clay, 2015), men always have room to exhibit their masculinity in full. Men have to publicly demonstrate their masculinity, engage in aggressive and controlling acts to not only prove their manhood, but to ensure that they keep it--so that they do not have their masculine identity questioned by others. In the Precarious Manhood article, the author utilizes a combination of ideas and theories of various cultures that work to support why manhood is precarious. The epitome of being a man is to prove your masculinity to others, more importantly other men. The article provides examples of this by pointing out examples in various African tribes. In order to prove that they are men, boys undergo painful rituals that, in some …show more content…
Most of the young males that consider themselves real men are a part of one of the many Greek fraternities. Rushing a Greek organization in a general sense is a rather trying time before you become an official member of that organization. While at a fraternity party one saturday night, I witnessed the idea that men prove their masculinity through being sexual and aggressive. Sitting on the couch, I watched closely as a man danced with a female who was another man’s girlfriend. It was obvious they both were inebriated and had some form of attraction to one another. Eventually the girl’s boyfriend returns, grabs her by the arm and says “What the fuck do you think you’re