The Misconceptions Of Men [Part 2]

Strength, masculinity,unfaithfulness.

These are just a few of the many words linked to ‘being a man’.

Words of which, over the years have been used to brand an entire gender, regarded as ‘all the same’, as though it were a small group of individuals.

Why is that?

This is the second part of our Misconception series . For part 1(misconception of women) click here

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Why does modern society attach labels to men, and complain when they conform, but also complain when they don’t?

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Let’s tackle the misconception of all men being strong.

Now, in terms of being physically strong I’m sure you and I both know for a fact that this is just not true.

Gym is not a must or for everyone.

I repeat, gym is not a must or for everyone.

However, as a result of this label many boys and men would feel pressured into looking strong to meet aesthetic standards.

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Similar to makeup, mentioned in the misconceptions of women article.

I’m sure we are all familiar with ‘Man Crush Mondays’.

Most of the time, the men posted to celebrate this are chiseled, with six packs and defined bodies; this encourages the idea of all men being strong.

Take the featured image of this article to be an example of how men are perceived to be strong at all times .

The saying ‘boys don’t cry’ is disconcertingly popular but has been challenged.

strongmenI believe it’s about time someone mentioned the fact that particular races or nationalities in men, are misconceived as treating women a particular way or behaving a certain way.

A common example is ‘all black boys cheat’, or ‘white boys treat you right‘, which although has been made into something humorous by the media, is worryingly prejudiced when you think about it .

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Stereotypes:

These types of misconceptions within genders concerning race and the sort are becoming more and more common and strangely enough, more and more believed.

As well as being strong, men are regarded as breadwinners.

How often is it that media shows a woman with a male partner leading the household?

Is it not ridiculously frequent that all the relationship goals pictures we re-post, are of rich men spending money on their girlfriends and not the other way round?

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Even down to the music we listen to, sets the tone for how boys and men alike should aspire to be.

In the words of Tion Wayne “paint the town red when you walk in them Loubs” puts pressure on boys to obtain such luxurious clothing from a young age.

How else will they get the money to afford such expensive clothing? Probably by illegal activity, the same illegal activity girls frown on because they want ‘a gangster with an office job’.

Many people – most of which are women, still hold the belief that men should be chivalrous and do things such as pay for dates, and the ‘ladies first’ saying’.

Will we ever reach gender equality until this theory is eradicated?

Rachel Kessely
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