Men Make Fire.

I went to the beach this weekend with a group of friends to celebrate one of our friends’ birthday. I found that the perfect opportunity to analyze the men and woman’s behaviors in such an environment. The men were particularly interesting to observe. Arab men find going to the beach, a chance to practice their “machismo”, like it was an activity.



The western world is a more free world than the Arab world. I don’t like to generalize but that’s my personal opinion. In the west I guess it has become okay to embrace the different types of men’s behaviors. Like Sutherland discusses in her book, there are many different ways a man can be a man. There’s the heartless tough man figure, referred to in his book as the terminator, after Arnold Schwarzenegger in the movie terminator. And there’s the emotional sensitive understanding man figure, referred to in his book as the kindergarten commando. Of course those two are the extremes, there are gray areas in between where other people lie.



In the Arab world, the kindergarten commando is not an accepted way of life, and if a man were anything but a “terminator” they would start to question his sexual orientation. This was reflected in my friends’ behaviors on the beach. I noted “macho” behaviors, or what they considered as expression of their masculinity, like logging heavy rocks and wood around to make a bonfire, cooking the meat (meat is a very manly type of food for Arabs, so cooking it on the beach with the fire they made represents their masculinity), and finally, ordering the girls around to clean, set the place where we’re going to eat and organize the seating area. When the girls offered to help with the fire making or meat cooking however, the men replied with “of course not! What kind of man do you think I am”?



I found it extremely interesting to take theories based on the behaviors in west and apply them to the Middle East. It has proven that what people consider appropriate or acceptable differs drastically between different parts of the world.

Masculinity and cinema

In the 1980s, masculinity was defined and portrayed in movie as characters being physically strong – having muscles. Expressing feelings and being emotional was strictly unacceptable. It was almost a taboo for a man to express himself in public, especially with the presence of women. These values are represented in the tough, decisive, hard, competent person of Arnold Schwarzenegger, one of the most famous starts in the film, business and political industry. Schwarzenegger was the typical masculine man.



However, in the late 1980s, a new form of masculinity emerged in film¬ – a hybrid masculinity. It was referred to as hybrid because it comprised elements of both masculinity and feminism. This new form allowed men to display “sensitivity” and emotionality” in public, while at the same time not giving up on being tough and decisive. Nowadays, hybrid masculinity is no longer a new form. It became sort of the norm in many movies. The film Fireflies in the Garden is a good example. In this film, we see Michael Taylor (Ryan Reynolds), the lead actor, being able to express his feelings and show them without putting his masculinity into question. In one of the scenes we see him crying, which was considered a symbol of weakness that is usually associated with female feelings for so long.
A scene of a male crying over a woman or over an issue in his life no longer strikes the audience as culturally shocking or unacceptable.








Displaying emotions became acceptable not only in movies but in politics as well.

A man?

According to the last reading we had for sociology class there was a lot of focus on Masculinity and the society. The book focused on Arnold Schwarzenegger, however my focus is on the Cartoon Network’s Johnny Bravo.

The examples given in the book, Cinematic Sociology, talk about Masculinity coming from the physical appearance of the male. The Terminator shows how the man is made of steel and his “tough” outlook makes him a man. This trend has been followed along by many to describe what a man really is, however, Schwarzenegger surprised many by changing his image in the Kindergarten Cop to the softer, more sensitive male.

Not all men should be bruits and have the sense of man-machine persona, however, there is a way in which a man can be seen as a man even when he’s sensitive. Schwarzenegger uses his terminator physic to win elections as governor in California. However later he changed his campaign tactics to be the man in the kindergarten. He used his masculinity to progress in his work and this helped him, which ever sort of man he choses to be.

For the counter-part, Johnny Bravo looks like the body-builder that Schwarzenegger is, however, it does not aid him in his progress. Other factors do, Factors such as his way of woo-ing women with his charms. Another factor may be his smart ways to dealing with things.

Children are socialized to watch these cartoons and movies and imagine themselves to being the males and females that these characters resemble. Masculinity is considered being a body builder who can also be compassionate and protective. I remembered how my teacher always said that “they” put in place these rules of society called norms. I think in this case, I know that “They” are women; because it is for them that the male can change and shape himself.

It is not anything to do with being a man; it is what you can offer society. As Schwarzenegger’s terminator, you can be a man of violence and with no words of expression. However, you can also be Bravo who uses his head more than his muscles. What I’m saying is that the appearance of the man can be cared for, but it’s not everything that makes a man, a man.