What Does it Mean to be a Man?

Society paints a picture for men that in order to be accepted into society as a 'man' they have to have a mean and aggressive personality. Why? Who knows. Jackson Katz, writer of Tough Guise 2, argues that "we live in a culture that connects manhood to guns and a willingness to use violence at the deepest level of men's identity", which goes back to what I said in the beginning because it's true. Men tend to think that they need to live up to certain standards that society give them in order to be seen as more of a 'man'. What's that? Toxic masculinity. 

Many people can argue that men seem to have to live up to unrealistic expectations that society gives to them. The writer of The Boys Are Not Alright, Michael Ian Black, explains in his piece that "it's no longer enough to "be a man"--we no longer even know what that means" and, it's true! What does it really mean to be a man? Matt Labash of, Not Your Father's Masculinity, states that "Having to listen to people who aren't men, or who are ashamed of manhood, constantly telling me how to be one". Men constantly have people try to tell them what it means to be a man but everyone says different things. Men are told from the beginning that "boys don't cry" but now they're being told something different. 

After reading these articles and watching the documentary, I've realized that there needs to be a change in society. Society creates these unrealistic standards and expectations for men that seem to continue to change all the time.