Be Masculine Or Die Tryin'

        How does one become a man? What's so special about being a man anyways? Every young boy is told at some point in their life to be a man, implying that being anything else (such as a woman) would be simply inferior. They are taught to be masculine and tough, but how does one become a man and establish their masculinity? In our last few reading they have discussed what it means to them to become a man. In the reading Knockout Punch becoming a man is related to both sports and war. War helps young boys become a man, it shows them what it means to be tough as well as other lessons such as "play when you're hurt", "Your enemy is inferior", and "Only girls cry". When war is not an option, young boys can learn these lessons from playing sports. This is further shown when we watched the documentary Football High young teens are told to push themselves to be stronger and be better and that is how you become a man. The idea of masculinity is also shown in advertising through the use of "Malboro Man"a cowboy used to sell Malboro cigarettes. This cowboy exhibits our societies ideals of what masculinity is and what it means to be a man. He is a loner and can survive on his own, doing everything for himself. He also is someone who delivers, he always gets the animals he is herding to where they need to go