What does it mean to be a man?

In American culture men are held to certain expectations, some of which are harmful to the individual and their communities. Even though they are harmful, a number of these expectations are still followed. Traits that are used to describe masculinity include: strong, aggressive, intelligent, competitive, confident, and stoic. The opposite of masculinity is femininity, and any men that have feminine attributes or characteristics are looked down upon by society. They are often told to “man up” and to not be a sissy.


Men are expected to be strong, not only in a physical sense but also mentally. For example it is embarrassing or shameful to cry. As boys in our culture, they are surrounded by sports, guns, etc. They are taught from an early age to be aggressive and tough. The harm of these expectations start early. As individuals they aren’t able to explore themselves-what they like and dislike and so forth. They have to bottle up certain emotions which is unhealthy for one’s well-being. As an extreme result, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention reports that men have suicide rates that are 4 times higher than that of women. However one can make the argument that some of these expectations are beneficial. Since men are expected to be confident and smart, it pushes them to reach their potential.


Not all men fit the expectations provided by the American culture. Even though men are expected to be the provider and “bring home the bacon,” not all do. There are men that stay home and take care of children and do housework. There are aspects of society that haven’t quite adjusted to this reality. In public bathrooms, fathers don’t have access to the baby changing tables that are provided in womens’ restrooms. The parking lot at my physician’s office has parking slots reserved for “mothers and children.” Interestingly someone took a marker and added “+ fathers” to one of them. I have a male friend who enjoys romantic comedies. This defies the stereotype that men should watch or enjoy “shoot ‘em up” or action packed movies. Other members of the present American culture, view men being in touch with their emotions, as an attractive quality. Nothing is the same among all men, some will say its necessary to adhere to certain expectations, whereas others will think its ridiculous to believe in those expectations.

Egypt. . . It's Not Over Yet

In 2011, the Egyptian people started to protest poverty, unemployment, government corruption, and the power of the president Hosni Mubarak. The protests took place in Cairo, Alexandria, and Suez which are major cities. The government began to block social media such as Twitter and Facebook. Police arrested and even injured hundreds of people with batons and tear gas. Soon the Muslim Brotherhood began supporting the protests. That Friday the government blocked all internet services and text messaging. Eventually president Hosni Mubarak was ousted after ruling for 30 years. It was then that Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood was elected as president. People protested against him too, and in 2013 there was another revolution (that some consider a coup d’etat since the military was involved) that led to the election of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi who is currently in power.


The biggest challenge in Egypt is that women are facing difficult conditions including sexual harassment and assault. The way they are being treated is an obstacle for them to take part in the transformation of politics in Egypt. Instances such as the gang rape in Tahrir Square exhibits this problem. Women in the country face daily harassment and assault on the streets and in the workplace. The culture of the country teaches them that speaking out about these assaults are shameful. However circumstances can change in the future, Mr. Sisi was the first Egyptian president to acknowledge sexual violence and even visited a victim in the hospital to apologize. He plans on taking “very decisive measures” to combat the violence. “The revolution hasn’t reached our homes yet because some of the men who participated in the revolution, who act like liberals outside the house-inside the house they are no liberals,” says 34 year old Amira.


The United States should let Egypt deal with their own problems. It’s one thing to help someone if they ask for it, and another to be an interference. If anything the US could help highlight these problems through the media. This could rally support and contribute to the pressure leading to a change in how women are treated.




Questions:

Now that Egypt has a democracy, how does voting work? Can anyone vote, or what restrictions exist?

Do you think its likely that there will be another revolution now that President Sisi is in power?

Middle Eastern Blog Vlog

Link to Eman Al Nafjan's blog: http://saudiwoman.me/

Where I'm From

 

Norwalk, Connecticut

Where I'm from there is variety.

Norwalk is part of the suburbs.

You can find yourself in a neighborhood where you can't see your neighbor from your window,

or in a more crowded area with a shopping center and apartments.

There’s normally a fair amount of traffic.

Afterall a Wikipedia search says the population in Norwalk is 85,603,

which is a fair amount of people.

And a good number of these people commute to and from New York,

so the parkway and I-95 are pretty stuffy in the mornings and later in the afternoons.

Where I'm from there is diversity.

There people of different ages, races, heights, genders, and walks of life.

And generally people are respectful of each other.

Overall these conditions make it a comfortable place to live.

If you find yourself bored in Norwalk,

you don't have to go far to be entertained.

There are fish are the Maritime,

books at both the libraries,

an ocean at the beach,

and movies at the theater.

In terms of my education,

7th grade was the year I went to public middle school.

Before that I went to Catholic school.

My father decided that it was a better place for me.

Although I disagree.

I did pretty well academically.

I’m just not really all that religious.

Having a 45 minute religion class,

along with various masses just wasn't for me.

Besides I didn't really fit in socially or in any other way really.

Now that I've graduated, I'm happier where I am now.

When I’m not in school or doing homework,

I like bicycling, video games, swingsets, and sleeping.

I have three younger siblings who like noise.

This tends to conflict with sleeping,

but we work it out anyways.