The Co-Construction and Performance of Masculinity in Waiting

RM 216

The idea of masculinity being performed and built within social interaction is an idea that has become extremely prevalent in multiple cultures and social groups around the world. America, in particular, is one where males are virtually expected to perform their masculinity in a large variety of social interactions and contexts. I believe one of the more prominent reasons for this societal behavior has to do with our furthering the idea itself in our popular media, specifically movies and television shows. How characters perform and address their masculinity in fictional settings on movies and television is not only a reflection of how such performance is done in reality but propagates the ideas of how it should be done, thus such performances in fact further cement how masculinity is performed and creating a cycle of affirmation for such behavior.