RA #3

Title: “Bros before Hos”: The Guy Code

Author: Michael Kimmel

Date: 11/3/12

Topic: Modern day appeal of masculinity on today’s society.

Exigence: Kimmel’s argument has been very present in society, from as far back as I can remember, and even farther back in time.  Personally, “The Guy Code” has been present since elementary school, there’s always been a struggle of “who’s the most manly” with boys, who are naturally very competitive.

Intended Audience:  I believe the intended audience is a vast number of people.  This article applies to many different people.  It reveals a lot to men ,who might be reading this, about social constructs that they might not even be aware of.  These social norms are so ingrained in one that they go completely unquestioned.  This article also applies to women and children, who may either not understand why men do what they do, or it could reveal to these people that the “Guy code” is a creation of people themselves, rather than just accepting that what men are doing is natural.

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to educate the masses as to why men act this “certain way”.  It also provides anecdotes of men who are afraid of stepping outside the bounds of their gender roles, and how that runs their lives.

Claim: All men are constantly fighting to be “the most masculine” and are trapped within their own idea of masculinity, which hinders them from expressing oneself outside the bounds of gender roles

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Main Evidence: 

Rhetorical Analysis:

Writer’s Strategy 1: Writer hooks reader in by talking about women, and “what it means to be a woman”.  These women go on to talk about how they can be whatever they desire to be.  This then makes the transition to men who are locked within “being a man”.

Writer’s Strategy 2: Writer then gives us the “Real Guy’s Top Ten List”, which most men can relate to.  Kimmel then breaks down all 10 of what’s on the list and provides a sociological background as to why these messages are so ingrained.

Writer’s Strategy 3: Kimmel then talks about how men are constantly fighting for dominance, and how they strip others of their masculinity by calling them “gay” and “fags”, as to compare them to homosexuals, which is taboo and a curse among men, so they try to stay away from being gay as much as possible.

Reader’s Effect 1: The beginning of the article is interesting because the reader thinks the article is going to be some kind of “yeah guys kick ass” kind of article, but then Kimmel shifts the argument over to attacking men, which kept my interest.

Reader’s Effect 2: The “Real Guy’s Top Ten List” is something most men can associate with, hooking the reader in further.  Then as the article progresses, it shows the reader how all these constructs were formed.

Reader’s Effect 3: Once Kimmel starts talking about how men constantly call each other degrading names in the hopes of demasculating them is eye-opening, to say the least.  Men call each other “gay” and “fags” all the time, without hesitation as to why the person is calling them that in the first place.

My Response:  I am going to defend this article, it really provided an insight as to why men “do what they do”, and how these social constructs are actually bringing us down.  Instead of men worrying about themselves and improving one’s well-being, they’re at each other’s throats making sure the other man isn’t “being gay”.  This really shed some light on my situation in particular, I was in military school for part of my high school career, and that place was the definition of masculine, and “knowing your place”.