Roles JL

Athletics has been around for centuries, beginning with the Olympics thousands of years ago. The Olympics were started by men who wanted to display their power and strength. These ceremonies were forbidden to women. Women who were caught trying to catch a glimpse of the competitions were murdered by being thrown off a cliff. It was in the culture that the winners of the Olympic Games honored the Gods with their displays of athletic ability. Men versus men, and the strongest best man won. This is similar to what men do today still. According to Kimmel, we are very homosocial creatures, meaning that we relate to other men on certain levels, but a majority of what we do is to impress other men. (Kimmel)

Being an athlete, I am constantly surrounded by males, and because I am a sociology major, when I get bored I usually study my teammates. It has been my experience that most men tend to closely follow their hegemonic values and try not to steer too far away from their masculine roles. When we start to divert from the four crucial rules that we need to follow closely in order to be dominant and/or accepted in society, then we are socially punished and stereotyped into the category of homosexual. No man wants his masculinity to be in question, so we do all we can to avoid the possible persecution by society.

Kimmel says the four rules for hegemonic masculinity are:

1. No sissy stuff

2. Be a big wheel

3. Be a sturdy oak

 4. Give em hell

These four rules really sum up what a man is expected to do in order to be considered a man in contemporary society. These four rules are constantly displayed for me when I am around the other 119 players on my team. It seems that every day is a "pissing match" and we compete to see who the "top dog" is.

The first rule, "no sissy stuff" became more clear to me when I went through some judgment from other players because I did not participate in the last installment of practices this spring. I had surgery in January and unfortunately had a slow recovery. Some of my teammates and coaches seemed to have a prejudice against me for not "manning up" and playing, even if toughing it out meant injuring myself further. Football is a very physical sport and needs tough people to play and I certainly consider myself tough.  I have been playing on the team for years, but as soon as I miss four weeks, my status as someone with guts and who could take a hit dropped severely and I was judged. When you are expected to be physical with these guys every day, when you’re suddenly unable to compete everyday it is difficult to maintain your social status of mainlines. Your reputation slowly declines because you cannot physically display your toughness. 

The second rule, "being a big wheel" is constantly displayed in our locker room. There seem to be arguments every day; it rarely comes to be a physical altercation, but in some extreme cases, guys feel the only way to settle disagreements or conflict is through using their fists. When you play such a violent sport, every day seems to be a power struggle between players. Arguments occur over everything from sports to women. The arguments get louder as players yell at each other, and dominance is always shown after a player wins an argument over another player. The winner always has to make sure it is known that he is the superior man and beat the challenger that day, which seems to be similar to evolutionary psychology. Barbara Smuts' article dealt with human nature and men's "caveman" nature. All of these points seem like men showcase their masculine features and manliness to impress women. Is it in our minds to always brag on our features and accomplishments in case a potential mate will be impressed and ultimately attracted? I think it's natural to do this and we may not think about actually doing it but we may subconsciously do so.

The third masculine rule of “Being a sturdy oak” is always an important one to men. I've heard since a young age that all a man has is his word. Being reliable is always an issue for some guys on our team. Our coaches hold us at a high standard of being reliable because if others cannot count on you then you usually tend to not be as dedicated, trust worthy, or loyal as other players. If a guy is late too at all then he is looked down upon from the coaches as a lazy, undedicated player.

Our final rule is “Give em Hell.” The men I know really do take crazy risks all in the name of proving something to others. I do enjoy watching some of the dumb things my drunken teammates have done over the years, but the point is men take stupid crazy risks that a lot of people have no idea why they would attempt to pull these foolish stunts. According to Kimmel, men have a case of self-entitlement, especially from wild acts that display their superiority. Men are competitive especially when there is a female on the line. Maybe men resort back to our cave man instincts. Is it a problem that men are always in combat? I think it is and men should realize not everything is a competition. However, this concept would be hard for men to accept or change due to the societal stereotypes that are placed on men if they break away from following these four rules.