Society Strikes Again, wk 3/28/07

This book brought an interesting twist. I was kind of surprised that now a male was shown with the same struggle of doubleness to a degree that I only usually seen with women. I guess it comes down to the rules that society places on males and appropriate behavior. The poor main character is obviously overwhelmed and rebelling against them. Men are supposed to be in control, not care about appearance and objects like women do, and not show emotion. The main character is opposite of these rules. His main identity likes to own things and show them off, he is a little bit of a “wuss” if you’d like to say, and he definitely doesn’t appear to be in control of his life. With the pressure and failure to meet the stereotypical male image, he breaks down. This creates his alter ego who is “A Man’s Man!”

Tyler is what he probably feels he should be more like. He is handsome, daring, and in control of everything and everyone. The main character becomes jealous of his own self. This makes me think of a part of Eros the Bittersweet. When Carson explains how Eros is bittersweet she mentions jealousy as a component. The main character desires what he doesn’t have, a more society acceptable male personality. But once he creates it and in part has it, it turns bitter. Jealousy takes over. Now Tyler has the girl and the power, he still has nothing. Tyler is taking over and is out of control.

It must be tough to be a male, women are even having to be more careful with how they express their feelings towards other girls in fear of being called a homosexual. On this note, why is this even considered such a bad thing? Why do we fear this type of label? It does not change who we are as a person if someone calls us a name. Though it is usually men who are the most concerned with this label. Some males try so hard, like the main character, to avoid it. In the end it only hurts themselves.