American Masculinity: Defined By War Essay -- War and American Masculi

War has been a mainstay of human civilization since its inception thousands of long time ago, and throughout this long and colorful history, warriors have almost exclusively been priapic. By repeatedly taking on the fundament every(prenominal)y aggressive and violent business office of soldier, Man has slowly come to define Himself through these violent experiences. Although ripe American society regulates the experiences associated with engaging in warfare to a lead group of individuals, leaving the majority of the American public emotionally and personally distant from war, mainstream American masculinity as yet draws heavily upon the characteristically male experience of going to war. In contemporary American society, masculinity is still defined and expressed through analogy with the behavior and experiences of men at war however, such a simplistic masculinity cannot account for the erudition of human experience embraced by a modern man.Whether engaging in European tre nch warfare or fighting through the jungles of Vietnam, a soldier must learn to cope with the incredible mental var. brought on by the ever-present threat of a grisly death. The carnal stress introduced by poor nutrition, a harsh and hostile environment, and the cumulative physical effect of emotional trauma only serves to make a trying situation even more taxing. It is out of this violently disagreeable environment that the coping mechanisms that characterize wartime masculinity arise.A natural resolution to such a violent environment is to simply behave in a way that portrays no weakness. If the soldier does not show whatever signs of weakness, he finds it much easier to convince himself that he can survive by his strength. In asserting his control over himself by hiding all of his weaknesses, h... ...y and war still abound however, these analogies cannot capture the full masculinity of the modern man as they do not allow for the formation of adumbrate personal relation ships, such as that between husband and wife, which lie at the heart of ordinary civilian life.Works CitedKriegel, Leonard. Taking It. Reconstructing Gender A multicultural Anthology. Ed. Estelle Disch. virgin York McGraw Hill, 2006. 194-196.Messner, Michael A. Boyhood, Organized Sports, and the Construction of Masculinities. Reconstructing Gender A Multicultural Anthology. Ed. Estelle Disch. New York McGraw Hill, 2006. 120-137.OBrien, Tim. The Things They Carried. New York Broadway Books, 1990.Petrie, Phil W. Real Men Dont Cry and Other Uncool Myths. Reconstructing Gender A Multicultural Anthology. Ed. Estelle Disch. New York McGraw Hill, 2006. 221-226.