Tough Guise: Violence, Media and the Crisis in Masculinity
Answer the following questions as you watch the video:
Introduction
1) Who is Jackson Katz and what does he believe about masculinity?
2) Describe how men and boys are “boxed in”
3) How are Latino and Asian American men usually portrayed?
4) What evidence (statistics) does Katz present to support the statement that “being a
man in our society means being violent”?
5) How does he support the statement that “violence is cyclical”?
Part One: Understanding Violent Masculinity
Hidden: A Gender
6) Why is violence not typically considered a male problem? What 3 examples does
Katz use to illustrate how violence is de-gendered in America?
Upping the Ante
7) What 2 pieces of evidence does Katz present to prove that the imagery surrounding
masculinity has become increasingly violent over the 20th century?
Tough Guise: Violence, Media and the Crisis in Masculinity
Backlash (FF)
8) Backlash is a reactionary movement that seeks to stop social change. Note what Katz
has to say about these two public figures
a) Howard Stern
b) John Wayne
The Tough Guise
9) Why do minorities put on the “tough guise” or pose?
10) How has the “tough guise” become glamourized and ideal?
11) The phenomenon of suburban white kids putting on the tough guise shows us that…
12) Where does the pose come from? How is this ironic?
Part 2 – Violent Masculinity in Action
School Shootings
13) What does Katz say has been overlooked in the analysis of the recent school
shootings?
14) How does Katz use the example of school shootings to support the idea that our
definition of manhood is inherently violent?
Constructing Violent Masculinity
15) Katz states that the usual culprits of violence – video games, movies, rock stars – are
only a small piece of the story. What are 2 other examples of the construction of
manhood as violent in our society?
16) How does Katz suggest we can stop the construction of violent masculinity?
Tough Guise: Violence, Media and the Crisis in Masculinity
Sexualized Violence
17) What does Katz have to say about:
a) Slasher films
b) Stalking and dating violence
c) Pornography
Invulnerability
18) What examples does Katz provide to support the idea that “real men” in our society
must have their emotions under control? List 2-3 examples.
19) What are some of the costs to men of this invulnerable exterior?
20) What are some of the costs to society?
Vulnerability
21) What does Katz believe is the solution to the crisis in masculinity?
22) What are 4 examples of men demonstrating vulnerability in the media?
Better Men
23) Name 4 other alternative models of positive masculinity that Katz presents.
24) What is courage, according to Katz?