If Terry Crews, author of “Manhood”, and author of “How to be
a Woman”, Caitlin Moran sat down for dinner there would be things that they
both agree and disagree on. I think they would be talking about gender equality
and roles that both men and women have to deal with. Caitlin Moran talks about
how women are pretty much pressured to have children and if they don’t, they
won’t learn valuable life lessons. Terry Crews talks about how men are
pressured to be super manly and not being able to show feelings. I think these
two authors would disagree on whether or not men feel pressured to be a certain
person in society. Caitlin Moran says , “The reason they don’t ask men when
they’re having kids, of course, is because men can, pretty much, carry on as
normal once they’ve had a baby.” I feel like Terry Crews would disagree with
this because in his book he talks a lot about gender equality and in his video
interview he says, “I’m in the kitchen, when my wife is in the studio, I’m in
the kitchen making lunches for the kids.” By her saying, they carry on as
normal, makes me think that she does not give enough credit to men. Something
that they would agree on would be that they both feel like their gender has
certain roles they have to live up to. Caitlin hates how every woman, when
coming to a certain age, gets asked, “When are you having kids?” and Terry
hates how men have to live up to a strong dominant man who does not show
feelings. I liked when Terry was talking about his son and how he was scared
during the Iron Man movie. Many men would tell their son to “man up”, but he
decided to tell him it’s ok and take him somewhere else. Both authors think
that man or woman should live how they want. If a woman wants to live a life
without kids, she should. If a man wants to show feelings, he can.
I agree with what you said that both authors would be discussing gender equality and how it could be corrected. I think that men and women are created equal and that women shouldn’t feel pressured about having kids and learning lessons in life. Men carrying on as normal when they have kids doesn’t sound accurate to me so I have to disagree what Moran says. Fatherhood is a huge step and men hold responsibility for raising children just as much as women do so it’s unlikely that they carry on as “normal”. I also agree that you think Moran doesn’t give enough credit to men because fatherhood is the number one priority to those who become dads or at least it should be. Women don’t need to base their lives solely on having kids and men don’t need to base their lives solely on being strong and dominant. I strongly believe this since I personally know grown women who don’t have kids and I also know plenty of guys who show feelings and moments of weakness all the time. I also enjoyed the part where Crews talks about his son being scared to see the Iron Man movie and went swimming instead. That’s something I would’ve done when I was little!
ReplyDeleteI think that both authors would be talking about gender issues and agree on a surface level, everything would be fine and dandy until they went a little deeper. I believe Moran doesn't give enough credit to men, because not all men are awful, and not all men are absent once the kid is gone. I think both authors agree that gender issues are prevalent and very problematic, but Crews (being male) understands that male pride, while an issue, doesn't apply to 100% of males while Moran makes more broad and general assumptions and accusations.
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DeleteI totally agree with you that Terry Crews would disagree with Caitlin about men being able to “carry on as normal once they’ve had a baby”. I’m sure that just like motherhood is a big step for a woman, fatherhood is a big step for men. Men don’t carry the baby for nine months, but a child does have a huge impact on a man’s life as much as it impacts a women’s. They both have to care, nurture, and love the child. Both Terry and Caitlin would most definitely agree that society pressures them both. Like you said, men get pressured to act like a “man” and not be emotional and women are being pressured to have babies before her “time is up”. Both of these authors are realizing and seeing these pressures and labels that society is putting on them and they’re both trying to fight them. Caitlin is telling women that it’s totally okay if they decide not to have babies because that’s their choice and they shouldn’t feel pressured or obligated to have a baby. Terry is telling men that it’s normal to have and express emotions. I also liked Terry’s story of Iron Man, I thought it was great and the way he responded to his son being scared was even greater!
ReplyDeleteI very much agree with how you believe the dinner would play out for the most part. It is almost exactly how I would see it myself. If I were to join this dinner I would totally agree with Terry Crews view on manhood. I liked his point that men are pressured to be “manly” and how unacceptable it is for a man to show emotions. As a male, I can agree that there is pressure to be “manly.” I enjoyed his story about his son, it was really nice how he responded to his son by saying, “it’s ok to be scared.” With the “not have children” author I agree with her point on how women are almost pressured to know when they want children. I agree with their agreement on how men and women should be able to choose what they want. I also don’t believe, like you, that she doesn’t give some fathers, like Terry, enough credit. While it is sometimes true that “men are able to continue with their lives” after children, not all men can do that. For some men it drastically changes everything for some men. Either way the conversation at the dinner would be very, very interesting to say the least.
ReplyDeleteI think myself and the rest of the people commenting on this post can all come into agreeance that we believe they are both putting a large emphasis on gender equality and I like that you said “If a woman wants to live a life without kids, she should. If a man wants to show feelings, he can.” Because I feel like the entire point of both of these articles are trying to point out the fact that men and women should both be seen in the same light throughout society, but we can assure you that’s not the entire truth. With your post you were explaining how you think terry would disagree with Caitlin think men don’t care about babies because they would carry on their day to day lives but I don’t think the point of her book was to state that. I think Caitlin’s point was that she wishes men and women were questioned the same when it came to children because it shouldn’t be a one sided street it should be a mutual compromise between man and woman. Equality was the main topic for both of these writers and I think it was shown very clearly.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything you said about how women are being pressured into having children when its their choice whether they want to or not. Also how Crew’s was saying that a man should be able to show their emotions rather than having to hide how they really feel because that’s what being a “man” is all about. I also liked how you said that Moran does not give men enough credit. When a girl is pregnant, its not only her child, its both the father and the mother’s child. I agree with Moran when she says that “If you’re insanely talented and not at all broody, why not just go and have more fun?” Not all women should have to give up their freedom just to have a baby. I know a lot of successful women without children who are doing just fine living life. I also loved the story about Crews son and Iron man 3 movie. I agree with him about what he did with his son, we have to teach men that it is ok to show their feelings. Both of them are realizing the pressure society has placed for both male and female and they’re trying to put an end to it.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with everyone's opinion here and I like how we all are open minded and agreeing that both men and women have the right to choose how they want to be and how they like to be seen. Men on one hand are being pressured by the society where they grow up. For someone to be a man, it is known, that you need to keep your feelings for yourself and to hide them otherwise, you are a girl. It is a great mistake for a man to be afraid in our time. Where women also being highly pressured by having no right to choose whether they want to have the pain of giving birth to a baby or not. Wither they want to be mothers or not. Society plays the major rule in our life. We need to speak up for our fears and our choices.
ReplyDeleteI agree completely. Its obvious that when it comes to children, it changes the lives of both men and women. Yes, men do not have to go through the struggles of pregnancy and delivery, but once it comes down to caretaking, men do contribute just as much to the child that women do. This is also assuming that it is a basic household and the parents are still together. I also feel that both men and women should be allowed to determine whether or not they want to have children in the first place. Now onto the other part, men shouldn't have to hide emotions, in fact, I know plenty of great men who are incredibly emotional people. I am also full of emotion, good and bad, and will refuse to hide it. There are plenty of women out there who like men with emotion, therefore, why change? Go out and feel free to share your emotions with whoever you want, whether you're a man or woman.
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