1 Ethan Alt Professor Wallace ENGL 290 6 December 2011

The Evolution of Masculinities Norman Mailer once said, Masculinity is not something given to you, but something you gain. And you gain it by winning small battles with honor. This is, perhaps, the traditional definition of masculinity. However, in the following paper, it will be shown that the gaining of masculinities has evolved from winning battles with honor, as in the ancient Greek culture, to winning sexual intercourse with women, as in modern cultures. Research was analyzed in order to prove how masculinities have changed and unchanged. The research is then illustrated from two literary works of relevant time periods: Homers The Iliad and Junot Diazs The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. The purpose of this paper is to outline how some masculinities have changed and how others have remained unchanged over a period of two thousand five hundred years. It also serves to report the social implications these masculinities have on those who fail to exhibit them. The results of the research show that masculinities through the ages have a big impact on the building of relationships.

2 1. Emasculation and the Avoidance of Effeminacies In The Iliad and The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Homer and Diaz show how the avoidance of femininity is essential is constructing masculinities. Migliaccio (2009) said, men avoid behaviors that could be considered feminine, including establishing expressive intimacy and friendships and self-disclosing with friends. He goes on to state that, because it is considered inappropriate gender performance, men avoid being more expressive about their feelings. Interestingly, the condemnation of femininity is still present in todays society, proving that while some masculine ideals have changed, many have remained unchanged. 1.1 Avoidance of Effeminacies in Ancient Greek Culture In The Iliad, Homer shows how effeminacy in men leads to their condemnation and social withdrawal from the rest of the group. Many words such as woman and child are used as insults to men in attempt to emasculate them. For example, when Hector asks the Greeks to pick a champion to face him, none of the Greeks would volunteer due to fear of death. This disgraces Menelaus, who says, Alas, vain braggarts, women forsooth not men, double-dyed indeed will be the stain upon us if no man of the Danaans will now face Hector. May you be turned every man of you into earth and water as you sit spiritless and inglorious in your place (Homer VII). Here, Menelaus uses effeminacy to make the warriors feel shameful of their cowardice. Integral to the purpose of this paper is that, in this case, masculinities are determined by bravery on the battlefield. As we will soon see, this contrasts with the primary determinant of masculinities today, which is successes in sexual relationships.

3 The theme of bravery on the battlefield is further illustrated when Ajax challenges Hector to fight him. Ajax taunts Hector and tells him that there are plenty of Dannans who would be more than happy to face Hector. To this, Hector replies: Noble Ajax, son of Telamon, captain of the host, treat me not as though I were some puny boy or woman that cannot fight. I have been long used to the blood and butcheries of battle. I am quick to turn my leathern shield either to right or left, for this I deem the main thing in battle. I can charge among the chariots and horsemen, and in hand to hand fighting can delight the heart of Mars; howbeit I would not take such a man as you are off his guard- but I will smite you openly if I can. (My emphasis) (Homer VII). Notice the diction Hector uses to masculate himself. He first starts off by saying that he is not a child or a woman; i.e., he tries to deny femininity in himself. Secondly, he uses vulgar, gory words to describe how he plans to kill Ajax. These two points show that the Greeks portrayed their masculinities through violence and avoiding femininity. 1.2 Avoidance of Effeminacies in Modern Civilization Similarly to Homer, Diaz also shows how the emasculation of men affects their social status. For example, when one of Oscars childhood girlfriends, Maritza, gave Oscar the ultimatum that he must break up with his other girlfriend or she will break up with him, Oscar went home and cried. Oscars mother asked him what was the matter. When he replied, girls, she became so angry that she threw him onto the floor and said, Dale un galletazo (slap her)then see if that little puta respects you (p. 14). Here, because Oscar was crying, which is a violation of masculine emotional stoicism ideals, Oscar emasculates himself. As a result, his mother hits him to try to punish this effeminacy. Research suggests that the mother is the main

4 protector of their kids sexuality, highlighting the importance of this scene (De Moya 2009 p. 109). Later, Oscar sees Maritza holding hands with another guy named Nelson. This deeply saddens Oscar, and he begins to cry again. This leads to men treating Oscar horribly, as one calls him mariconcito (little fag), another kicks his favorite lunch box, and his bus driver tells him, dont be a fucking baby (p. 16). In the sense of the male fraternity, Oscars displays of femininity reject his belonging into the male social group. The others ridicule Oscar due to his lack of masculinity, which is an important part of identifying oneself as a Dominican Both ancient Greek and modern culture prove masculinities by avoiding effeminacies. In fact, both cultures used words such as woman and child to describe those males who were being feminine. The ancient Greeks used violence and courage on the battlefield to prove their worth whereas Oscar was emasculated due to his crying about women. 2. Masculinity and Sexual Desire: A Contrast In addition to the avoidance of effeminacies, another way masculinities are displayed, both in ancient Greek and modern culture, was through sexual desire. However, there appears to be a contrast between the ancient Greeks and the modern culture on how sexual desire illustrates masculinity. While, in modern culture, masculinities is based on sexual successes and desires, in ancient Greek culture, masculinities were displayed by having a restraint on sexual desire. 2.1 Insatiability and the Ancient Greeks For the ancient Greeks, according to Van Nortwick (2008), masculinity was determined by the ability to avoid sexual desire (p. 51). Van Nortwick reports that women were believed to

5 be insatiable and it was the job of men to keep them from going wild because of their inherent susceptibility to lust (51). To illustrate, in the Iliad, Paris is to face Menelaus in a winner-take-all battle for the war. However, Aphrodite quickly snatched up Paris so that he would not be killed. He arrives in his bedchamber with Helen. Then, Helen scolds him, saying that she wishes Menelaus had killed him because he is a coward. However, Paris replies: Wife, do not vex me with your reproaches. This time, with the help of Minerva, Menelaus has vanquished me; another time I may myself be the victor, for I too have gods that will stand by me. Come, let us lie down together and make friends. Never yet was I so passionately enamored of you at this moment- not even when I first carried you off from Lacedaemon and sailed away with youwas I so enthralled by desire of you as now (Homer III) Here, Paris simply ignores the comments Helen makes and just wants to have sex with her. This emasculates Paris because, as previously mentioned, masculinities are determined by successes on the battlefield and the ability to resist sexual desires. Also, Paris seems to be the one incapable of suppressing his sexual desires, which further shows signs of effeminacy. Thus, for the ancient Greeks, masculinities are shown when men are strong enough to be able to resist sexual urges. This is in contrast to modern times, where sexual success and desire are key determinants of masculinity. 2.2 The Effects of Virginity on the Male Peer Group

6 Cohan (2009) explained that virginity loss is a problem not only for the individual, but also for his peers. To solve this problem, the peers attempt to promote the virgin to full membership from junior status by getting him laid. In The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Diaz supports this. For example, when talking about Oscars youth, the narrator explains how Oscar didnt have no kind of father to show him the masculine ropes, thus causing Oscar to establish his male fraternity (a term Cohan coined) with other males in his life (Diaz 15). However, because he had no masculine role model at that early age, he lacked all aggressive and martial tendencies, which shaped him out o be less masculine than other Dominican adolescents (Diaz 15). Faced without a masculine father, Oscar turned to his to Rudolfo as his masculine father figure. Rudolfo, worried about his nephews masculinity, tells Oscar that he must find a girl and metselo (penetrate her), which, he says, will take care of everything (Diaz 24). Here, we see that Oscars male fraternity includes even his family members. A central theme in the book is how Dominican males exhibit masculinity and sexual successes. As a result, because of Oscars virginity, it becomes a problem to the men around him. Oscars to further tries to help Oscar with his virginity problem by giving him condoms on the day he arrives at Rutgers. He tells Oscar, Use them all, he said, and then added: On girls (49). Implicit in this is the belief that those who do not exhibit masculinities and have sexual successes with women are considered to be homosexuals. Thus, if Oscar cannot find a girl to metselo, he could be rendered a homosexual and be rejected by his male fraternity. This is consistent with literature on adolescents in the Dominican Republic. De Moya (2002) observed that parents have a fear that their children will be gay and become the guardian of their sexuality. Because Oscar does not have a father, his to took on the role to protect his sexuality.

7 Finally, an example of how the male fraternity tries to help with the sexual successes of virgins within the group is when Yunior attempted to help Oscar to lose weight. Although some may read Yuniors training Oscar as a benign sign of friendship, it can be inferred that Yunior was trying to help Oscar get laid. Yunior said Oscars life entailed: twenty-four/seven at a computer, writing sci-fi monsterpieces, darting out to the Student Center every now and then to play video games, talking about girls but never actually touching onewhat kind of life was that? For fucks sake we were at RutgersRutgers was just girls everywhere, and there was Oscar, keeping me up at night talking about the Green Lantern. (Diaz p. 178) Here, we see Yuniors dismal opinion of Oscars obsession with his nerdliness and how, because they were at Rutgers, he should be obsessing about girls instead. Thus, Yuniors attempt to help Oscar lose weight can be considered as Yunior fulfilling his role as full member of the male fraternity (i.e., Yuniors trying to help Oscar become a non-virgin). It has been shown that lack of sexual successes renders a negative outlook by peers in modern times. Because Oscar was not sexually successful, he was condemned from his fellow Dominicans, who refused to believe that he was Dominican. His lack of sexual success caused his family and friends to try to help him out, which was unsuccessful. This greatly contrasts the ancient Greeks, who thought that sexual insatiability was an effeminacy because it implied a mental weakness. 3. The Effects of Cowardice on the Male Peer Group: A Greek Analysis Now that we have seen how, in modern times, the hierarchy in the male peer group is determined by sexual successes, it must be explored how the ancient Greeks used masculinities

8 to shape their relationships. As previously mentioned, the Greeks used violence and courage on the battlefield to portray their masculinities. To illustrate how masculinities affected friendships for the Greeks, the best example to look at is Achilles defense of Patroclus honor after Patroclus death. It is important to note that Achilles, prior to Patroclus death, was refusing to fight in the war. This, in turn, emasculated him, and Achilles had to rationalize this emasulcation by pointing out the femininities of others. For example, when Patroclus comes to Achilles to ask him to fight, he drops to his knees and cries, begging Achilles to come back to war. In response to this, Achilles asks, Why, Patroclus, do you stand there weeping like some silly child that comes running to her mother, and begs to be taken up and carried- she catches hold of her mothers dress to stay her though she is in a hurry, and looks tearfully up until her mother carries her- even such tears, Patroclus, are you now shedding (Homer XVI) (My emphasis). Here, Achilles pokes fun at Patroclus for not being masculine. However, According to van Nortwick (2008), War is the crucible, full of risks and opportunities, where masculinity is forged and expressed most vividly in Greek culture (92). Thus, it appears that Achilles rationalizes his own effeminacy by trying to emasculate Patroclus, an established warrior. Achilles refusal to fight brought condemnation by the Greeks, because it emasculated his character. The best illustration of how cowardice emasculates a person in ancient Greek culture is how Helen and Hector scolded Paris for his lack of will to fight. He says: Paris, evil hearted Paris, fair to see, but woman-mad, and false of tongue, would that you had never been born, or that you had died unwed. Better so, than live to be disgraced and

9 looked askance at. Will not the Achaeans mock at us and say that we have sent one to champion us who is fair to see but has neither wit nor courage? (Homer III). Here, we see Hector ridicule his brother in two ways. First, by the words fair to see, Hector pokes fun at Paris for being good-looking. To be good-looking but worthless on the battlefield is a sign of femininity (Ransom 2011). Also, because he is a coward on the battlefield, others look at Paris with disgrace. Even his wife, Helen, is disgraced at the cowardice of Paris and condemns it. She says: So you are come from the fight. I would that you had fallen rather by the hand of that brave man who was my husband. You used to brag that you were a better man with hands and spear than Menelaus. Go, but I then, and challenge him again- but I should advise you not to do so, for if you are foolish enough to meet him in single combat, you will soon all by his spear. (Homer III) Here, we see Helen ridicule Paris for not being brave on the battlefield, thus emasculating him. She even ridicules him for not being like her former husband. Effectively, she states that she wants a real man rather than a feminine one. Thus masculinity, for the ancient Greeks, is determined by courage on the battlefield. Effeminacy, i.e. lacking courage on the battlefield, warrants social condemnation. Conclusions We have seen how some aspects of masculinities have changed and how others have remained the same over time. Both the ancient Greeks and modern men avoid effeminacies to help bring out their masculinities. However, the primary ways masculinities are brought out in

10 the civilizations differ. For the ancient Greeks, masculinities are mainly determined through bravery on the battlefield. In modern societies, masculinities are brought out via male dominance over females physically and sexually. For modern societies, an insatiable sexual desire is the essence of masculinity. However, for the Greeks, a restraint on sexual vice was considered a sign of masculinity. In both societies, acts of femininity warrant social condemnation and shame. Because of their lack of masculinity, both Oscar and Paris are considered masculine outcasts.

11 Works Cited Cohan, Mark. "Adolescent Heterosexual Males Talk About The Role Of Male Peer Groups In Their Sexual Decision-Making." Sexuality & Culture13.3 (2009): 152-177. Academic Search Premier. Web. 1 Dec. 2011. De Moya, E. Antonio. "Power Games and Totalitarian Masculinity in the Dominican Republic." Caribbean Masculinities: Working Papers. Ed. Rafael L. Ramrez, Vctor I. Garca-Toro, and Ineke Cunningham. San Juan: HIV/AIDS Research and Education Center, University of Puerto Rico, 2002. 105-45. Print. Diaz, Junot. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. New York: Penguin Group, 2008. Print. Homer. The Iliad. Trans. Samuel Butler. The Internet Classics Archive. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Web. 4 Dec. 2011. Migliaccio, Todd. Mens Friendships: Performances of Masculinity. Journal of Mens Studies 17.3 (2009): 226-241. Academic Search Premier. Web. 1 Dec. 2011. Ransom, Christopher. "Aspects of Effeminacy and Masculinity in the Iliad (Christo."Antichthon 45 (2011): 35-57. Academia. Academia. Web. 01 Dec. 2011. Van Nortwick, Thomas. Imagining Men: Ideals of Masculinity in Ancient Greek Culture. Westport, CT: Praeger Publ., 2008. Print.