Alex Merced: Emo Masculinity

Brief: This is an essay I wrote for the Pop Culture senior seminar I took with Jeremy Wallach in the fall of 05. In this essay I talk about masculine identity in the Emo Music scene using a variety of resources, but stemming from the documentary Tough Guise w/ Jackson Kats.

------------------------------------

Alex Merced

Emo Masculinity

POPC 480

I’m what I guess people would call, a musicphile. I love music in all its facets and spend a large amount of my time listening to as much of it as I possibly can. Believe it or not, I’m listening to music as I write this. Although as a Pop Culture Scholar I feel also inclined to step away from aesthetics and dive into a more analytical focus of even the things I hold dearest. On this note, my scholarly duties have brought me to emo music, and while I feel in an Arnoldian sense that my tastes have evolved, emo music has broken into the mainstream and it signifies several things. Emo masculinity is a reaction to the hyper masculinity increasingly present in today’s popular culture, and I hope to clarify this argument through use of Structuralist, Marxist, and Feminist theory. Notice how I said Emo Masculinity instead of Emo Identity. Most people argue that Emo Identity is a reaction Masculine identity. I believe that Emo Identity is a new form of Masculinity. This new Masculinity is not a reaction to traditional masculinity but to the hyper masculinity present in todays culture as presented in the documentary, Tough Guise, with Jackson Katz (Jhully). Using a Structuralist approach we will take a look at the binary opposites of able/not able in the sense of an ability achieve this hyper masculinity and how that could create a reaction such as emo masculinity. After that I will take a Marxist view on class and oppressive structures in relation to the ability to be hyper masculine. Essentially saying that being a middle/upper class male negates your ability to be hyper masculine. In the end I will use feminist theory to compare both identities to show the similarities of how it oppresses women by creating images of violence and objectifying women and being filled with traditional male exploits such as the pursuits for power and narcissism.

As I mentioned before, this essay centers very strongly around the idea of hyper masculinity that is the subject of the documentary, Tough Guise. (Jhully) In this documentary Jackson Katz, anti violence educator, explores the construction of masculinity and how its escalated partly due to pop culture. Here is portion of a review of the documentary in the California Newsreel (California Newsreel);

“Tough Guise focuses attention on the overwhelming, but largely overlooked statistical correlation between violent crime and gender in our society –usually over 90% male – and argues that as a result “masculinity should be designated as a public health hazard.” Katz identifies several disturbing cultural developments over the last 30 years he thinks are responsible for the current alarming epidemics of date rape, domestic violence and high school massacres as in Littleton, Colorado.”

As you can see, Katz argues about the increase in violence in our society is a result of hyper masculinity. This is another issue I plan on exploring, whether a lot of these same issues are prevalent in this new form of masculinity. I hope to determine whether how progressive this reactionary identity is and if masculinity or gender identity at all can become something that resembles progress. The film is also quite well summarized by the notes of Professor L.R. Shade from the University of Ottawa. (Shade) Some key concepts to be used in this essay are exemplified by quotes from Shades notes such as, “Invulnerability - media portrays men as the rugged individual. Look at the Marlboro Man.”, and the idea that, “Media constructs violence as a cultural norm.” (Shade)

First we must understand why any males would want to react to an identity that seeks to give them power. After all, if someone can be in charge, why wouldn’t you want to be? I feel we can understand this through a structural analysis of the binary opposition able/not able in reference to the ability to achieve this hyper-masculinity. I remember as a child being entranced by this idea of masculinity, not consciously of course. I did love pro wrestling, the Terminator and anything that revolved around violence. I was a bit of an outcast growing up, searching for a way to be embraced by society of course I looked to the images that surrounded me on how to be what society wants. I wore leather jackets and would act thick headed and stubborn around my friends. Although physically I was never intimidating, and being raised by a single mom who avoided enforcing gender roles on her children I had a very skewed ability to claim this masculinity. No matter how hard I tried I never did leave the ambiguous limbo of my gender performances. This puts me on the side of the binary of not able, so I can’t achieve the identity and the privilege that comes with it. Then there are those who are able to portray this hyper masculinity without problems; we all remember the jocks, the bullies, and others who antagonized the not able geeks, drama club kids, etc. We also remember all the privileges that came with masculinity such as social prestige, and the ability to attract women. At least that’s how it looked like to the young boy I was. So cause of this opposition, a resentment for the denial of privilege mustered up and these not ables created a new masculinity and reclaimed these privileges. If anyone takes a look at the typical “Scene Kid” they are frail, dress outside of social norm, and particularly are not what you remember as the “cool kids”, yet now your average “Scene” male seems to have the same privileges of social prestige and female attraction as the jocks of the past. So now this divide of able/not able has created a new masculinity, but what else makes someone not able.

I feel that someone’s economic class can affect their ability to achieve hyper masculinity or not. This is where I think Marxist theory comes in. Marxist theory centers around the idea of base and superstructure in the idea that the base, which is the economic base of society, effects all our institutions or superstructures. So basically ideas of identity by the base are reinforced through the superstructure of the culture industries. So while Marxism usually focuses on how the lower classes are oppressed by the upper class through oppressive images, I feel this is a great example of opposite. Peter Hitchcock, professor of literary and cultural studies at the City University of New York said, “Rather than turn one's back on the work of representation in the slide from labor as concept to labor as masculine it would be more productive to interrogate the grounds of representation within the concept that, for my purposes, complicate our historical sense of the relationship between labor and capital.”(Hitchcock) This idea that labor being masculinity I feel is a big part of why Emo is popular mainly among middle class teens. Since hyper masculinity is mainly attainable by lower class and working class people since masculinity is a function of labor, middle class kids react to claim masculine privilege by creating emo masculinity. I feel the media has reinforced this economic labor as masculine identity a lot, especially in things like pro wrestling. I used to be a big fan of Pro Wrestling as a child and it always seemed the way it always appealed to the masses was with its tale of the underdog. Having working class characters like Stone Cold Steve Austin triumph over well to do people like Vince McMahon is very prevalent. This idea of the economic underdog I feel is a big part of what it takes to be hyper masculine. This is very apparent in many of the examples Jackson Katz uses in the documentary, Tough Guise, such as John Wayne, Rocky Balboa, and others. All could be seen as lower class characters beating the odds. (Jhully) This is how the middle class is stripped of masculinity; since its economically no longer the underdog there is no underdog identity to create this hyper masculinity with. So this would create this idea of an unattainable Masculinity, which would lead to this backlash I feel the mainstreaming of Emo Music is signaling.

A lot of people might disagree with me that this backlash is the creation of a new version of masculinity, and argue that it is the creation of a new progressive identity altogether. I feel by using feminist theory and comparing both forms of identity you’ll see that despite the difference in demographics, they are very similar and lot of the problems Jackson Katz finds troubling with hyper masculinity can be found in emo masculinity. Feminist theory is very similar to Marxist theories in its study of oppressive structures with a focus on gender instead of economic class. So first let’s take a look at Jackson Katz chief complaint that hyper masculinity creates social norms of violence against women and see if this is also prominent in the world emo Masculinity. I feel emo compensates for its physical frailty and lack of tough guyness to achieve masculinity through dark and violent imagery, which usually ends up focusing on violence towards women. Look at lyrics from popular emo band, Boys Night Out, as an example of this rash of compensatory violence towards women.(Boys Night Out)

“The first time I saw a body bend that way
I realized that we're more beautiful dead than alive
Then, with bloodied flesh removed, your rib cage ripped away
And I saw why they say beauty comes from the inside”

Boys Night Out – A Torrid Love Affair

As you can see the lyrics can get quite graphic and seem to add to the appeal of the music. Although I feel Emo Masculinity shares the same oppressive violent imagery that hyper masculinity has, there are some progressive elements to it from creating acceptance for men to adopt feminine characteristics and homosexuality. On the other hand, the community ideals seems to coincide with many ideas of brotherhood which makes Emo Masculinity similar to traditional male identity. Many also associate narcissism with masculinity as well, take a look at themes of competitiveness among men in film, many can see competition as a function of narcissism. Men clearly trying to prove their dominancy are a common theme in any masculine identity. Although this idea of competition is lacking in emo identity, which is demonstrated by the community ethic of the emo scene demonstrated by its ability to network like none other and dominate community based sites like Myspace and facebook. Despite this lack of competition there is still strong sense narcissism that keeps emo identity very much masculine and misogynist. Take a look at this excerpt from Rachael Elder from the online blog, The Black Table, describing this new breed of man she calls, “The Wimpster”. (Eldar)

“The cruel irony here is that the only people whimpsters are "emo" or particularly passionate about, are themselves -- although they're known to tote around some pretty decent-sized messenger bags full of resentment and hatred toward women. But these women are the litany of ex-girlfriends who made broken promises. Assuredly, you are different. You are special.”

Not only does this touch upon the idea of narcissism but also demonstrates a lot of misogynist tones of emo identity that still make it an issue of violence against women that the hyper masculinity that Jackson Katz talked about did. One can see the prevalence of the new norm of adopting a feminine identity to be masculine in the emo scene by the popularity of wearing form fitting women’s attire and wearing make-up which you can see by looking at an image of any emo band. This can be seen as the identity blurring the lines of gender, which I feel, leads to the phenomenon that Rachael Elder also talks about in her post on The Black Table. (Eldar) She talks about how many women are suckered in by the “Wimpster” due to his feminine traits that make him seem different from other guys, yet in the end still proves to be like the rest just with a new set of issues. This illusion that they actually have feminine traits instead of performing feminine traits creates the illusion of a sensitive man. Although, if looking at it still as masculinity, you can say this masquerade is actually a play for power, another traditionally male eccentricity. This masculine play for power can seen in the first paragraph of Rachael Elders article on “The Wimpster”. (Elder)

“Initially, these guys can seem super sensitive, super "deep." You'll probably receive a mix tape or quoted song lyrics during the initial courting session. He'll spend a lot of time talking about how he relates to some sort of super-sensitive movie character or musician, or mention how much he enjoys those reruns of My So Called Life. And he's done his research. He knows chicks die for the characters in John Hughes' movies, and whimpsters bank on these characters' worst traits: The hang-ups over small, inconsequential things; the chronic need for reassurance; the grade school hints that he might just "like you like you." “

This idea of a man constructing himself to get women isn’t new, many films and shows feature plots where characters attempt to become jocks to get women, but this is a bit of a new twist. This is exactly the point made in a small comedic documentary made on how to be emo that was posted in a blog entry by Daniel Belton in his blog. (Belton) This documentary follows a kid named Billy as he tries to emulate the emo kid in school, Kyle, in an effort to get women. A very good point made by them when it states that the purpose of being emo isn’t how your image of yourself is, but how others image of you are. This demonstrates how emo masculinity isn’t a new sensitive man, but the construction of a sensitive man in order to have power over women. One thing I felt the film understated was the importance of emo aesthetic of poor quality, which it demonstrated by the emo kids enjoyment of vinyl and poorly taken pictures. I feel this is also prominent part of how masculinity gains power over women and steals power from traditional masculinity. The reason I feel this way cause it demonstrates how emo masculinity attempts to reverse the idea of aesthetics in its favor. If an emo kid is typically an outcast, if he can convince everyone there is beauty in materialist outcasts like bad photos and the pops and clicks on a vinyl, then why can’t we find beauty in him? By reversing this idea of aesthetics there is much to gain for the emo guy. First, bye making what the prior ruling party considered cultural capital culturally valuless, he now becomes culturally dominant. So now the jocks and bullies who tormented him become purveyors of bad music, taking them down a notch on the cultural ladder. By making the “Ugly” girls the new “hot” girls they can now strut around with girls who’s insecurities make it easy for this new identity construction to convince that the emo guy is a good sensitive guy. Then the guy will strut the girl around as a trophy since the girl is now beautiful by this new idea of what beauty is. So from a feminist point of view, Emo masculinity still perpetuates violence against women and is structured in a way to subvert women as trophies by making them think they are empowered by the changing aesthetics. All these ideas are all very prevalent in traditional masculinity and still now in emo masculinity. An oppressive structure? I think so.

So hopefully throughout the body of this essay I have demonstrated how Emo Identity is a reaction the escalation of traditional masculinity into hyper masculinity, yet still masculinity nonetheless. We’ve taken a Structuralist approach about how kids become emo kids cause of being on the wrong side of the binary able/not able pertaining to their ability to achieve masculinity. Then, With a Marxist analysis I have described how by being part of different social classes you are stripped of your ability to reach hyper masculinity to explain why prominently middle class kids are part of the emo scene. Finally, we took an feminist approach to find the gender oppressive structures within emo that are very similar to hyper masculinity such as images of violence towards women, narcissism, and a play for power by reversing aesthetics.

What makes emo so interesting is its ability to appear progressive and empowering in the contested terrain of gender relations. With its openness about being sensitive and frail, and embracing of homosexuals, one would see this as a step forward. In the end though Masculinity as the idea of a structure of identity that men use to attain power and oppress women still rears its ugly head and reveals a very startling realization. Masculinity is a smart beast willing to adapt to the feminist battle against oppression though clever negotiations and false empowerment. Feminist will continue to march on in this battle, but if anything is to be learned it is that we must be careful how to view future retaliations and take masculinities ability to adapt more seriously.

Works Cites

Schuster, Eli. "Barnyard droppings." Report / Newsmagazine (Alberta Edition)  05/14/2001: 

p64.

Tough Guise. Dir. Sut Jhaley. Perf. Jackson Katz. Media Education Foundation., 1999.

California Newsreal. "Tough Guise Review." California Newsreel. California Newreel. Unknown 

   date. California Newsreel. Dec. 1, 2005 <http://www.newsreel.org/films/toughguise.htm>.

Shade, L.R. "Women and Media: Notes on Tough Guise and Reviving Ophelia." University of 

               Ottowa. University of Ottowa. Unknown. February 3, 2000. California Newsreel. Dec. 1, 

               2005 <http://www.newsreel.org/films/toughguise.htm>.

Hitchcock, Peter. "What is Prior: Working Class Masculinity in Pat Bakers Trilogy." Gender.org. 

               Genders.org. 2002. Genders.org. Dec. 1, 

               2005 <http://www.genders.org/g35/g35_hitchcock.html>.

Elder, Rachael. "Meet the Wimpster." The Black Table. The Black Table. Feb 12th, 2004. The 

               Black Table. Dec. 1, 2005 < http://www.blacktable.com/elder040212.htm>.

Belton, Daniel. "Fake Famous: How to be Emo." Bakersfield.com. 

               Bakersfield.com. Jul 11th, 2005. Bakersfield.com. Dec. 1, 2005 

               < http://blogs.bakersfield.com/dbelton/2005/07/fake-famous-how-to-be-emo.html>.

Boys Night Out. "A Torrid Love Affair."Broken Bones and Bloody Kisses. One Day Savior, 2002.