By Nicole Holman

News Assistant

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The Gender Equity Center, HOPE and Wellness Center and Office of Diversity recently hosted a film screening that raised awareness for societal gender norms and urged students to question these issues.

On Thursday, March 12, in the USU Ballroom, a presentation of the documentary film entitled ‘The Mask You Live In’ was screened to both students and faculty. The film covered topics such as masculinity, patriarchy and how the two intersect to affect society as a whole.

In American culture, it is alleged that the idea of “being a man” has created a violent and incredibly toxic mentality pertaining to how men view themselves. These expectations are forced on boys as young as age five where they are told to repress emotion, to use violence instead of words and to essentially “wear a mask” of masculinity.

“From watching this movie, I realized that my experiences as a young man were not unique. Men are just told never to talk about their feelings,” said student and attendee, Stephen Lopez.

The film brought to light how this hyper-masculine culture has created a cycle of violence. Stereotypes of men prevalent in American media only fuel the fire. Men are continually represented as emotionless, violent, “lady-killers” which teaches young men that those representations are the only way to be a “true man.”  However, these representations translated into real-life come at a deadly cost.

Statistics were solemnly presented on the screen reading, “94 percent of homicidal mass murderers are men” and “1 in 5 college girls are sexually assaulted.”

“I think this film is important for everyone to see because it shows that there is a reason for the violence committed primarily by men. We can stop this cycle by allowing men to be vulnerable,” said student, Alma Kubiak.

The perpetuation of gender stereotypes is affecting how men see both themselves and women. Young boys are taught these stereotypes only to become men who desperately try to imitate what they see in the media. The film stressed the importance of men learning what it was to reconnect themselves with empathy and being critical of the media they consume.

A panel was held after the screening where men, both students and faculty, shared their reactions and experiences in relation to the film. Many individuals shared their stories, and though most have seen firsthand the harmful effects of patriarchal archetypes of maleness, the panel left on a note of hopefulness. By educating more people about these issues, society can move forward to defining manhood in a new, more constructive manner.