there is nothing gay about showing emotion

I was watching a youtube video about the “real” seven wonders of the world: to see, to hear, to taste, to touch, to feel, to laugh and to love.

Someone commented with this comment..
http://flickr. com/photos/asnedker/2806337981/

I’m an intern for the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services and I went to a homeless youth center on Tuesday night to present and educate about masculinity and the effects of the media. The object of the presentation was to show how the media and our society present the “perfect” man—a man that is required to be tough, strong, tall, muscular, aggressive, etc. If he is not all of those things then he will be called “gay, fag, a girl, bitch, etc.” The presentation went horribly wrong because the group was unwilling to listen (it was 99% male) and thought that we were attacking them. They didn’t give me or my partner, Ashley, a chance to explain why we were talking about these things (we had showed them a video about masculinity called “Tough Guise” and while we felt that it was accurate of the portrayal of men today, the group took offense—leaving me in tears and Ashley terrified of returning).



All we wanted to do was show them that they didn’t have to act the way that media tells them. It is okay to show emotion. I guess the reason for this was to show my gratitude that someone could be showed that it was alright to show emotion, even if it over the internet.