Geek Masculinity And Its Effects On Society - 836 Words

Subcultures are male-dominated, a space for working class boys to gain status by exalting their masculinity where they can have access to power, status, and prestige. As a result, subcultures glorify traits associated with males such as toughness, delinquency and bravery all the while demeaning traits associated with femininity. This phenomenon is known as the cult of masculinity, which puts females into a â€Å"structured secondariness†. There is a male privilege among subculturists because of this cult of masculinity. Nerd masculinity in online gaming encompasses both a critique and reinforcement of the hegemonic masculinity. Female nerds have more difficulty in fitting in because they are stereotyped as unattractive and face more negative†¦show more content†¦Similarly, white people have race privilege over other races in the U.S. society. In contrast with black Americans, they receive more favor in terms of life opportunities. African Americans, on the other hand, have to prove themselves more. For an instance, a black American who is driving an expensive sports car is more likely to raise suspicion among police officers than a white American driving it. Blacks are more likely to be stopped and searched twice than a white American. As was mentioned before, race and gender are socially constructed by dominant groups in the society. The Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) community is among the subculture groups that are stigmatized by the U.S. society. They are deviant of the heterosexual norm. Society labels sexualities, which expressions of sexuality it values or stigmatizes. The meanings of sexuality change over time in different contexts, which reveals the sexuality as defined by the society. Sexuality is defined as â€Å"the ways we experience and express ourselves as sexual beings†. Sexuality is more than sexual behaviors, it encompasses socially constructed meanings of sex and gender, which includes the culturally specific n orms, beliefs, traditions and taboos that are related to sex. For an instance sex between an adult and a child is considered a taboo in the U.S. If sexuality is socially constructed, so are sexual identities. What makes a man â€Å"gay† or â€Å"straight†? Is a straight guy who slept