Masculinity on the Web

Masculinity on the web is honestly not a subject I find myself thinking about all that often. So, when asked to view a few of the sites from the reading I was curious to see how web spaces represented the constructions of masculinity differently. Let’s take a look shall we…

Dullmen.com was the most disappointing of the three sites I visited. I wouldn’t consider the topics of discussion dull – I am not so sure the men visiting this site are dull at all – rather I would classify the men posting them to be unhappy. Every post is another inside joke that only “dull men” will be able to appreciate or understand. Masculinity here appears to have been beaten down by whatever plagues these men enough to call themselves dull. They have been reduced to dullness and therefore their masculinity has taken a beating as well. One post on Valentine’s Day caught my eye:

“We’ve noticed that on Valentine’s Day, Dull Men often think of their mothers, rather than wives or girl friends. They send flowers to their mothers — usually plastic flowers instead of real ones, but flowers nonetheless.

And they often take their mothers out for dinner on Valentine’s Day. We think this is because mothers nag less about the choice of restaurants. Mother’s don’t need in-and-trendy food. Plain food is just fine, so long as the food is warm and the restaurant is clean.”

Here women are the enemy and ultimately dull men just want to be left alone. They are happy taking out their mother’s because they don’t nag or request the kind of attention their wives do. I don’t sense the anxiety or uncertainty that Gauntlett & Horsley predict but instead see annoyance. Dull Men will bond over their love for all things dull; however, I do not see men in this space growing to know themselves or their masculinity more intimately. Wouldn’t that be too exciting of a notion for such dull men? My bet is it would.

Manhood Online constructs masculinity as something much more fluid. I unfortunately could not look at the kinds of discussions in the site’s forums (the discussion board crashed my computer when I tried opening it) but just on the homepage you can see men are interested in discussing fatherhood and becoming a better man. Masculinity is not stuck in “dullness” or anything for that matter because a man can change and better himself. Upon further investigation I find an article titled “Remaking Manhood” which also focuses on men’s irreplaceable role within the family. Could this be a common theme? Even the site’s logo includes a small picture of a man and one could assume his son beside him.

Compared to Dullmen.com I think Manhood Online is trying to help its users become more self aware of a masculinity that is grounded in family and looking to be constantly improved. So in a sense Gaunlett & Horsley’s idea of personal freedom is relevant for men visiting this site use each other’s stories, experiences, and knowledge to become better men. In doing so they are empowering themselves and gaining a new sense of “freedom” or strength.

The final site I looked at was Menstuff.org. Covering more material than the other two sites, Menstuff discusses, well, men stuff. But as a woman I am wondering what is men stuff? How does it differ from women stuff? Weekly and monthly columns linked on the front page cover topics such as; fathering, relationships, sexuality, feminism, poetry, spirituality, yoga, transition, health, parenting humor, change, and worklife? So, is it strange that I’m not seeing these topics as all that exclusive to men? It appears that is this web space masculinity encompasses a wide range of emotions and experiences. It is not merely fatherhood or humor but it deals with genderless issues (they affect not only men but women) that men can benefit from discussing. We are all indeed people, are we not? Perhaps this site is merely trying to give a male perspective on larger issues.

The quote on the homepage of the website says it all:

“Man’s inherent nature is to be curious, gentle, intimate, responsible, enthusiastic, sensual, tolerant, courageous, honest, vulnerable, affectionate, proud, spiritual, committed, wild, nurturing, peaceful, helpful, intense, compassionate, happy, and to fully and safely express all emotions. When will we stop training him to be otherwise?”- Gordon Clay

In reading this it becomes obvious that Menstuff perceives masculinity to be a large number of things and like Manhood Online I think it views masculinity as a much more fluid concept than other arenas. Even so, there seems to be much less of a discussion going on here (there is wealth of information but much less interaction) so I am not sure if men visiting the site will eventually reach a greater level of personal freedom. Perhaps they will take the knowledge they acquire and apply it to their own lives, but I do not believe the site is doing all that much to encourage them to do so.

Identity: My Own Personal Web Space

I foresee my identity constantly changing. In fact, I feel it is especially fluid as I will become a college graduate in just a few short months. Even so, there are a few elements of my identity I suspect will carry with me, intentional or not I am unsure, and a few that embody this part of my life. In constructing my personal webpage I would focus on the elements of my identity that I am happiest writing, thinking, and talking about. These people, places and experiences mirror the person I am or at least in my mind, the person I want to be.

This person is someone with a sense of humor. My site would reflect my unremitting need to laugh. The Office is just one example of an avenue through which my housemates and I use as a source of conversation and laughter. Its attention to the odd and scarily truthful quirks of office life and its offbeat sense of humor are clever and funny enough that season 1-3 are on heavy rotation in our apartment.

I give the people I surround myself much of the credit for my odd and playful sense of humor. These people would also have a prominent presence on my site for my identity is closely linked to family friends. My Dad’s company website reminds me of that sense of humor (The website is pretty cut and dry but just look at my Dad’s picture on the frontpage…it makes me smile every time. This guy may be an accountant but you can tell he likes to laugh, can’t you?) as well as what is possible with a little bit or in his case a lot of hard work. And it is hard work that I can most closely identify with now. Sadly, surfing the web is not an activity I have much time for, what with work and of course school. A student of the Communication Department I would want my site to reflect my interests in the field and my future plans. If I knew what they were I would by all means share but that’s why they are called future plans…I plan to know what they are and where I am going (most specifically graduate school) in the future.

While hard work will always be work it has also become a passion. In addition, I have developed a passion over the last 4 years for community service. Given the sheer time and effort I have exerted into this area of my life, I feel it is important to share my experiences and link others to resources that can change lives. No question, it has changed mine. And finally, no webpage would be complete without the pictures of the places that inspire me. Places I have never been to but also places I have lived. Those I have had the pleasure to see for myself have made a distinct impression on my identity, Florence especially. I wish my online/personal web space identity to reflect the things that I am most passionate about as well as the people and places that have influenced me a long the way.

Book Options

Hamlet on the Holodeck by Janet H. Murray

Murray is interested in where the Digital Age is taking us, most specifically in regards to storytelling. Her background in educational computing and programming are clearly an asset for she has first hand seen how computers and new technologies offer an extension of human powers. We have more options (educational computing allows for new ways to teach foreign languages and math) and we have more control over the messages we send and stories we tell. Some scholars and critics foresee the end of books due to the increasing influence of technology. Murray does not foresee such a tragedy and instead explores how computers tell the same stories but in another framework and in doing so create an extension of the storytelling to which books and films partake. Her belief that they promise to reshape the spectrum of narrative expression is the overarching focus of her book.

 

Blog! How the Newest Media Revolution is Changing Politics, Business, & Culture by David Kline & Dan Burstein

Blogger power. That is what it’s really about. Journalists Kline and Burstein have collected a number of interviews from the world’s leading bloggers as well as commentary from several respected sources (The NY Times, Columbia Journalism Review) on the blogging phenomenon. The book is broken up into sections on politics, business, and culture and each contains interviews, commentary, and an essay by Kline on blogging’s impact on each. What is blogging’s impact on the future of these things? How far does its influence reach? Kline and Burstein seek to answers these questions and more on just how powerful blogging has become.

 

Ultimately, it is much harder to get a sense of Murray’s argument, by simply reading the table of contents and introduction, as opposed to Kline and Burstein’s quest for a measure of blogging’s power. I am intrigued by the number of sources and examples (each chapter highlights a different source and story of the power of blogging) Kline and Burstein have collected. For someone who is new to blogging, this book presents the material in a concise and accessible way. On the other hand, Murray’s account investigates the art of storytelling in the ever-evolving medium of computers. Her argument nowhere near as obvious or straightforward as Kline & Burstein’s account but I think she is asking and answering some valuable questions. Expect a bit of a harder read though. The prose looks to be a bit more challenging than the lighter material of Kline and Burstein.

Social Bookmarking

Each of the three sites I looked at is classified as a social bookmarking site. While all three promote the idea of organizing content, sharing interests, and discovering new information online, each site also places unique emphasis on functions specific to its site.

http://del.icio.us/

Del.icio.us seems most appealing to a college aged audience. Its goals focus on keeping track of your favorite links, sharing those links with people you know and also the del.icio.us community, and discovering new things. So while using del.icio.us is an individual experience, it is also a community requiring interaction and collaboration. This kind of selling point immediately reminded me of Facebook and other social networking sites that have become so popular with young people my age. Even so, I like the idea of discovering new ideas and information through other people online.

http://www.rawsugar.com/

RawSugar boasts much of the same; however, the site appears to have a few more useful features. For example, users can organize their content in hierarchies which enables them to search the site more effectively. In addition, the site advertises a more refined way of searching. Every time you click on another tag the click adds to the tag to what you previously selected. Therefore, only pages which have all the clicked tags are included, resulting in a narrower search.

http://www.jumptags.com/

Jumptags also focuses on saving time when searching online and increasing user productivity. It doesn’t appear to add any new capabilities to what the other two sites already have. Instead, Jumptags tries to mainly appeal to users who might use the site for professional purposes. They emphasize storing and retrieving resources and information, giving users their own J-Space – their own mini-site (web-space) – under Jumptags.com with their list of private and public jumptags.

 

Overall, I find social bookmarking to be an exciting and valuable technology. I think Rawsugar and Jumptags are most practical in nature. Finding more valuable information faster, through Rawsugar’s search capabilities, can benefit the world on so many levels. In addition, storing resources somewhere outside of your personal computer is not only a safe idea but a good one, for you have the ability to share information with others while you are safely storing it.

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