A study on masculinity and aggression from the University of South Florida found that innocuous – yet feminine – tasks could produce profound anxiety in men. As part of the study, a group of men were asked to perform a stereotypically feminine act – braiding hair in this case - while a control group braided rope. Following the act, the men were given the option to either solve a puzzle or punch a heavy bag. Not surprisingly, the men who performed the task that threatened their masculinity were far more likely to punch the bag; again, violence serving as a way to reestablish their masculine identity. A follow-up had both groups punch the bag after braiding either hair or rope; the men who braided the hair punched the bag much harder. A third experiment, all the participants braided hair, but were split into two groups: those who got to punch the bag afterwards and those who didn’t. The men who were prevented from punching the bag started to show acute signs of anxiety and distress from not being able to reconfirm their masculinity.
tell me “we are Orlando” after you and your masc friends address how the homophobia you’ve internalized is also the same kind that led to the massacre
tell me “we are Orlando”‘after you recognize POC in the community as more than just trophies you can cross off your fetish bucket list
tell me “we are Orlando” after you start uplifting feminine and trans men instead of treating them like a stain you can’t remove from the carpet
tell me “we are Orlando” after you start putting POC on the cover of your magazines more than once every leap year
tell me “we are Orlando” when you stop giving priority to straight white men over LGBT POC voices
tell me “we are Orlando” when we really become a community instead of a straight acting white boys only club
Because at a time like this you should really be dividing the community. Shit like this is fucking disgusting
people have been asking me why I made such a divisive post during this tragedy, so here’s the deal.
I left a vigil in Portland where a white gay man with “no rice no spice” on his scruff profile took a selfie holding a candle as he mourned 49 brown bodies.
A masculine friend on Facebook posted “we are Orlando” and filtered his profile picture. 12 hours later he made another post about how he can’t stand when men sound like they have “a purse falling out of their mouth”.
The same accounts I saw calling #GayMediaSoWhite divisive are now the same ones using a tragedy involving 98% POC to make out with their boyfriends with #2MenKissing for nothing more than reblogs while praising Nick Jonas, a white straight man, for being such a brave ally and speaking on behalf of LGBT people of color.
I made this post because even in tragedy, y'all never stop.
So, yeah, this post is divisive. But so are the actions of those within the community I’m holding accountable as they continue to build social capital from a tragedy involving men both brown and feminine.
