Core Post 2 - Hana Lee

At a time when the traditional definitions of masculinity and femininity are shifting, it is interesting to analyze a celebrity that fully embodied masculinity during his time, John Wayne. As Willis dissects who Wayne was and his importance to the American people, we see that though times seemed troubling, masculinity was what Americans needed at the time. Beginning his acting career in Stagecoach (1939), Wayne achieved close to overnight stardom, as he played the ultimate male role, the cowboy. Wayne was physically built, had a strong presence, and additionally had his famed gait, which when all put together created the icon known as John Wayne. As Wayne gained famed during a difficult political time in United States history, he was the figure many looked to when the times of war seemed never-ending and hopeless. Though interestingly enough, Wayne never actually served, but the persona he created was powerful enough, “man enough” if you will, to narrow the gap between harsh reality and optimistic fiction. 

On the other hand, Cohen points to a time not when masculinity was being defined, but rather when masculinity had already been defined, and it was up to men to fill those expectations. Those standards and expectations society has set up — being the breadwinners, the discipliners, and leaders of the household — have been put into question recently with actors like Justin Baldoni of Jane the Virgin publicly questioning what it means to be a man. 

In his TedX talk, Baldoni calls to embody the very traits that have been societally defined as feminine and to look towards the strong women who embody them. As we look to the future and further question traditional definitions of masculinity and femininity, I believe those definitions will not be so much separated by lines but continue to intersect.