The Alpha Male

There are many benefits that boys and men have for simply being men. Thhey get paid more, have a better chance at becoming an professional athlete, and of course don’t have the pleasure of giving birth. All of these are common benefits of being male, but one that seems to slip beneath the cracks, is the fact that they have the tough man attitude that can create a double standard for men. When they put on the well known “tough guise” they are rewarded. They are not necessarily rewarded in material possessions, but in an ego boost. Most men love to be seen as the big man on campus or the alpha male. It makes them feel powerful and gives them the sense of being needed, because they posses what they think others don’t. These men are typically seen as strong, rugged and manly. Sometimes this guise is effective, say when someone is depending on the man to be strong, not only physically, but emotionally as well to help them through something. But there is also a time when this behavior is harmful and self-destructive. For example, when you are in a serious relationship with someone, you need to have a connection on a higher level than just physically. This is when emotions come into play. If you are dating a man who has been taught that showing emotions makes you weak, then you can not connect on the level that you need to, thus the relationship is not going to be successful. It is harmful to both parties involved because feelings and emotions are damaged.
I believe that many people associate the concept of “gender issues” with “women’s issues” because they have the false perception that that women are the only ones with gender issues, when in fact, men have just as many issues with gender as their female counter parts. This misconception makes it very difficult for many men and women to understand the nature of men and why they act the way they do. They are the way they are because they were raised thinking that if they showed emotions in front of people, they were weak. They were taught to be tough, play sports, and know everything there is to know about everything. Women know that most of this isn’t true, at all. But men feel the need to be right all the time; it comes along with the alpha male attitude. They know all, thus they are the best.
With this being said, there are many effects this “myth” has on the male gender. Being raised the way most men were raised, men have learned that in order to achieve greatness they must strive to reach our culture’s ideal size of physicality and strength. Some of the emotional effects of this would be that men learn to suppress their emotions and keep out people that could potentially cause their emotions to resurface, making them deal with things they do not wish to. There are also health effects that come with this, and that has to do with the use of steroids. Men have turned to the use of steroids in order to reach this standard of beauty that society has set today. Steroid abuse can lead to serious damage to your body and sometimes even death. There is a huge relationship between steroid use and the cultural ideals of male strength. I believe that one of the reasons why this relationship is so strong is because the media inspires the cultural ideal that men need to look like Hulk Hogan. The male population is very susceptible to the media influence because it is so prevalent in today’s society. Chiseled bodies and the perfect tan are in every advertisement that is available to the population. This is what men see day in and day out, how could they not be affected by these images and strive for the standard of masculinity that has been set in our society.