Month: October 2018

According to Dictionary.com, the word Meritocratic means “an elite group of people whose progress is based on ability and talent rather than on class privilege or wealth.” Meritocratic is used to describe the nature of womens ability to complete a task and be just as educated as a man could be. For example, according to “The Boys at the Back”, “Universities that had been dominated by affluent white men embraced meritocratic values and diversity of gender, race and class. This meant that men started to realize that women were well educated and allow them to progress in the work field.

Ubiquitous: Existing, or being present everywhere, especially at the same time. (adjective)

          Today’s word is ubiquitous, I found this word while reading “Teaching Men to Be emotionally Honest” by Ana Homayoun. Before reading this article I never heard or saw this word before, it looked like a very unique word that I just had to search up what it meant. I would have never imagined that it would mean for something to exist or be present everywhere. But when reading the sentence that stated the word ubiquitous it all made sense. The author wants reader to know the most important things that males do in order to prove their masculinity, such a binge drinking, hookups, and always playing video games. I now know how to put this word to use when needed.

– Nayideh Rene

Incredulous is defined as unwilling to admit or accept what is offered as true according to Merriam-Webster. The word incredulous is used as an adjective. I encountered this word in the article entitled, “Teaching Men to Be Emotionally Honest” by Andrew Reiner. On page two it states that, “His voice quavering, the young man stammered something unexpected from a frat brother, about how women can be as insensitive and hurtful as guys. He sounded like a victim himself. But afterward, when I asked him if he had reached out to any of his guy friends for advice or solace, he stared at me, incredulous, his irises two small blue islands amid a sea of sclera. “Nah, I’ve got this,” he said.” I thought that the word meant not feeling to to talk or associate because the character is saying he has got this, associating with himself only ignoring the help. I see the meaning more clearly because he was not willing to accept what was being offered to him. He did not want to seek out advice from his fellow friends but, instead act unwilling to what is the truth.

According to Merriam-Webster, taciturn is described as being temperamentally disinclined to talk. The word taciturn is described as an adjective. It is used to describe someone. On October 23rd, 2018, I came upon this word in the text entitled, “Allowing Teenage Boys to Love Their Friends” by Jan Hoffman. It states on page two, “Indeed, the shutting down of those relationships is part of what turns boys into taciturn, emotionally disconnected men, Dr. Way said. She herself has four best friends — three women and one man.” When I read the word I was unsure of the meaning in terms of the article. I was not sure what it was trying to say. The term taciturn to me meant a mechanism meaning, it was a mechanism or trait men carry which makes them emotionally disconnected. I see the meaning of the word better now because men feel as if they cannot talk to other so it causes them to behave in a manner of not speaking. They do not feel inclined to speak to one another because that is the society norms.

According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, denigrate is defined as to deny the importance or validity. In the reading “Teaching Men to Be Emotionally  Honest” by Andrew Reiner, the word appears in the sixth paragraph as stated, “Boys’ underperformance in school has more to do with society’s norms about masculinity than with anatomy, hormones or brain structure. In fact, boys involved in extracurricular cultural activities such as music, art, drama and foreign languages report higher levels of school engagement and get better grades than other boys. But these cultural activities are often denigrated as un-masculine by preadolescent and adolescent boys.” Now knowing what the word means, the author put this study by sociologists Thomas A. DiPrete and Claudia Buchmann, to convey the idea that young boys struggle to show their emotions and don’t get much involved extracurricular activities. And those that do get involved in extracurricular activities, tend to do better in school.

Fascinated(Verb)

accoding to the dictionary Marriam Webster, the word fascinated mean”To command the interest of”.

This word is appear in the article”The boys at back”by Christina Hoff Sommers, In the quote”The student are kept so budy and fascinated with what they are doing that they have neither the time nor the desire antics”.

Afte I understand the word fascinated, I will be able to understand this sentence clearly which mean the student is interest in something that they don’t even have the time to do it, and don’t have the emotion to do it.

According to the Merriam-Webster the word mutate is a verb and it means a significant change. It can be found on paragraph 2 on “Teaching Men to Be Emotionally Honest” by Andrew Reiner. “The home video was right on point, illustrating the takeaway for the course: how boys are taught, sometimes with the best intention, to mutate their emotional suffering into anger”. In the video shown during the vaccination the dad tries to drastically change the boy’s emotion by cheering him by saying he is a man. The word is used to show how the boy changed his emotion quickly.

According to the merriam-Webster elixir is a noun and means the essential principle. In the article “ How to help kids disrupt ‘bro culture’” by Ana Homayoun it says, “ Bro culture uses the formidable elixirs of power and status to create a toxic social environment, and tends to be characterized by manipulative charm, entitlement and a so-called ‘rules don’t apply attitude’— as well as an inability to express emotion, show remorse or be vulnerable.” This is significant because it shows that the culture of “bro” has been demoralizing men in our society because they have no idea how to show their emotions anymore and they don’t know what’s right and wrong anymore. The word “bro” has been making men think of how they should act but it’s wrong because it’s rules made by other men. Learning this definition is going to help me further explain some points in my essays.

Agitate is a verb and according to Merriam-Webster the definition is ” to move with an irregular, rapid, or violent action”. This word is used in the article, “Teaching Men to Be Emotionally Honest” by Andrew Reiner when he talk about the gay in the clip and his father went for vacation. His father was motivating him by saying that “Be a man” and got aggressive because his son got agitated. To make him feel better he started motivating him.

The word Etiquette appears in the context “Dr. Kimmel came to my campus, Towson University, in 2011 to discuss the “Bro Code” of collegiate male etiquette.” This word is included in the article “Teaching Men to Be Emotionally Honest” by Andrew Reiner. As indicated by Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the word “Etiquette” implies that the conduct or procedure required by good breeding or prescribed by authority to be observed in social or official life. Now knowing the meaning of the word I realize that the creator was stating they would examine about how guys are seen in the public eye and in their lives.