Month: October 2018

/ˈdrirē/  (adjective)

Jessica Bennett, “A Master’s Degree in Masculinity”

In the essay, “A master’s degree in… masculinity?”  the word that I would like to add to my glossary is dreary.  It means feeling, displaying, or reflecting listlessness or discouragement, from Merriam-Webster. The sentence say “On a dreary Wednesday, in an open classroom, the young men and women had volunteered to be there. Which the meaning on the definition of dreary  what that sentence is trying to initiate that those young people had no other choice but to be in a classroom that they not enthusiast to be inside. For example, I can relate to this word in many ways as for instance, in my Human Biology class, the professor takes the Two hours and twenty lecturing, therefore that class in very dreary.  But the very exciting moment, when we have the ten minutes break.

commensurate(adjective)

According to the dictionary Marriam Webster, the word commensurate mean” corresponding in size, extent, amount, or degree “.

In class we learn the article”The Boys Are Not All Right”by Michael Ian Black, one part of the article said”Boys, though, have been left behind. No commensurate movement has emerged to help them navigate toward a full expression gender “.

After this quote I start to understand what the word commensurate mean in this sentence, it mean there no more movement to help them have a full expression, and to support to make them move forward, which always left behind..

According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, dystopian or dystopia is defined as an imaginary place where people lead dehumanizing and often fearful lives. In the reading “Talking to Boys the Way We Talk to Girls” by Andrew Reiner, the word appears on the third page on the second paragraph as stated, “We tell ourselves we are preparing our sons to fight (literally and figuratively), to compete in a world and economy that’s brutish and callous. The sooner we can groom them for this dystopian future, the better off they’ll be”. Knowing what the word means, I can understand the reading better. The sooner they are talked out of this imaginary place that society has created, a society that seems to be dehumanizing boys, the sooner boys will begin to grow in an environment that wont negatively affect them.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word Caricatures(Noun) means exaggeration by means of often ludicrous distortion of parts or characteristics.  This word can be found in page 99, “But we’re all guilty of reducing our image of rappers to caricatures. When they tell us what’s wrong, do we listen?” This shows that people pay attention to rappers talking about drugs, money, and sex then calling out for help in their rap songs. Instead of us realizing their cry for help we criticize them for making inappropriate remarks in their songs. Learning the definition of this word helped me get a clearer understanding of the point that Smith is trying to make about seeing rappers cry of help as an exaggeration.

Analytical. An adjective defined as “skilled in or using analysis especially in thinking or reasoning” by Merriam Webster Dictionary. In the article, “Talking To The Boys The Way We Talk To Girls” it talks about how parents talk differently to their sons compared to their daughters. The article states “. . . they use language that is more analytical and that acknowledges their sadness far more than they do with their sons.” This quote shows how parents use a more understanding and emotional language with their daughters. As for their sons, they use a more firm and tough language. They are more strict with their sons.

According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, retroactive is identified as a adjective word. It means “extending in scope or effect to a prior time or to conditions that existed or originated in the past”. On page 91, it states,”I now know many people who have lived with depression, but that’s a retroactive designation.” The word was used to explain that the people he knows has suffered from depression in the past. It’s telling us that people had this problem but never talked about it until they were older.

The definition of the word Mold means in the Merriam Webster “distinctive nature or character. The word is a noun. The word Mold can be found in “What Our Son Are Learning From Donald Trump” by Claire Cain Miller on paragraph 1 when Miller states, “That constrain boys, and particularly harms those who don’t fit the mold-as much as it does girls who want to be active and competitive too.” The author uses the word mold to show how boys are not able to fit a group easily like others. Knowing the word helped me understand what the author was saying because I thought he meant mold as in fungus.

According to Merriam-webster, the definition of Crooning is “to sing or speak in a gentle murmuring way”. I found this word in the article, “Talking to boys the way we talk to girls” by Andrew Reiner. This word is used by a 5 year old boy who’s describing his father’s qualities in a crooning way. Andrew is telling us that his father when he’s with children he acts like a child and try not to show his be a man side.

Dutiful: Performing the duties expected or required of one (adjective)

When reading ” If Black Men Want to heal Racism’s Wounds, We Can’t Pretend to be Strong All the time” by Mychal Denezel Smith, I came across the word Dutiful, and the first word that popped into my head was duty but for some reason I thought duty and dutiful were two different words, so that why I chose it. The author of this passage used this word when referring to his father. He was discussing how his father was the true meaning of masculinity because he was dutiful, which I learned that he fulfilled his duties as a father, and a man. Smiths father would always provide and discipline him. Dutiful was just a plural word for duty. This word can be found at dictionary.com for those who need a clearer definition of dutiful.

 

-Nayideh Rene

Meanwhile I was read If Black Men Want to Heal Racism’s Wounds, We Can’t Pretend to Be Strong All the Time, I find the word  “anomaly”. I don’t know what the word mean but when I google the word, I got a definition of  “something that deviates from what is standard, normal, or expected”. After I read the definition I understand what the author mean by “I wrote it off as an anomaly” the author mean he arrange something.