The Stigma Of Emotional Weakness Essay - 2035 Words

â€Å"I don t want to die without a few scars, I say. It’s nothing anymore to have a beautiful stock body† (48). Through the societal construction of historically preserved gender roles, arises a prototype men are expected to emulate, and failure to oblige is generally met with opprobrium. In Fight Club we encounter men of a post-modern patriarchal society who have lost faith in their prescribed positions in social order, thus confined to wallow in despair, and seek to experience a palpable sense of being that is thought only achievable through violence. The stigma of emotional weakness in men in addition to the rigidity of socially constructed gender roles illustrated in Chuck Palahniuk’s novel, strategically reveals fight club to be a form of self-harm, offering crucial resolution to the universal crisis of masculinity. The analysis of the perceived gender roles in the novel reveals the existence of a stigma attached to any display of mental or emotional weakne ss in men. This stigma is directly responsible for the phenomenon referred to as the crisis of masculinity. From an early age men are taught to repress their emotions in order to avoid showing weakness, they â€Å"can cry, but every tear that lands in the lye flakes on your skin will burn like a cigarette scar† (76). This metaphorical representation of the stigma exemplifies the pain and penalty felt by men who defy gendered norms. This ideology embodies the stigma of mental weakness in men, a stigma that can beShow MoreRelatedTragedy of Tormented Teenagers: Mental Illness Hits One in Four1429 Words   |  6 Pagesfor most of adolescents and young people become vulnerable to mental illness during this time. During this transitional period towards independent adulthood, adolescents experience physical changes with the onset of puberty as well as cognitive, emotional and social development (McGorry Goldstone, 2011). 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