No more macho

By: Sydney Douglas, Contributing Writer

Stereotypes about masculinity are harmful to men because they promote false expectations and a skewed definition of what manhood means, according to the documentary “The Mask You Live In.”

The Center for Student Diversity held a movie screening of the film Oct. 29 in the University Union. 

The documentary explored the myths of masculinity and followed with a conversation about some of the themes talked about in the film.

“I’m not a male, so I don’t know exactly how they perceive the world,” senior Courtney Thompson said. “I mean I can read as many books as possible but I mean I don’t know from the female perspective, I don’t know what exactly they go through.”

The film was released in January at the Sundance Film Festival and focused on a variety of topics that followed many men and boys through interviews about how the definition of manhood influenced their lives.

After the film, there was a question and answer session with three experts in the field of psychology, including Towson professors Shannon McClain and Jared McGinley, as well as practicing psychologist Kaushal Amatya.

The panel of experts asked the question “What did you connect with most in the film or what stuck out to you?” Many students connected these themes to the epidemic of school shootings and why many of these murders are young men.

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