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#1: "the Education ministry has proposed emphasizing the 'Spirit of Yang,' or male attributes by hiring more sports instructors and redesigning physical education classes in elementary and secondary schools"(May1).
This quote shows that masculinity is caging boys in China because they have redesigned their systems to make sure that boys become strong from a young age. This is not good because it could force these young boys to go through physical activities to make them stronger that they do not wish to participate in yet they are forced to so that they are more masculine.

#2: "Five years after he died, I sat down to talk with my stepmother, Nancy, and the word she used to describe his feelings about me as a child was 'soft', a catchall that meant sensitive, vulnerable, artistic"(Sexton 6). This quote again shows that as a kid because Sexton was not as strong and masculine as his father that he was looked at in a bad way or as soft by his father. This shows the really horrible part of toxic masculinity both caging and ruining a father and son relationship because the son is not as masculine as the father when the father wishes he is and is toxic and mean about it.

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"These men, and the boys following in their footsteps, were socialized in childhood to exhibit the ideal masculine traits. Those who do not conform are punished by their fathers in the form of physical and emotional abuse."

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"In recent years, as the country has sought to bolster its military and reckon with pampered children, mostly boys, born under its one-child policy, a more stringent idea of masculinity has emerged. Television censors have blurred the pierced ears of male pop stars. Well-groomed actors have been publicly derided as “little fresh meat,” and parents have enrolled boys in boot camps, hoping they will become “real men.”(Tiffany May).
this quote shows how boys starting from a young age are thought they have to be in the army in military in order to be real men which can be very sexist because it will show the young man that only men can be in the military and not women as well.

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"Educators like Liu Wenli, a professor at Beijing Normal University and an expert in health and sex education, see some perils. Ms. Liu said that even the reference to “feminization of male youths” could lead to more bullying of students because of their gender expression, identity or sexual orientation."(May 2). By creating this standard for how men and boys should be, the peoples liberty to express themselves is stripped. They become restricted and forced to fit into a box, which insists that they must be strong and somewhat emotionless at all times.

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"Well- groomed actors have been publicly derided as 'little fresh meat, and parents have enrolled boys in boot camps hoping they will become 'real man'" (May 1).
"the man was expectantly beleaguered by his backbreaking job, and having give all to the factory, mine, or body shop, he had no more energy to spare for his partner or family, no more strength for functioning" (Sexton).
Men are struggling with finding what they want to do due to what society put out as the "normal thing" for men to do. In the first example, the idea of masculinity being a cape due to undue burdens is being shown. Men feel like forced to be what the society see's them as and not people they want to be. Often people see men as people who work hard and often don't take a break or a breather. As society would see this as normal, men often feel "caged" as shown in the second example when it says that they didn't have any energy left for his family. Men often find themselves stuck in this ideal place which of what society thinks they should be like and act like.

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"Well-groomed actors have been publicly derided as “little fresh meat,” and parents have enrolled boys in boot camps, hoping they will become “real men"(May 1).
Men have been backed into a corner by societal norms and other factors that have made it extremely difficult to follow any other path other than the one that men are supposed to follow. To become a "real man", one must sacrifice themselves to the expectations of society in order to be respected and valued. Essentially, men are caged into becoming this false idea of a “real man” which proves to be a heavy burden because of the restrictions of not being able to become the person you want to be.

“Unchecked diabetes-like many men, Dad refused to tell anyone he was sick and then avoided seeing a doctor for fear of appearing weak-took his life at the early age of fifty-nine" (Sexton 7).

The idea of vulnerability is often associated with weak, and this idea of being sick is viewed as weak, or vulnerable. Being weak is the opposite of what toxic masculinity is characterized as and this idea is emphasized by the fact that the dad refused to keep himself healthy in order to stay “masculine”, which is truly a burden to sacrifice your health for your masculinity. Refusing to tell anyone you are sick in fear of being viewed as less than is truly a toxic mindset and a burden to carry.

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"The man was expectantly beleaguered by his backbreaking job, and having give all to the factory, mine or body shop, he had no more energy to spare for his partner or family, no more strength for functioning" (Sexton).
"He also lamented that boys no longer wanted to become war heroes, warning that such a trend could endanger the Chinese people"(May 1) The "ideal man" in society today is expected to be always working, never taking a break or relaxing and always being the backbone of their families. In the first example a man is being described as coming home tired and having no energy for his family or life outside of work because as a man, he is expected to give it all hes got and work hard because of how men are supposed to have courage, independence and leadership compared to women.In the 2nd example it describes how the Chinese depend on men and young boys to be war heroes for their country and protect them during war, putting an unbelievable amount of pressure on young Chinese boys. Men have put this burden or weight on their backs to be the strongest most fearless humans ever just because of society's standards and expectations on men and how they should act.

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"In a statement, Mr. Si said the prevalence of female teachers in kindergartens and elementary schools and the popularity of “pretty boys” in pop culture had made boys “weak, inferior and timid.” He also lamented that boys no longer wanted to become war heroes, warning that such a trend could endanger the Chinese people"(May).
Because these boys are always used to siting out during their gym class, their not use to the exercise they would git if they participated, so when they try they get tired to easily and so their not stoic. And due to the lack of exercise their not as strong as they need to be, and so they have a weaker and less stable masculinity. From this lack of strength they become easily frightened when asked to do tougher and manlier tasks. They could struggle finding a job because they may not have the resilience to keep or maintain one, because they're not strong and stoic enough.

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"Television censors have blurred the pierced ears of male pop stars. Well-groomed actors have been publicly derided as “little fresh meat,” and parents have enrolled boys in boot camps, hoping they will become 'real men.'" (May 1)

"These men, and the boys following in their footsteps, were socialized in childhood to exhibit the ideal masculine traits, including stoicism, aggressiveness, extreme self-confidence, and an upending competitiveness"
(Sexton 9).

Because the government's ideals are 'manly' men they do not support male pop stars decision to wear jewelry. They went as far as to blur and censor the earrings of male pop stars. A male child watching these things would be discouraged from wearing jewelry because the government is making it seem like a bad thing. Men wearing Jewelry is not and should not be a problem but toxic masculinity has caused issues like this. Young men are raised to exhibit masculine traits and are seen as less of a man if they do not act the way society deems a man should act. This can be very damaging to young people as they can feel like they are not normal.

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“In a statement, Mr. Si said the prevalence of female teachers in kindergartens and elementary schools and the popularity of “pretty boys” in pop culture had made boys “weak, inferior and timid.” He also lamented that boys no longer wanted to become war heroes, warning that such a trend could endanger the Chinese people”(May 1).

“He told me the expectations he’d carried, as a father, as a son, as a man, had sabotaged his relationships and prevented him from expressing himself, or really enjoying intimacy, emotionally or intellectually, his whole life”(Sexton 8).

The stereotypical view of a man is for them grow up and want a “manly” job such as being in the military or act “manly” by suppressing their emotions. These stereotypes prevent men from expressing themselves. Men feel as though they must live up to these expectations created by society which inhibits them from truly being who they want to be. They are label as “weak, inferior and timid” if they don’t act a certain way. If they don’t abide by these societal norms the world judges them. Therefore men think in order to fit in they must conceal how they truly feel.

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"Some social media users expressed support for the proposal, with one writing, 'It's hard to imagine such effeminate boys can defend their country when an outside invasion looms.'" (May 1)
"The man was expectantly beleaguered by his backbreaking job, having given his all to the factory, mine, or body shop" (Sexton 5)
The idea of the ideal man places many burdens on the shoulders of young men. Men are assumed to work in the army, or the backbreaking factory and manual labor jobs to provide for families. When one thinks of a factory worker or soldier, one typically thinks of a man. Breaking out of this cage worries many, because then it is no longer the hard, stiff, conforming male image, but someone who may be too "soft" (Sexton 6) to protect the country or do physically difficult jobs.

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"Television censors have blurred the pierced ears of male popstars. Well groomed actors have been publicly derided as little fresh meat and parents have enrolled boys in boot camps, hoping they will become real men" (May 1). "Like the others, Dad new I was different. five years after he died, I sat down to talk with my stepmother, Nancy, and the word she used to describe his feelings about me as a child was soft, a catchall that meant sensitive, vulnerable, artistic"(sexton 6). in todays society, men need to follow certain characteristics to allow them to be considered as a man. due to this, most men try to obtain and follow these characteristics but at the same time, men are masking their real identity and hiding who they really are and who they want to be.

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"These men, and the boys following their footsteps, were socialized in childhood to exhibit the ideal masculine traits, including stoicism, aggressiveness, extreme self-confidence, and an unending competitiveness. Those who do not conform are punished by their fathers in the form of physical and emotional abuse, and then further socialized by the boys in their school and community who have been enduring their own abuse at home" (Sexton 9). Men in this environment h many expectations placed on them and the consequences if they do not submit to these standards seem to be very serious. They are essentially left with no choice but to abide by the social norms of "masculinity"; the alternative is to endure social, physical, and emotional harassment from those deeming them not manly enough.

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D. Masculinity is a cage because it leads some men to engage racist and sexist rhetoric in order to establish dominance over others. 

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D. Masculinity is a cage because it leads some men to engage racist and sexist rhetoric in order to establish dominance over others. 

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C. Masculinity is a cage because it requires that men always be stoic and strong. 

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C. Masculinity is a cage because it requires that men always be stoic and strong. 

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B. Masculinity is a cage because it prevents men from being who they want to be. 

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B. Masculinity is a cage because it prevents men from being who they want to be. 

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A. Masculinity is a cage because it places undue burdens on a man. 

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A. Masculinity is a cage because it places undue burdens on a man. 

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Working with the group letter you were assigned and relying on the two texts ("China Says the Boys Are Not All Right" and the Man They Wanted Me to Be), please do the following:
1. Look at the padlet labeled with your group letter,and using the two texts provided to you, consider how the texts corroborate the statement provided.
2. You should select a distinct quote that demonstrates the statement associated with your group letter provided, cited with author last name and page number. Create a new post that is the same color as the assigned letter (Use the three dots at the top right of the post you create to change the color-- this will only happen AFTER you have created your original post, then you can go back and edit it. Create a post by clicking the + icon at the bottom right of the page.) Place your contributions (one from the article, one from the essay) next to the claim it demonstrates; make sure the quote matches the color of the claim.
3. Explain why you selected the quotation you did in detail in the comments of your quotation, discussing how it demonstrates the assigned claim.

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"Men like my father, and men like him who attend Trump rallies, join misogynistic subcultures, populate some of the most hateful groups in the world, are prisoners of toxic masculinity, an artificial construct whose expectancies are unattainable, thus making them exceedingly fragile and injurious to others, not to mention themselves" (Sexton 8). These harmful stereotypes that are being perpetrated by these men are definitely to a fault of their personal character, but their upbringings, surroundings, and societal pressures are definitely part of the blame. If a man feels trapped in his identity, he may take on these characteristics as a prevention mechanism, or just to feel like he fits in. This relate strongly to the thought that men can get "trapped" in toxic masculinity behaviors.

"In the latest attempt to tackle what academics and news outlets call a 'masculinity crisis,' the Education Ministry has proposed emphasizing the 'spirit of yang,' or male attributes, by hiring more sports instructors and redesigning physical education classes in elementary and secondary schools" (May 1). The idea that men need to be "more masculine" in order to be useful to society further emphasizes the fact that men are placed in boxes of toxic masculinity- thus creating a perfect breeding ground for sexist, racist and homophobic behaviors.