In Lysistrata, the men swore they were almighty and in control— until the Koryphaios of Women threaten to “crop [their] lungs and reap [their] bowels, bite by bite, and leave no balls on the body” (43). Once their “packages” were disrespected, their masculinity in general was pretty much useless. How much pride could a man actually muster when his very manhood was put into question? “No creature’s found so lost to shame as Woman” (43). No man ever wants to be disrespected by the very creature who is opposite of him.Similarly, in the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, a woman named Janie is unhappily married to Jody Starks, the mayor of her town. He would constantly berate her in front of his friends and the townsfolk, but Janie would always bite her tongue. Until one day, Jody tells her that her “rump hangin’ nearly to [her] knees” (93) and that she is an “ole woman” (93). Janie promptly responds by telling Jody: “You… put out a lot of brag, but ’tain’t nothin’ to it but yo’ big voice. Humph! Talkin’ ’bout me lookin’ old! When you pull down yo’ britches, you look lak de change uh life” (94). Janie’s statement ultimately killed her husband. He realized none of his wealth or possessions could ever make up lack of respect from the townsfolk because of Janie’s statement. Her statement killed Jody’s masculinity and killed him similar to how Lysistrata's women killed the men's pride and then their war.
Moriah's opinion on how men lose their "masculinity" when faced with the opposite sex and forced into questioning is 100% agreeable. In both instances when men and women are forced into a corner of disagreement the women tend to throw comments out that diminish the male superiority and strength. Even in a real world situation when a female says a comment that could 100% truthful men fall apart. They deny any such thing could be true. Men put on facade to illustrate themselves in a certain way, but when times become extremely difficult the mask falls off and they no longer can live up to the ideals they had presented earlier. In the play when sex was taken off the table the men who were thought to be strong heroes fell apart and lost their masculinity.
ReplyDeleteI agree and know exactly what you meant when you said there are low blows said by women in an argument with a man. I too read the book Their Eyes Were Watching God and remember how that moment signaled strength in Janie. Normally these low blows take place because women are often so fed up with the person and their problems they cause. The women are finally satisfied because they could let what they had to say off of their chest without worrying about what others will think. This moment is often a relief for the woman.
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