Norah brings up the topic of manhood in this final chapter. Do you believe men are held to the standards of manhood by society?
Yes, men are held to a social standard of manhood. This standard is the base of male identities. Guys are biologically programed to be competitive. This sense of manhood drives guys to compete and be the manliest man they can be. This is seen through the actions of those who oppress less manly men. Manhood is associated with dominance in the world of men.
Norah makes the comment in this chapter, that most guys are homophobic. Would you agree with her argument? Explain.
We believe most men are homophobic. Homophobia has multiple senses; some people interpret homophobia as fear of homosexuals, while others may see it as fear of being considered a homosexual. We believe not many men fear homosexuality around them. More men are homophobic in the sense that they fear being interpreted by others as a homosexual. This fear is associated with their manhood. Men believe if they are thought of as a homosexual, then they lose some of their credited “manliness”.
Why do you believe this gender experiment was so mentally taxying for Norah?
While the physical aspects were challenging for Norah, the mental aspects were much harsher. Norah explains that it took up six months to feel comfortable as a woman once again after her experiment. While living as a man, Norah completely changed her behavior, which caused people’s expectations of her to change. This behavioral change caused Norah to lose her sense of female identity. With a loss of identity follows a loss of self-worth.
How do you believe that this experiment would be different if it were conducted by a male living as a female alter-ego?
For a guy, it would be a lot harder to disguise as the opposite sex. It is tougher for a man to act as a woman in general. Men would not be able to get into the mindset of a woman to the extent to fool the outside world of their gender. They wouldn’t be able to adapt to the female lifestyle. Like Norah said, “The girls can borrow from the boys”. She means females have the capabilities to have stereotypical male characteristics. Females can wear guy’s cloths and be accepted, while men wearing women’s cloths would not. We believe that the experiment would be much more challenging for a guy, and would most likely fail at some point.
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