Spider-Man and Masculinity

what is masculinity can you be big and muscular but lack assertiveness and Charisma and still be considered masculine on the other hand can you be assertive and charismatic but lack physical prowess and still be considered masculine is masculinity on a spectrum when you think of Spider-Man specifically the mainstream Peter Parker Incarnation masculinity is probably not the first thing that comes to your mind apart from the '90s Animated Series where Spider-Man was Juiced the [ __ ] out most depictions of the character have him looking like a twink and his personality isn't really considered stereotypically masculine he's constantly cracking jokes even when fighting criminals you can call me webad you can call me amazing just don't call me late for dinner get it and he isn't necessarily the most intimidating character so is this web swinging twink actually a masculine character yes and if you disagree I believe you might have certain biases on what masculinity is this is Spider-Man and masculinity before we begin I want to quickly plug my stuff my name is Imran and I make video essays on masculine E I would really appreciate it if you could subscribe and like the video since it really helps the channel out I also Al have a patreon if you want to directly support a small YouTuber thank you and now on to the video Peter Parker is a character who suffers a lot there's a running joke that the comic writers absolutely hate the idea of him living a happy life in the spider-verse movies a spider person losing someone close to them happens in every Universe they're considered Canon events when we look at tragic characters in fiction like Batman and Wolverine their tragic past makes them distant antisocial and deeply sad characters I would argue that Spider-Man's life is as tragic as theirs Peter Parker is an orphan his Uncle Ben who helped raise him is killed his girlfriend Gwen Stacy is also killed his best friend's dad is a psychopathic super villain his best friend also eventually becomes a super villain and to make matters worse he even has a whole Cinematic Universe named after him that doesn't even include him what the [ __ ] are you doing Sony my point is Peter Parker doesn't exactly have the happiest life despite this he still maintains his humor and his friendliness stoicism is a big part of masculinity to be able to control your emotions against anything life may throw at you requires a lot of inner strength Batman is a famous storic superhero Kevin Conroy's portrayal of Batman is famous for having his emotions constantly in check to the point where he might even seem emotionless but stoicism is not the absence of all emotions stoicism is a way to deal with your emotions to not be a slave to them I believe Spider-Man perfectly encapsulates this Spider-Man's stoicism doesn't make him an emotionless cold character but instead his stoicism is shown through his ability to still be the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man despite all the tragedy he faces for all the losses he experiences it wouldn't be surprising to see him be a darker more vengeful character but the only time he truly does show this side of him is when his loved ones are hurt or if he's influenced by alien goo his positivity and his friendliness is so ingrained into him that it takes extreme circumstances to take these traits away from him the spider that bit Peter Parker to give him his powers could have bitten anyone the trait that makes Peter Parker such a masculine figure is his ability to not let his powers corrupt him to be powerful enough to have self-control with these gifts Spider-Man could be doing doing almost anything he wanted but chooses not to as it wouldn't be a responsible use of his powers and and yeah I would love to play football but I I couldn't then so I shouldn't now sure cuz you're different exactly I think it's interesting that Spider-Man getting his powers didn't actually improve his life in fact his life got harder and this is all because of his intentional use of his powers for good at times he has questioned whether being a crime fighting hero is even worth it but eventually he comes back to the role of the hero a lot of people believe Spider-Man isn't a masculine character because of how he looks physically he's usually depicted as Slimmer and having a more athletic build as opposed to the bigger bulkier looks of characters like katos or Gods although I do believe your physical looks definitely play a role in how masculinity is presented your physical Aesthetics don't necessarily correlate with how physically capable you are I would compare Spider-Man's physique to that of boo Le someone who isn't necessarily the biggest but still very much physically capable and Incredibly powerful many people don't actually realize how powerful Spider-Man is because he's almost always pulling his punches this results in his enemies constantly underestimating him he's confident in his strength so he doesn't feel the need to flaunt it humility is a masculine virtue Spider-Man is a character that has a lot of mentors and these mentors act as father figures to him ever since Uncle Ben died Peter Parker has been on a quest to find a man to call Daddy unfortunately for him many of these father figures end up becoming super villains Norman Osborne the father of Peter Parker's best friend is also a character who inspires Peter as a scientist he shows him exactly what it's like to be a financial success in the field of science Otto Octavius is another famous role model for p intelligence is not a privilege it's a gift and you use it for the good of mankind this quote carries the same sentiment as Uncle Ben's famous line about power and responsibility the fact that these characters end up being two of Spider-Man's most famous villains despite being introduced as Role Models shows him that eventually you will grow out of your mentors guidance there's only so much you can learn from other people true wisdom comes from experiencing life firsthand and making your own choices to be your own man an iconic moment in Spider-Man's history was when he was trapped under a large piece of metal that fell on him Tom Holland's Spider-Man also goes through a similar struggle it's iconic because of his Relentless perseverance his ability to not give up despite all the pain and the fact that he's motivated by his need to help Aunt May if he doesn't get out he won't be able to give Aunt May the life-saving medication that she needs when the situation seems Bleak Spider-Man eventually musters the strength to slowly lift the metal and save himself this sums up the character of Spiderman that even if a situation appears impossible to get out of he will endure as much pain and suffering as he needs to for the sake of others sure Spider-Man might not be portrayed as stereotypically masculine like certain other Heroes but that doesn't change the fact that he is guided by his duty to help others he has an unwavering ability to not let the world shake his sense of responsibility he constantly rises above adversity and that makes him masculine as [ __ ] [Music]

Channel: Imran Bulks

Views: 19,051

Keywords: spider-man masculinity, spiderman masculinity, spider-man, masculinity, superhero masculinity, tom holland, tobey maguire, andrew garfield

Id: SGIOb3Y8XEY

Length: 8min 56sec (536 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 19 2024