Products of the Media Environment.

"...What the media do is help to construct a violent masculinity as a cultural norm... Violence isn't so much a deviation as it is an accepted part of masculinity," Jackson Katz.

The quote by Jackson Katz is a striking realization that men believe they are inherently violent as they consume popular culture that displays men this way. Thus, they act out in violent ways, whether it's abusing a woman, getting into bar fights with me, or even carrying around weapons for "safety". This is completely normalized in pop culture. Take Eminem, for example. Many of his songs include lyrics about the hate he has for his ex, Kim. In the song of the same name, Eminem basically screams emotionally abusive words as well as saying things like "bleed bitch, bleed." Such a popular artist exemplifies Katz argument perfectly. In more recent news, Eminem has also been the target of anti-violence groups for his video "Space Bound" which includes him dreaming of killing his girlfriend and then shooting himself in the head. The UK anti-violence group, Mothers Against Violence, stated, "People who do this are really quite evil. Children are influenced by the things they see. If we feed violence, it becomes strong. Like an addiction. It's all about the money with these videos. Eminem isn't thinking about the families affected. It's selfish - it comes to a point when selfishness becomes evil."

It comes as no surprise to me that men are more violent than women. Men are accustomed to being portrayed as violent, whereas violent women, such as those in SuckerPunch, are nearly mockable. Boys are pushed to play football while girls are pushed to be dancers. Men are supposed to have control while women are to be domicile. I believe the roots of violence begin to grow in childhood and if children of both sexes are pushed to achieve goals through intelligence as opposed to force, as they grew up, the world may be a less violent place.