Pen on Fire: Open Letter Proposal/Abstract

A piece I’m interested in writing for the Feminist Wire would be an open letter to my younger brothers. In my piece I’d like to focus on the dangers hyper-masculinity poses to young boys and girls, but I want to write it on a very personal level as an older sister with two, young, pre-teen brothers growing up in our male-dominated society. My goals in scripting this piece would be to highlight the ways we define masculinity in America and the way our strict confines on masculinity produce insecure, aggressive, emotionally constipated men. There are several resources I could utilize for this topic. I could focus on sports culture and how it is linked to masculinity. This would go well with my open letter since both of my younger brothers are heavily involved in sports in my hometown. I could gather information on how often feminine traits are used in sports culture to demean athletes. How using feminine traits as insults has taught boys that being a girl is the worst thing you can be. Of course, if I attacked sports culture I would receive a lot of backlash from people insisting sports teams create a feeling of brotherhood while teaching cooperation and determination. This is true, however hyper-masculinity has been a major byproduct of sports culture. I’m not entirely sure which category my piece would fit in on the Feminist Wire. Maybe Emerging Feminisms? I may have to edit my piece more so that it better fits the categories and guidelines established by the Feminist Wire.

Abstract:

As a concerned, older sister of two pre-teen boys, I would like to address a problem in our society that all young males, and adult males, are going to have to face in their lifetime. Hyper-masculinity. So I want to write an open letter to my younger brothers telling them that their masculinity is not defined by how emotionless, aggressive, and good at sports they are. I’d like to be able to convey to them an image of healthy masculinity, in which they are free to express themselves and feel comfortable, rather than be constantly emotionally-constipated. I also want to warn them about the ways in which sports culture, and the patriarchy, use femininity as an insult. Words like pussy, sissy, pansy, and bitch are used to demean men and women. There is nothing wrong with having feminine traits! Having feelings doesn’t make you a pussy! I’ll be writing my open letter as though I am directly addressing my younger brothers, however I feel this is a message that every needs to hear and can benefit from. Writing it as though I’m directly addressing my younger brothers will just make the letter more personal and urgent.