Materials

• Film clips from Minding the Gap and a way to screen them
• The poem “masculine” by Nayyirah Waheed and a way to project it so everyone can see it
• Students will need a way to write (paper & pen or laptop/tablet/computer)

Learning Goal: Students will explore the link between traditional masculinity and the suppression of emotions.

Activity

Step 1: Masculinity refers to the traditional, widely and culturally accepted characteristics of men.

Jot down some characteristics of masculinity.

Step 2: Pair and share what you wrote and talk with your partner about where you learned what it means to be a man. List all of the influences that have shaped your ideas about masculinity.

Step 3: Read the following poem by 21st Century, African American, woman poet, Nayyirah Waheed and answer the questions that follow.

masculine by Nayyirah Waheed

there have been so many times

i have seen a man wanting to weep

but

instead

beat his heart until it was unconscious

• What does this poem mean?
• Why would it be more masculine to do violence to one’s heart than to cry in public?
• What’s the impact of feeling like you shouldn’t express emotions?
• To which person in Minding the Gap does this poem apply most? Select from Keire, Zack, or Bing.
• How does the person you have selected challenge what Nayyirah Waheed’s poem says through their behavior and what they verbally express?

Use evidence from the film to support your answer.

Step 4: View the clip in which Elliot gets a miniature skateboard for his 1st birthday. As a class, discuss:

• What gender and cultural expectations are being presented to Elliot through this gift?
• How are ideas of masculinity and gender formed?
• What role is played by nature (biology)? How about nurture (culture & experience)?
• If Elliot was your son, what would you want him to learn about being a man?