Revisions on Gender Stereotypes Essay

Julia Frederick

Emilie Lindemann

Composition 1

October 10, 2013

Forty-Five Wins, Zero Losses:
An Insight to Floyd Mayweather’s Masculine Appearance

            High elbow block, head pull, shoulder roll, and finishing off with a slap hook and forearm crush: these fighting tricks are posted on the internet for all aspiring professional boxers. These tricks are mirrored by the icon Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. This 5’ 8” light middleweight champion in the WBA is no match for many other competitors like Gernaro Hernandez, Diego Corrales, Jose Luis Castillo, and Canelo Alvarez. The fight alone against Canelo was worth 41.5 million dollars; power and wealth are almost synonymous with the name Floyd Mayweather. As the next fight comes up, there’s no doubt in his fans’ minds that “Money” Mayweather will win. This powerful and aggressive man makes all those who watch cringe at his powerful forearm crush; he is the ultimate example of a man conforming to gender stereotypes.

Michael Kimmel describes perfectly the four basic roles to masculinity. Mayweather can be categorized in all four of those rules as the ultimate example. Kummel’s rules to masculinity are as followed: Do not act like a girl by acting heterosexual, having hobbies and occupations that are very tough and demand power as well as wealth. The second rule is that a masculine man must “be a sturdy oak.” Being a sturdy oak requires that during hard times the man shouldn’t show or put his emotions out there, and act cool and collective. The third rule is one that says a man should be strong and forceful, a man should protrude an aura of hell to another man. The last and final rule is a man is defined by his money, power, and status in the world- socially and economically wise Whether it be warming up for a fight, training in the gym, or out at the gentleman’s club, Mayweather proves why he is the best, and why he is the man.

            Being known as a strong and wealthy man, like Mayweather, provides a lot of room for expectations of a being man. Not many people imagine Floyd visiting animal shelters in his spare time, or volunteering himself at a soup kitchen, that’s just not a “manly” thing people would expect. Certainly that’s not what he does. Although good for a community, it wouldn’t be good for a professional WBA fighters’ reputation. Every one of Mayweather’s 1.9 million followers on Instagram (a social networking site for photos) can see exactly what this man of all men does in his time out of the boxing ring. A 2014 Flying Spur Bentley, a Piaget watch worth well over a million dollars, and photos of Mayweather in gentleman’s club all reveal the inside life an undefeated WBA professional. Also Mayweather is known for his TMT, The Money Team, brand; TMT alone stands for all the wealth and power Mayweather holds. He dedicates his time to representing his brand online, in the ring, and with his wife. Shantel Jackson, also known as Mrs. Jackson, is a very famous lady, known for the diamond ring placed on her ring finger, the size of an unshelled walnut. The 18 karat ring was designed by a jeweler who assembled an engineering team at the request of Floyd Mayweather. The cars, the jewelry, the clothing brand, and all the way down to his very own spouse, Mayweather is synonymous with fame, fortune, and power. Today the paychecks of Mayweather resemble phone numbers, but it didn’t always come easy for Mayweather.

            It is automatically noticed that “Money” Mayweather is a dominant male figure because of his undefeated career in the WBA, but it could have been said that he gets it from the way his father raised him. Into the early childhood years of Floyd Mayweather junior you can venture into Mayweather senior, a WBA Super Welterweight champion just like his son. Out of 35 fights, only 6 were lost, and he is obviously just as strong as Mayweather Jr. and just as equally admired when thinking of a very dominant male figure. “My dad was kind of hard on me,” he said. “As a child I didn’t really have a child life. I was jogging with combat boots on and chopping wood at the age of 10” (larrybrownsports.com). This visually depicts the type of father Mayweather Sr. was and why Mayweather Jr. is the type of man he is today. Floyd is very open about speaking of the abuse and hard times he endured as a child. The gender role Floyd Sr. took on suppressed the stereotypical “must toughen up my son,” into a physical and demeaning manner. This makes Mayweather Jr. very conscious about abuse especially when it concerns his son. “’After I was abused as a child, I don’t abuse my children,’ Mayweather said. ‘No. I truly don’t believe in putting my hands on my children.’” Rooted in a strong and very determined stance, it is safe to say Floyd wouldn’t be mistaken with the nickname “sissy” versus “money”, the one he has currently.

To become the best man in the league, one must first overcome physical rigor and challenges, Mayweather knows this all too well. “…do the speed bag; neck work with the weights; 200 sit-ups, pull-ups, dips, jump rope… Then, I run between five and eight miles after training is over. It’s a very grueling and hard workout, but it’s worth it” confesses Mayweather in an interview with Dave Golokhov, a sports commentator. This tiresome and very extensive work out isn’t done by any amateur who decides to hit the gym one day; this is the routine for a world renowned boxer who remains undefeated. This routine suits Mayweather because in the ring he sure does give an aura of hell when he knocks out his opponent. Twenty-nine out of the 45 wins for Floyd have been won because of knockouts. A knockout is when the opponent is not able to get up after being knocked down, within a specified time. The boxing world and its definition of a true man was redefined when Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. entered the sport in October of 1996.

            One of Floyd’s most recent fights was against Canelo Alveraz; it landed Mayweather over 40 million dollars in his bank account. Only a minute left in round one of the Mayweather vs. Alvarez fight,  the crowd is already cheering for Canelo, but the look upon Floyd’s face remanded as tough as steel. He resembles a rock even when he is presented in a moment that would leave any other man with shaking knees. Although a true crisis has never resulted in a loss out of all of Floyd’s 45 fights, the continuous punches being thrown at his body definitely can break a man down. All in all Floyd Mayweather received a win in each fight, this proves that he is the man, and a punch or two cannot hurt a rock, like himself. In Michael Kimmel’s ““Bros Before Hos”; The Guy Code”, two out of four of the “Guy Code” rules state that a man is to resemble an inanimate object like a rock during a tough situation, also a real man’s rank in the world is determined by his power and wealth. Although Mayweather probably never read this passage by Kimmel he is the very example of these two rules.

             Another rule that Michael Kimmel explains men should not take part in “girly” or “sissy” activities because it is not a masculine trait. For centuries it has been thought that woman are to cook, clean, take care of the children; it is also thought that being a nurse, an elementary school teacher, a baker (and the list goes on) are women’s jobs, not males’. Whether these stereotypes are real or not is beside the point, the point being that “Money” Mayweather does not take part in any of these gender roles designed for woman. Instead Floyd is profoundly the best in the WBA, the World Boxing Association, and not much tops that in the rank of male professions. Besides fighting in gruesome fights and winning every single time in the ring, Mayweather is very prominent in his heterosexuality. This is another key point in Kimmel’s rule of not being known as a “sissy.” He has a wife, who is very attractive in the eyes of many men, and he spends a lot of time publicizing gentleman’s clubs through Instagram, Twitter, and on his website floydmayweather.com. All in all, Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. represents masculinity through his actions inside and outside the ring, on social networking sites, and even when it comes down to his wife and clothing brand; he is the very man Michael Kimmel refers to in his passage about the “Guy Code.”

            “Amazingly these four rules have changed very little among successive generations of high-school and college-age men,” stated Kimmel in his essay. Whether it be Barack Obama, a heterosexual married male who leads this country, or Denzel Washington, another heterosexual male who makes millions of dollars every year; Floyd Mayweather Jr. can be found upon these masculine male figures in our society, regardless of age. Michael Kimmel explains the four rules of the guidelines to being an accepted male in today’s world. First, being a man means to be perceived as a strong and heterosexual, as well as not taking part in feminine type roles; professional boxing definitely fits in the category of a masculine occupation/hobby. Second, a true man should show no emotion during hard times or situations, like when Mayweather receives a punch in the ring, he doesn’t show pain in his face, and he endures the pain and fights on. Third, an aura of hell should be protruded when Mayweather fights, or when a man wants to be perceived as masculine; on several accounts Floyd shows this when he knocks out an opponent. The last and final rule of the basics to being a masculine guy is to have success, power, and wealth. This all can be visually and audibly depicted when millions have given Floyd the nickname Floyd “Money” Mayweather.

            There are thousands of millions of male and female viewers that watch and engage into Mayweather’s life, inside and outside of the ring. Many fans of Money expect a few things out of him, first would be to win his fights, second would be to have money and valuable things money can buy, and last is his wife being dressed and ready in a promiscuous fashion. Many famous people are watched with barely a private second to themselves, but because Floyd is in a very demanding career that must be upheld by a man with a strong masculine personality, he is under extra pressure. The fans, the critics, the viewers and the general audience of the WBA all react positively when seeing that Mayweather upholds the expectations set for him. Some would wonder if he takes it too far with his wealth and if he makes men who are not as masculine or even those who part take in a homosexual relations, feel uncomfortable. In all honest opinion if Floyd “Money” Mayweather acted any less masculine, his audience would react negatively, mainly because of his occupation in the WBA and with his upbringing (and his ex-WBA father.) Mayweather does the correct thing when following, very closely, the rules of masculinity set by the standards of Michael Kimmel; his audience, whether it be fans or critics, all approve of the way Money acts in his personal and professional lifestyle.