Hegemonic Trujillo

As long as egos are around, the phrase “male domination” will be.  Throughout society, males have been taught to act “manly.”  But what exactly does “manly” mean and why is society wrapped around the pure domination that seeps through males?  How has this competition level not hit females, nor ever been associated with females?

Nick Trujillo analyzes this idea of overall hegemonic masculinity by studying baseball superstar, Nolan Ryan.  The crowd pleases him and while he carries many nicknames like “the living legend” and “miracle man”, one name stands out: “the real hero.”  Since Ryan had dominated the game of baseball in the early 1990’s, he had been labeled the dominant person (male) throughout the baseball world.  Trujillo plays with this phrase and breaks down how he feels the “hegemonic” man comes to be.  He must obtain a great physical force, achieve grave achievement in a capitalist industry, show dominance over the opposing gender, perceive himself as the “outdoorsman”, and thus show heterosexism.

            Trujillo believes that masculinity is the epitome of sports.  He sees how the media plays on the “power” and “force” behind Ryan playing baseball.  This is ultimately playing on his overall male dominance and his “physical force.”  When the media reviewed Ryan, they noticed in the beginning of his career that his control was distant.  Immediately the media played on this; ultimately questioning if he was this full hegemonic player.  Ryan worked hard to change his perception and soon enough people were comparing his playing to the most ridiculous images of speed.

            Not only was the media playing on his masculinity, his mother made a comment to a sports magazine about how she thought something was wrong with her son when “he didn’t cry enough.”  Obviously crying is related to being in touch with your feelings or being a “sissy”; therefore, his mom was showing examples of his exuberant showing of futuristic masculinity.

            Besides his “treetrunk legs” and overall physical appearance, the media often spoke about how many records he had broken and how the audience might be witnessing one of the best to have ever played the game.  Over and over again, they were boosting the idea of achievement and how Ryan beat out any who tried to compete.  Ryan held records in the important categories in baseball, thus exaggerating on how he was a leader over all in a difficult sport.

            Since one of the goals of journalism is to create a connection with the audience, the media had to show some backstory before Ryan became a legend.  They showed how he worked so hard to try to support his family since it was his role.  Although he was being portrayed negatively, he was still noted as being the head of the household.  As time got better, his role began to change and suddenly he became this “symbolic” father.  He was aiding the young and supplying for his wife.  It was this image that showed he played a leadership role on and off the field.

            In the final two points, Ryan was displayed as a manly man.  He was compared to a cowboy or anything that showed a dominant, yet comfortable figure.  It seemed he was not sure whether he wanted to be in that image, but the sport had made him into that image.  Even in today’s sports, we see athletes longing to put force over other athletes.  For example, LeBron James self-proclaimed himself “King James.”  Many teams desire that championship ring so they can prove their dominance.  Trujillo does not see this as a bad thing though.  He sees that sports will always have that dominance statute and that it will continue to be played upon.  He suggests that there is must to learn from it.  I agree.  Sure males are pushed into a role which makes them crazy; however, without the competitiveness, where would the world of sports be?