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<p>Secretaries, along with teachers and nurses, are also one of the stereotypically female jobs that female characters have had in (American) literature.</p>

<p>Of course, the picture Linda paints in this scene goes against the stereotypical division of gender in the family, which would usually have the husband "pulling double shifts" as the provider of the family. This evocation works to further undermine Chris's masculinity, instead positing Linda, at least in terms of economic success, as the stereotypically more 'masculine' part of their relationship. </p>

<p>Note that 'real' is set in single quotation marks here to denote the author's recognition that there is no such thing as a 'real man,' a differentiation between real and unreal, true and false, supposedly based on authenticity, but that, instead, masculinity is a constructed, discursive concept.</p>

<p>When writing an essay on gender, it might seem more intuitive to write about women and femininity. In fact, that is also where gender studies, as a discipline, originally began (also for important political reasons). However, since the concepts of femininity and masculinity are relational, it is also important to analytically discuss masculinity in order to avoid seeing it as 'natural' or 'the norm' and instead understanding it as part of a discourse.</p>

<p>Admittedly, this argument seems a bit daring...</p>

<p>Find the resulting essay here:###</p>

<p>Note: Writing about categories of difference is often tricky because you have to operate with commonly held stereotypes that you (likely, hopefully) don’t subscribe to yourself. This is particularly visible in this case where much of the argument, especially in this first body paragraph, evokes commonly held stereotypes about African Americans.</p>