Eng 101 - Unintended Consequences

Anibal Flores

English101

11-29-10

Unintended consequences

Dictionary.com defines masculinity as having qualities traditionally ascribed to men, as strength and boldness. Being a man comes with all sorts of unwanted pressures that are attributed to being male. For instance, men should play sports because it shows their masculinity, men should not wear pink because its too girly, men should know how to fix a car, men should not enjoy a fruity drink at a "popin" club. Society burdens men with a artificial expectations of who they should be and how they should act. A premium cable channel Showtime, airs a popular show "Weeds". It depicts a single mother trying to raise her two sons and her brother in law by selling and trafficking marijuana to support her family. "Weeds" presents throughout it's series the confusion of a young man in adolescence and the curiosity of the qualities a male should have. It also depicts a man in his 20's who is not the typical masculine, rough and rugged man a man "should be". Expectations of the modern man are twisted and distorted not allowing men to be themselves in entirety. Nancy being a single mom has a lot to deal with especially now having maintain a roof over her family's head because of her husbands recent death, making it at the top of her priorities. Nancy has little time to deal with all the problems facing her family and is more concentrated on her new found business in drug dealing. It consumes so much of her time that it is obvious to the rest of the family no matter how much she attempts to deny it or tries to hide it, that she is a drug dealer. With her new career taking up so much of her time she puts up with her brother in law Andy because he helps Nancy with raising the boys and teaching them some of what it means to be a man.

Andy, the uncle, is a charismatic character who attempts to help the family out. Andy is known for his amazing cooking abilities, his skills in the sac, and for always having some insight on the problems facing the family. Always willing to do whatever it is that Nancy asks. Although Andy has a way with women once with them, he seems to have a problem attracting certain women right away. Many different women all had different reasons as to why they would rather pass on Andy. Too pale, too soft of a voice, not enough muscle, not quick to defend, and much, much more. Throughout the show Andy proves to be the perfect match for any women willing to look past societal standards of how a man should act, look, and respond. Women in this show tend to respond to big muscles, tans, and acting tough. Why is it that men can't be flamboyant, can't be flimsy, can't not play sports without speculations of that guy being gay or just being pushed off to