| Tough
Guise
Tough Guise focuses attention on the overwhelming, but largely overlooked statistical correlation between violent crime and gender in our society –usually over 90% male – and argues that as a result “masculinity should be designated as a public health hazard.” Katz identifies several disturbing cultural developments over the last 30 years he thinks are responsible for the current alarming epidemics of date rape, domestic violence and high school massacres as in Littleton, Colorado. For example, he singles out hyper-violent male icons like Rocky, Rambo and Terminator, overt feminist bashers like Howard Stern, Andrew Dice Clay and Rush Limbaugh and the increasing celebration of male violence in professional sports, action games and slasher films. He relates these to a male backlash against women’s economic and social gains, gay liberation and even America’s perceived defeat in the Vietnam War, all of which threatened traditional assumptions of male supremacy. Katz links violence to an American society he accuses of constructing masculinity around domination and violence. At the same time, he points to developments in popular culture, which are presenting more positive versions of masculinity with room for vulnerability and interdependence. These include celebrities like Garth Brooks, Christopher Reeve, Mark McGwire and QTip from “A Tribe Called Quest,” and recent hit movies like The Full Monty, Saving Private Ryan, Good Will Hunting and Boyz in the Hood. Tough Guise is a powerful new tool for media literacy, mass communications and gender studies as well as campus student services and violence prevention programs. It is rare that a film will cause every viewer, male as well as female, to look at masculinity with a critical eye.
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"Jackson Katz
has a rare gift for applying feminist insights about gender and power
to the real life experiences of boys and men. He does this in a way
that helps men think critically without becoming defensive, while offering
women valuable new perspectives into masculinity." "Not only is
Tough
Guise
entertaining and provocative for adults, my two adolescent boys were
deeply touched as they saw their lives projected on screen. Rather than
the more typical focus on how men and boys need to change their behavior
to promote gender equity, Jackson Katz analyzes how men (as well as
women) are hurt by their participation in media influenced gender roles."
The film speaks
to students on a personal level and challenges them to critically analyze
traditional notions of masculinity in a socio-historical context. The
strength and impact of this film is evident in the overwhelmingly positive
response from students, particularly men, who are hungry for alternative
definitions of masculinity. Tough
Guise
is one of those rare films that viewers will keep with them long after
they leave the classroom." "Tough
Guise has received nothing but the highest praise from students
in my undergraduate and high school audiences as well as groups of educators
and parents. It
is culturally inclusive and acknowledges the role of feminist thinkers
and activists who have paved the way for understanding the social construction
of gender (femininity and masculinity). I highly recommend Tough
Guise
for academic classrooms as well as general audiences everywhere." Director: Sut Jhally 57 minutes or 82 minutes, 1999
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Tough
Guise
is the first film aimed at a general student audience to analyze masculinity
as a social construction, a performance, or role, in short, a tough
guise. Jackson Katz, a former all star football player and pre-eminent
gender violence prevention trainer, takes us on a harrowing tour of
contemporary masculinity using stunning imagery chosen from a broad
range of popular culture. Tough Guise extends the feminist critique
of gender developed over the past thirty years to men’s most intimate
experiences of themselves. 
