MASCULINITY
Almost All Characters Are Men
The Fear of Emasculation
Violence
Castration
Project Mayhem
Tyler
Fight Club
Testicular Cancer Group
Big Bob
“The first rule of fight club is you don’t talk about fight club, the second rule of fight club you don't talk about fight club, Two men per fight, one fight at a time, no shoes, no shirts, fights go on as long as they have to" (50).
Men participated in Fight Club because it was their way of expressing their feelings, rather than holding anything back. It wasn't about winning or losing, but showing their masculinity through violence.
Pornography
Tyler takes pornography frames out from films.
"Tyler makes slides out of the best single frames from a movie...Porno got into the theatres and these projectionists, some guys they built collections that got epic" (29).
Big Bob has breasts because he got his testicles removed due to cancer. As a result, the narrator doesn't want this to happen to him so he ups his masculinity.
"Bob cries because six months ago, his testicles were removed. The hormone support therapy. Bob has tits because his testosterone ration is too high. Raise the testosterone level too much, your body ups the estrogen to seek a balance" (17).
Tyler
The Narrator
The Narrator gets threatened with castration when he tries to shut down fight club.
Tyler threatens the police commissioner with castration unless he calls off his investigation. Tyler implies that he isn't fit for the position if he doesn't have masculinity.
"If anyone ever tries to shut down the club, even you, then we have to have him by the nuts" (187).
"How far do you think you'll get in politics if the voters know you have no nuts? (165).
"The idea is to take some Joe on the street who's never been in a fight and recruit him. Let him experience winning for the first time in his life. Get him to explode. Give him permission to beat the crap out of you. You can take it. If you win, you screwed up. What we have to do is remind these guys what power they still have" (119-120).
Men became space monkeys because it was a way for them to lash out, embracing their masculinity. He also meant for men to take pain "like a man".
Prevention From Becoming More Feminine
Tyler wants The Narrator to embrace his wild, chaotic, vicious side because he says that men are becoming too feminine.
"The people I know who used to sit in the bathroom with pornography, now they sit in the bathroom with their IKEA furniture catalogue" (43).
The Narrator
Fight Club Members
Space Monkey's
"What you see is a bunch of men raised by women" (50).