Blog Post # 12

    Collective rituals of "girl hunting" are the strengthening of relationship between bromance and masculinity. That means that men need other men to get women. According to the article "The Girl Hunt: Urban Nightlife and the Performance of Masculinity as Collective Activity" it conforms " 'girl hunt' itself proceeds as a strategic display of masculinity best performed with a suitable game partner. According to Christopher, a twenty two year old white senior, he and his cousin Darren 'go out together a lot. We enjoy each other's company and we seem to work well together when trying to meet women' "(Grazian 328). I choose this quote because I feel that it is related to the movie that we watched recently in class The Hangover. The roles of the men in the movie are similar to the reading by Grazian. They experienced the same collective rituals of " girls hunting" as they are looking for hookers, drinking and of course developing stronger friendships through their adventures. In the article Grazian described the importance of the girl hunting to masculinity. Throughout that process, men strengthen their own bonds and masculinity, also their self-esteem. Before the "girl  hunt", men engage in collective rituals or "pregaming". "Pregaming" consists of drinking with their "boys" (Grazian 326). A good example of pregaming is in the movie The Hangover. The four friends  go to Vegas for a bachelor party. The guys check in Caesar's Palace and get prepared to get loose for one wild night. They toast on top of a fancy  hotel. Alan (who is the future brother in law of Doug  the groom ) gives a speech that displays the concepts of men's excitement to be ready for "girl hunt." Alan said: "We are a wolf-pack of four wandering the desert, searching for strippers and cocaine." The men appear as though they are happy while they toast to a "male bond" that occurs between them. They are on the roof not only to celebrate their friendship, before one gets married, but also to get loose for one more night. Drinking " build confidence among young men in anticipation of the challenges that accompany the girl hunt"(Grazian 326). Throughout the drinking men strengthen their masculinity and self-esteem. In the movie The Hangover when men are standing on the top of the roof and are ready for the night, that affirms that male friendship provides an invaluable social base for males. The way men behave show that there is a close relationships between them that is socially constructed. One of characteristics of a masculinity attributed to men's behavior when they are in group. The same men's behavior and relationship we could see in the article "Girl Hunt" "As these young men dance arm-in-arm with one another, they generate the collective effervescence  scene and sense of social connectedness necessary to plunge into the night life of the city...   'having fun  with my boys prepares him for the girls hunt'  "(Grazian 327). That means that men come together to boost their self-esteem and make themselves feel ready for "girls hunt". A Collective ritual of "girl hunting" is a key path to masculine status, and men need other men's involvement  to get a woman.

                                                          Works Cited
Grazian,David "The Girl Hunt: Urban Nightlife and the Performance of Masculinity as
       Collective Activity" Mens Life 8ed. Ed. Michael S. Kimmel and Michael A. Messner.
        New York: Allyn&Bacon, 2010.320-337. Print.
The Hangover. Dir. Todd Phillips. Perf. Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis.
        Warner Bros, 2009.DVD.