Imagine yourself walking through a parking lot. Not your regular parking lot filled with normal cars though. You are walking around seeing cars with different wheels, different sounds, and different colors. You see people praising a car for doing a burnout, or revving its engine. People standing by their cars to show their build to the others. Each car is different from the other. No car build is the same as the other because they are just like people. Everyone has their identity and car enthusiasts show their true colors through their build. Men especially show their true colors through materialistic objects. They enjoy the thrill of having something represent them and people enjoy what they have whether it is music or cars. When young boys act a certain way because society views them that way, they try to find different ways to express themselves. But sometimes this can take a heavy toll on a boy in the long run leading to holding all their emotions and not ending well.

In the car community especially everyone is encouraged to build what makes them happy. Show people your taste and be different from others. Some people like loud cars while others like quiet. Everyone has their taste. “The way their car is mod, speaks a lot about a person. For example, if the colour you choose is bright and colourful or just plain and simple, that already speaks a lot about someone. The car, in a way, symbolizes the driver; and that alone is unique.” (lee shermaine) Your car is another symbol of who you are. The way you build something speaks highly of you and gives people an idea of who you are.

From a young age, men are told to act a certain way, dress a certain way, and talk a certain way. You might think it could be teaching them manners and how to behave. With this being true sometimes some boys are taught that men are the strong part of the family. They are not supposed to cry or share emotions. This is what most guys in American society go through. Being told what they can and cannot do.

Men don’t usually feel as though society will accept them for who they are. But Men have found ways to express who they are as a person and how they feel. While still being accepted in society. “Women have fought for and secured a wider range of choices about the way they lead their lives. Men, meanwhile, remain stuck in cages of their creation. This makes the necessary transformation more complex, and in some ways more painful.” (Richard Reeves ) The thought of being something you’re not isn’t something guys would like. But through time expectations have been set for us and we have found ways to work around it. Some men find the enjoyment of modified cars because it is a representation of who they are.

People always used something to represent who they are no matter if it is a tattoo, a weapon, or anything with meaning to oneself. Men using materialistic things to connect with their identity isn’t something that came recently. It’s been around for a while. “Valued material possessions. . . act as signs of the self that are essential in their own right for its continued cultivation, and hence the world of meaning that we create for ourselves, and that creates our selves, ex- tends literally into the objective surroundings.” (Russell W. Belk 1984) When a materialistic object has a personal connection to a person, it builds one’s identity through it. Meaning that when you see a friend talk about or has something that means a lot to them, when you are alone and see that object again you would most likely think about the person who usually talks about it.

The youth now show how they feel or represent their identity through materialistic objects. “Young people’s symbolic creativity is now explored through leisure and processes of symbolic production.” (Andrew Bengry-Howell) Young adults now tend to use creative expression to present who they are. We now have more and more young music talent, artists, and younger fashion icons are becoming more relevant as time passes.

In Formula 1 drivers are allowed to have custom racing helmets. Some teams have limited creativity as they want their team colors on the helmet. This led to drivers being able to be creative and design their helmets in a way that would represent them as they drove around a track. “It’s not targeted at Red Bull, but just having the freedom [with Renault] to do whatever I want, I figured why not go for something crazy and different,” Ricciardo said of his helmet design. “So, ‘stop being them’ is just encouragement to be yourself and don’t follow trends. If you like going a certain way, then be bold and do it.” Daniel left Red Bull after the 2018 season and signed a contract to race with Renault. With this, he was given the chance to customize his helmet his way.

The feeling of using a car is a way of expressing your creative side. Sometimes you’ll use different mods from others just to stand out from the norm. “Robert: It makes the car your own. It’s individual. You’re taking a factory product and doing what you want to do. It’s about style and expression, individuality. Interviewer: But at the end of the day is it not still a Fiat? Robert: But it’s trying to make it your own Fiat and trying to inject something into the brand.” (Interview with Robert, October 2007) Building something and making it personal gives it an identity. More specifically showing others your identity. When you go out of your way to break away from the normal standards of life, you show people that there are ways to be themselves. Yes behind everything it is just like everything else. But what you create is your vision and your identity goes onto it.

Another way men usually tend to show who they are is by adding tattoos to their bodies that are personal to them. Some of these tattoos tell stories, give a representation of an organization or team they are a part of. “This study elucidates the complex and varied motivations of those who acquire multiple tattoos. Common personality traits were identified, including a high need for uniqueness and low need for conformity.” (Stephanie Anne Kalanj-Mizzi ) Getting a tattoo can be for the simple reasoning of being one of a kind. Sometimes when people get tattoos they feel different.

Men and women are held to a certain expectation and sometimes can’t act like their true selves. That isn’t the same everywhere, some places encourage differently and encourage self-identity. “The strong emphasis upon dancing does not discriminate against the physically defective. Instead, every defect is capitalized in the form of the dance or compensated for by the perfection of the dance.” (Mead 84) “coming of age in Samoa”. Samoan culture expects everyone to contribute to the community. No matter if it’s helping with kids or plantations. Everyone contributes. The adults encourage kids to be themselves including their dances. They tell them to dance and have fun being themselves. No matter who you are it is important to embrace yourself to others.

Women have had their standards changed. they have been able to reach new heights. Recently they can now become a female vice president since Kamala Harris is now elected vice president. But for guys, things haven’t changed as for standards or expectations. “Most boys and men are aching not for things to stay the same, but for a new script,” says Barker. “A script that includes being emotionally connected; being equal caregivers; supporting full equality in the workplace; supporting full equality for individuals of all sexual orientations and gender identities and being able to ask for help when they need it.” (Shelley Zalis). Guys are finding ways to get out of the norm of being the average man in society and changing the script of what people shall expect from men.

Men only have one expectation in society. And they are taught to live within those expectations. Sometimes that may take a big toll on a man. Keeping all those emotions inside and being the head of a household and keep the money flowing in to provide for everyone. Dr. Jerry Kennard from the British Psychologist Society states that men have recently been more likely to die of suicide. The reasons for these suicides are traditional male gender roles discouraging the fact that men should express their emotions to others. Due to men not talking about how they feel, depression may sometimes be underdiagnosed in men. Meaning that professionals may not exactly state that their patient has depression since they will not say exactly how they feel. They might sugar coat it and say they’re fine. They also self diagnose a “medicine” to help them out. What they use would most likely be either drug or alcohol and they will most likely be a large consumption of it.

Men in American society are often told to be the tough ones or to not show emotion. But as time goes on, these gender roles have been broken and more men have found ways to be expressive. Through cars, tattoos, or music they have found ways to express themselves. Be able to say what they want without the fear of being judged.