Gender in Knocked Up

In the film Knocked Up a enticing and fun form of masculinity is portrayed rather than the socially normal form of masculinity that most  people associate with the average man. The opening of the movie shows what seems to be a backyard full of bachelors acting like teenage men. They participate in physical competition with each other and make crude gestures and comments. Throughout the intro we get a sense of fun before we find out how much these men really are “losers”.

In knocked up this fun “geek” aspect is played by the men throughout the movie. They are shown smoking weed, not working and constantly joking around with each other while not having and responsibilities which most people would associate with a teenager or young child (minus the weed smoking I hope). The guys also run a website solely to tell someone the scene and times that a celebrity goes nude in a movie. The house they live in is constantly a disgusting mess and the pool in the backyard looks as if it has never been clean. You almost wonder how they can even keep the house and not get kicked out from how nasty they keep it.

All of these portrayed aspect go along with a irresponsible and childish adult which in today's society of grown men just isn't accepted and Knocked up even shows that. Allison one of the main female characters sleeps with Ben one of our irresponsible “man child” and finds herself pregnant. Throughout the rest of the movie she struggles with the thought of having a child and ruining her career and also carrying the child of such a low life. Her sister constantly looks down upon the guy with the man boobs (Ben) and leads the audience and Allison to believe he is far from the acceptable form of husband material or even father material. She decides to give Ben a chance but the only way it will work is if he grows up and becomes more of an acceptable form of masculinity in which he finds in Pete.

Allison asking Ben to change the way he lives his life and to mature shows us that the enticing and fun masculinity portrayed isn't something that can be lived with forever in todays society if you want to get farther in life. It allows us to see that the more acceptable form which we see in pete is what today's women need and want. It also shows that acting like a child really isn't good for being with a women and having a child of your own.

Ben struggles with the thought of having a child and losing the enjoyment out of life that he has. He even makes a comment on how having a baby ruins people's dreams while ate dinner with Allison and her sister. Ultimately he must change almost all aspect of life as he knows it to become the man Allison needs to raise her child. He needs to move out of the bachelor house and get a steady paying job if he wants to make things work with Allison and the baby. His friends nag and struggle with the thought of losing him and also constantly try to persuade him to go a different route which in turn makes it even harder for Ben to go about his change to a more masculine man.