the dangers of proving masculinity

In Chapter 7 of Robyn Ryle's "Questioning Gender: A Sociological Exploration", she talks about the different ways that men try to prove their masculinity on a global scale by participating in risk-taking behaviors. In the United States, a common way for men to prove their masculinity is to play football. Ryle mentions that particular studies that have been done that show that an average of 13-40 deaths of high school students occur each year due to football-sustained injuries or overexertion (Ryle 293). While this number may seem relatively low in comparison to the number of males in the United States, it is relatively high in contrast to the number of females that die each year in sport-related injuries. Football is a sport that demands sacrifice. Men will go to extreme lengths and sustain potentially lethal injuries just for the sake of proving their masculinity. There are, of course, men that participate in other sports such as basketball or golf, but these sports are not considered to be dangerous, and thus, they are considered to be "less masculine". We live in a society that has been taught that danger equals masculinity. Other countries, however, have different ideas of what it means to embody masculinity. Palestinians, for example, go to much more extreme lengths when it comes to proving masculinity. During the Intifada of 1987, Palestinians were beaten, imprisoned, and tortured by Israeli soldiers (Ryle 294). This became a passageway into manhood for many young Palestinians. Israelis beat the Palestinians as a way to exert control over them and show dominance, but the Palestinians did not see this in the same light. The Palestinian men saw these brutal beatings as an honor; a gateway into manhood. It is crazy to think how far people will go just to prove their masculinity. Men are willing to risk their lives and undergo brutal treatment to gain respect from other members of the societies within which they live. It is almost ironic that while men strive to live a life of masculinity, they often end up sacrificing their own. Who cares about your status of masculinity when you're 6 feet in the ground? Is it really worth it?