But is the homophobia Kimmel is trying to convey in regards to homosexuals? Is this a non-derogatory phrase for the everyday man? Or are we putting "labels" on individuals because they possess different qualities? By using the word "label", a boundary is established on what is considered manly and acceptable to be masculine. A label that only so few may achieve. While these characteristics reiterate how Kimmel is defining homophobia, readers would not associate these terms with how we define ourselves as masculine or what we view to be manhood.
Competition is not only something you see on the sports field, but it is also evident in manhood. It relates to men on levels that one would not expect it to: Competing to prove yourself to other men. He states, "Every man you meet has a rating or an estimate of himself which he never loses or forgets" (Kimmel 24). Using syntax like "rating or an estimate", the reader feels a sense of importance and expectation. Through this competition, men feel the need to live up to a certain standard. Self-Evaluating and self-expectations applies to men just as much as women. Kimmel states how men feel that they need to distinguish themselves as masculine in order to prevent other men from judging them negatively: going back to how the definition of homophobia is altered through Kimmel's perspective. He states, "Our efforts to maintain a manly front cover in everything we do. What we wear. How we talk. How we walk. What we eat. Every mannerism contains a coded gender language" (Kimmel 26). What is being stated is that men are constantly using a facade in order to fit in with other men, and to establish a presence about what they are made of. They are constantly gauging where they belong in society. They are constantly boasting about past accomplishments, whether its sports or how they are with the ladies, in order to portray this front and that they are ultimately masculine.