A 'menaissance' is afoot and men nationwide are taking pause to question David Beckham's metrosexuality to consider making a return to manliness. The TV series, "Mad Men," is being credited for promoting the new sensation of rugged masculinity and inspiring universities to implement 'male studies' courses.
Today, I take a moment to think about what defines masculinity and femininity. Through the ages various iconic images and social events influence the ideal. However, as a writer my curiosity is particularly piqued. I find it fascinating that in a time of financial crisis male society is willing to embrace the 'Daper Dan' image, which is undoubtedly linked to Wall Street and Corporate style. This clearly sends a message that in a time of instability Americans will immediately cling to comforts of power. Is this a natural instinct for survival? Are men adopting the 'spots' of those they reject and if so, how is this a return to manliness?
The academic sector claims that, "Males are at a point now where they are experiencing a considerable amount of dismay and uncertainty. And somewhat scorned, in principle, by females," said Lionel Tiger, one of a group of professors who support the new discipline of male studies.
Preliminary course descriptions explain that the new discipline will explore the biology behind masculinity and address the concerns that society is "feminizing boys."
This development causes me to ponder, "Are we raising a generation of wussies and who is responsible for this mishap in society?"
Lionel Tiger from Rutgers University further explains that drugs like ritilan contribute to feminizing boys. He warns, "Don't by any means let them drug your child to turn it into a girl, which is what, effectively, they do." He believes such medications make boys compliant, passive, and inhibit their natural desire to bounce around classrooms. According to Tiger, being inactive and docile is a noted feminine quality and is disagreeable when it presents in males.
So what is a boy to do? To fight 'feminization,' men are going retro, and embracing the "Mad Men" persona by turning to macho hereos like Theodore Roosevelt and Steve McQueen. Brett McCay, author of "The Art Of Manliness," supports the retrosexual movement. He suggests that men can end the confusion by embracing the tradition of machismo that includes honor and self-reliance.
"I think it's just a reflection of this idea that men, young men particularly, want to grow up," McCay said. "They're tired of, you know, feeling like they're a teenager still. While a male studies class may help, McKay said a good first step is a simple one -- dress like a man."
'Dress like a man,' sounds eerily familiar to the phrase, 'Act like a lady.' Is this progressive or a turning back of the clock? Mckay recommends men who are interested in going elegantly macho to visit both Banana Republic and Brooks Brothers, two companies that are capitalizing by selling "retro" clothing lines.
I don't know about you, but when I think of dressing like a man and masculinity, I do not immediately visualize Banana Republic.
http://open.salon.com/blog/ccourtland/2010/04/15/mad_men_creates_a_menaissance
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The blogosphere has been alight since the Conference on Male Studies, with some support, but mostly with snide and myopic condemnation.
ReplyDeleteWhile no doubt men have dominated for ages in the studies of hard science and humanities, history and arts, which I think most sane people would agree we have all benefited from, the one thing males have not done, monolithically speaking, is study themselves.
Dwelling on real or imagined elements of dominant patriarchy does not alter some very disturbing realities.
Men are:
85% of the homeless
79% of all suicides
98% of all war dead
93% of workplace deaths
80% of job losses in the current Great Recession
40% of college graduates and dropping steadily
Add to this the rampant discrimination against men in family courts, selective service and conscription, media denigration and boys falling off the charts in schools. and you have a crisis. Well, it would be if this were any other singularly identified population.
And these are stats that have never gotten one shred of real study within the feminist driven gender studies zeitgeist.
I should say these stats are disturbing to some, but really not that many. In a seemingly ironic case of strange bed fellows, feminists and traditional males are now working together to dismiss all these problems under the postmodern guise of seeing men as powerful, entitled oppressors that don’t deserve anything but scorn, or the traditional mentality that men just need to man up and take all this with their mouths shut.
That’s right men, just shut up and keep shoveling the f-ing gravel. If someone decides that your problems are worth attention, they will let you know. But don’t hold your breath. And whatever you do, shovel man, don’t stop and wonder for a moment why traditional men and feminists are on the same page about this.
Like it or not, there are actually men and women right now who can THINK about these things outside the influence of gender ideology and also without the stifling mandate of traditional male disposability.
And it looks like they aren’t going to be silenced with a few smug and dismissive sound bites from box thinkers, bigots and the terminally indifferent.