Exclusive: Reclaiming Masculinity

Submitted by anthony on Mon, 2010-04-26 00:56

Article here. Excerpt:

'Men in America today are suffering from M.P.S.: Masculinity Paralysis Syndrome. It is something that is documented by grim statistics and cultural proclivities that condemn men to mere caricatures, found in seemingly every nook and cranny of modern American life.

Why is that, you may ask?

Although authentic masculinity suffers attacks from many sources, some surprising, the primary villains are the modern feminist movement and the media, both of which seek to replace true male figures – strong, comforting, protective, faithful, and confident men - with effeminate, dismissive, flaky, unfaithful, and passive individuals. Even “tough guys” like Jack Bauer and his “take-no-prisoners” mentality have been overshadowed in the final season of 24 by strong female characters like U.S. President Allison Taylor and Dalia Hassan, widow of the President of the Islamic Republic of Kamistan, who steps up to take her husband’s place at the peace table and – together with President Taylor – finally bring peace to the entire planet. Beyond the urge to say “fat chance,” the cultural message could not be clearer: Mother Knows Best.'

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Comments

So-called jerks are in fact more likely to get the girl than the nice guy who asks the girl out and wants to pay for dates, etc. Experience speaks much louder than ideals but I wouldn't approve of the ideal (if you can call it that) that men do all the asking out.

There is still a HUGE 2x-standard re dating and articles like this only reinforce it. If the asking-out expectation is always on men, and also the date-paying, there is 0 chance of equality in dating rituals. It's women who need to learn that yes, they too can ask men out on dates, and these dates ought to be 50/50 things in terms of payment. The "old rules" need to go and that part of this article that wants men to "start acting like men again" is, IMJ, regressive, sexist, and decidedly against the interests of men.

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Submitted by Matt on Mon, 2010-04-26 01:49

I appreciate Arianne's comment on this article and others. It seems that only a few parents and the few males in the elementary school system actually know how badly boys are treated in the classroom. This goes beyond feminization and lack of recess, it's the outright slander of maleness to young developing minds. A brief 5-min. sample from YouTube.

Most parents, even most M/FRAs, don't realize the gantlet our boys have to run.

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Submitted by Hunchback on Tue, 2010-04-27 03:25

I don't think masculinity is a factor that determine and define a man. Characteristics such as Strong, protective and faithful is common to human, not specific only to men. We have to find an identity to man that should be included with
- sensitiveness
- intelligence
- braveness
- self confidence
- awareness of himself and others.

Masculinity is a very old framework and it has its own failures and downsides. Please refer Wiki Masculinity for a brief about these issues.

I don't like to believe an abbreviation like MPS.

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Submitted by radus on Tue, 2010-04-27 11:19