Why Americans struggle over the future of masculinity

Article here. Excerpt:

'Attacks on traditional ideas of masculinity threaten not only the civic vigor of a society, but also a nation’s ability to compete with others and defend itself from dangers, these leaders say.

“The left want to define traditional masculinity as toxic,” Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri said in an address to the National Conservatism Conference last fall. “They want to define the traditional masculine virtues – things like courage and independence and assertiveness – as a danger to society.”

“The problem with the left’s assault on the masculine virtues is that those self-same qualities, the very ones the left now vilify as dangerous and toxic, have long been regarded as vital to self-government,” said Senator Hawley, who has become one of the most outspoken conservative leaders to proclaim that American men are in a crisis. “Observers from the ancient Romans to our forefathers identified the manly virtues as indispensable for political liberty.”'