The End of Violent, Simplistic, Macho Masculinity

[redqueen]

http://m.theatlantic.com/sexes/archive/2012/11/the-end-of-violent-simplistic-macho-masculinity/265585/

Boys aren't supposed to do a lot of things: show fear or pain, compassion or tenderness; but of course men feel a full range of emotions, whether we're "supposed to" or not.

"That was like the central struggle of my life, making sure I got angry in time so that nobody got to see me cry in public," said Carlos Andres Gomez, author of this year's Man Up: Cracking the Code of Modern Masculinity. Gomez is part of a growing movement of men discussing the alienating emphasis of aggression and dominance in male culture. This movement blames the disconnect at the heart of male culture for a variety of social ills, from homophobia to bullying to violence against women. And it's trying to encourage men to reform masculinity from the inside-out.

"People are saying, 'Why don't we scrap the concept of masculinity all together and let people be whoever they want to be, just leave it totally open'," Gomez says. "I think that's great, but a 14-year-old who grows up in a hyper-machismo household surrounded by highly homophobic peers, and his only two models of masculinity are like his worship of Lil Wayne and his abusive uncle, it's not very useful to tell that kid, 'Yo, just forget about the box, man. Be whoever you are.' If you don't give him any counter-narratives, that's actually not giving him any options."

Counter-narratives are where Men Can Stop Rape, the 15-year-old organization that led October's national Healthy Masculinity Summit in Washington, D.C., starts. The national nonprofit focuses on creating a culture of "positive masculinity" through public awareness campaigns and programs targeted primarily at high school- and college-age men that emphasize taking a stand against violence and harassment—especially of women. The agenda of the summit expanded the discussion to include the multiple generations and topics, including the role of masculinity in sports, faith, violence, gender expression, and the media. It's arrival felt like the codifying of a movement, men changing what it means to be a man. That's half the story.

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[seabeyond]

1. cheers... i say sing it brothers. lol hey,

sounds like a good article. i will read later. just really liked the title.

[ismnotwasm]

2. Men getting involved

In THIS type of movement is awesome. If men shitcan theirs tired old gender roles, maybe women will do the same.




( I'm going to bed, I'll read more tomorrow)