Many, observing the plight of western civilization, have focused on correcting the political and social disintegration that has crippled The West in the twentieth century. The fundamental pathology that has corrupted western culture is a disease of gender. The assault on traditional masculinity by radical cultural degenerates has left contemporary men confused about their personal identities and social roles.
Cultural radicals and degenerates from the social movements of the 1960s and 1970s eroded masculinity. Manhood was stripped of its unique role within society. These radicals came baring the half-baked dogma of gender equality. Through this ill-conceived gender doctrine, radicals seduced a generation of men to abandon their posts as keystones of the community and society in favor of self-indulgence in every form. Instead of living a life of duty and discipline, men turned to lives of "self-fulfillment" at all cost. This, combined with the radical new roles usurped by feminists, another teaching from cultural radicals, gave humankind's selfish nature fertile ground in which to root. For two--nearly three--generations, young men have been without necessary models of masculinity. Thus, masculinity has been corrupted into an irresponsible quest to fill ones stomach, wallet, and bed. Is there any wonder our civilization is in a tailspin?
Media outlets portray contemporary man as tyrannical, half-witted, perverted, or effete. These outlets do not present men with duties to society, community, or family. Instead, we are bombarded with scenes of absentee fathers whose former roles in our young men's lives are filled by mothers and grandmothers: a job for which these, often extraordinary women, are ill equipped. These same media agencies fill the imaginations of our young men with visions of metrosexualism, homosexualism, and polysexualism. Recently a film was scheduled for release at the Caen film festival exploring bestiality as a normal and legitimate lifestyle. All of this occurs while we ask our young men to do that of which they have no model: be a man. Meanwhile if we turn our young women out into society without understanding true masculinity we leave them susceptible to hate for, usurpation of, or abuse by false masculinity. Russell and Frank Lay eds. argue in Subverting Masculinity (West, Atlanta, 2000):
Contemporary Western societies are currently witness to a crisis of masculinity but also to an intriguing diversification of images of masculinity. Once relatively stable regimes of masculine gender representation appear to have been replaced by a wider spectrum of varieties of masculine "lifestyles" taken up by the media and the market, to produce new and immensely flexible forms of consumerised gender hegemony.
Considering the abysmal state of affairs, what is masculinity? Why is it an important facet of any self-sustaining potent civilization? What can WE, as men, do to improve the state of affairs?
Well, being of the generation of blurred masculinity one might wonder if anything can be done. However, if we understand masculinity, in its purest, un-propagandized form, we can make some personal adjustments. For those of us with children we have a responsibility to show, both our young men and women, true masculinity and thus make great strides toward the preservation of our civilization.
Categorical definition of Masculinity
Some of these attributes are common among men and women...BUT NOT ALL!
Western Masculinity is...
1. Physical: strong, potent, athletic...one might not be the pinnacle of any of these and yet exhibit all.
2. Practical: breadwinners, providers, purposeful agents working in economic systems
3. Privately Heterosexual: Sexually active within an private dependent relationship.
4. Emotionally balanced: capable of overwhelming emotional phenomena, but always attempting the sublimation of those emotions.
5. Intellectually balanced: logical, rational, and calculating but often surrendering these ideals to higher moral principles.
6. Assumes Leadership: no matter the level, masculinity exhibits some form of this attribute. false masculinity exhibits this trait through violent aggression, selfish domination etc. this attribute must be sublimated
7. Moral: religion, work-ethic, social mores etc. necessary as the higher principle through which selfish urges are sublimated.
5 comments:
Not surprisingly, it is the southern male ideal type that draws the most ire from the mainstream media. Those of us fortunate enough to count ourselves as one should consider such attention a compliment.
vox inferus- very interesting. my thoughts:
I. you describe the inverted gender issue as the 'fundamental pathology'. yet, isn't it wise to see this as a residual symptom of a larger issue in a deconstructed post-modern social strata, rather than an isolated one? for me, the larger issue of descending social reconstruction, resulting in the redefinition of roles, rules, and duties, is the primary culprit here...i.e general suspicion of authority, contempt for personal restriction, etc.
II. the point about self-indulgence at all costs is a good one. this is both a means and an end for social reconstruction. adherents of said change sell their idea with the promise of greater personal liberty(means) with the result of individuals becoming totally self-involved(end)....ultimately, loosening the social fabric.
III. false masculinity. this is your strongest point. the idea of a true masculinity vs. one of lifestyle to be lived. this helps explains the confusion of most with the association of aggression and masculinity, and those who are merely trying to fill a character or caricature.
IV. definitions. the thing that sticks out here is that all of these characteristics are generally associated with our WW II generation. In addition, the Chinese are very much conflicted with this issue....the coming change of post-modernity, and all of the implications, and a desire/need for order...both politically and socially.
V. finally, an anecdote. the other day a colleague of mine asked if i had ever thought of shaving my chest. my incredulous response was...'no, i'm a man'. this simple, and on its own, harmless, idea is a symptom of the further 'leo dicaprioazation' of the western man. goodbye, john wayne...hello, jude law.
Voxy Lady -
I think it impossible to overstate the damage done by the redefinition of masculinity we have experienced and continue to experience. I do, however, have to agree that it is but a symptom of the underlying rift between the “progress” of modern western society and the traditional constructs upon which it was built.
Western economy, both financial and social, developed as a direct result of the Church’s expanse through Europe. The spread of Christian doctrine redefined how people thought in terms of personal responsibility, productivity, and their place in society. Insomuch as it arrested one’s tendency to exalt self above God, it did so as well in the relation of self to society. This birthed the type of character that built western societies and made them great. Why?…Simply put, man is inherently selfish, and if left unchecked by an absolute, objective authority, will place his own gratification at the helm of his thinking in terms of his role in society. Essential to truly following Christ is the redress of one’s own desire to gratify self at all cost. The expanse of Christian doctrine led to the development of these proper roles in society and the eventual rise of truly great societies (not perfect, but great) that were foundationally based on principles that extricated the exaltation of self above society. The suppression of these principles in society has, and will always, lead to the deterioration of their more evident manifestations in human nature such as the definition of true masculinity (or femininity for that matter).
Herodotus –
You mean Jude Law isn’t a picture of real masculinity?...I just don’t know what to believe anymore.
Gentlemen,
Your comments are all well recieved. My point in designating the masculinity crisis as the fundamental pathology is to illustrate that throughout history there have been various degenerate and pervasive ideologies that could not stand against the shield-wall provided by the traditional institutions of masculinity and femininity (which I will explore later). Therefore, post-modernity has infiltrated the Western man due to gaping holes in the fabric of true masculinity.
V.I.- in your last comment, you seem to be inferring that there is a clear dilineation between 'traditional institutions' of masculinity and your idea of 'true' masculinity. if so, what is the distinction, and is it purely cultural?
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