“For years, a masculinist current in American culture and politics has been rising, largely in digital spaces outside traditional media and entertainment,” Joseph Bernstein writes. “Now, it has flooded the banks of the mainstream.”
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I find it a bit odd that by my count more than 10% of the responses to this article directly reference the size of men’s genitalia. Not sure exactly what it means and it’s not like it’s the world’s biggest problem, but I can’t help but think it wouldn’t be socially acceptable the other way around.
In my experience, this reflects the way men speak about their own anatomy. "Having balls" as a metaphor for courage, for instance, has no corollary among women. Women tend not to align their physical characteristics with their personal qualities or traits. For some reason, men do.
That's true. Think about the very common expression "brass balls". As if ANY man had anything other than soft fragile defenseless bags hanging between his legs. How the hell did they ever become a metaphor for strength or courage?
Got me. The vagina pushes out a fully formed human being the size of a watermelon… balls? Look at them wrong way and someone is writhing and crying on the floor. 🤷🏻♀️
We’re spending a lot of time and energy asking ‘what kind of genitals do you have & what are you doing with them?’ From self-described “alpha-males” and DEI, to pronouns and LGBTQ to abortion rights/bodily autonomy. So when men are demeaning other men for failing to oppress, size is fair game.
Can't help but wonder what role the evolutionary post war bad boy sexual selection pressures of the 50's played in the emergence of the masculinity-oriented culture.
Are you mansplaining us?
This is misogyny. Men have always tried to contain and control women, often with violence.
Men have always wanted to control everything. Men have enslaved, raped, pilliaged, committed atrocities, caused wars, bloodshed and ruin to societies throughout history.
unserious clowns pretending to be warriors, cool, cool, video games are designed to stroke your ego. there is a reason losers retreat to games, real life isn't shit talk and pretend guns
Manosphere goes mainstream because for generations, men were told what qualities defined manhood. One such quality was confidence. Unfortunately, in the age of information, such confidently incorrect men are challenged by those who normally wouldn't challenge them so they feel constantly attacked.
They're not masculine in any way, they're actually quite weak and insecure men. Masculinity is about supporting those around you and improving things. These people are all about pulling others down to their level.
"In this outraged moment (MeToo), male attitudes and appetites fell under a kind of blanket suspicion, subject at the drop of a tweet to a torrent of opprobrium." Apparently male "appetites" explain the cruel abuse that is routinely visited on women. Poor dears, how can they help it?
It's an awful piece & very cowardly of the author to shut down comments. The overwhelming, cruel misogyny of the manosphere is treated as an occasional complication rather than its essence. It's easy to see from pieces like this why so many women are unwilling to bind their lives to men these days.
I’m one of six grown children that endured this abuse. I rebelled. The rest of my siblings are fans of the authoritarian structure in family and government.
I’ve never understood their desire to be governed.
I’m sorry you had to go through that. The whole idea of ‘the strict father’ is quite a thing for many on the right. George Lakoff has written interesting things about its role in politics.
Unless the Democratic Party or mainstream Republicans (all 10 of them) who are planning on running for office jump on board social media platforms this trend will continue.
Seriously, the photo looks like tumors on their arms more than muscles. Ask George Clooney, Kurt Russell, and even old Baby Boomer, Bernie (he is not a baby bummer). These are men that should admire not some freakin arms. They will fade away one day. Unless you get run over by a Tesla.
Off topic, I’m super disappointed with how The NY Times have become such cowards to the Trump Administration. Truly embarrassing and disgusting. Almost all articles related to Trump have the comments section turned off. Why are they so scared to let citizens share their thoughts? Shameful.
Being a man, I cannot deny the ugly features of my sex, in particular the violence. But labelling men’s worst characteristics “masculinism” seems both inaccurate and unfair to the many males who are not idiots.
So I declare for the first time in my long, white, straight male life: “I’m offended.”
Its sad that little-dick rich incels like Tate, Musk, Drumpf, Carlson, etc., are in the limelight. It doesn't make them any less pathetic & stupid, but it does mean that the sane part of society needs to rise up & work hard to put these seedy little diseased weirdos into the cells where they belong
That is a complete misrepresentation. The manosphere or male-dominated way of things has never ceased for a moment. Briefly, and to only short-term avail, some contrarian critiques shrunk a lot of already tiny penises. But rather than seek some truth in the critiques, dumb blind dicks rise again.
It's dudes pushing "YOU'D BETTER BUY ALPHA TACTICAL T BOOSTING *insert product name here* OR IF YOU DON'T BUY THIS RIGHT NOW YOU'RE A WEAKLING WHO WILL NEVER HAVE SEX WITH A WOMEN LIKE I DO 400 TIMES A DAY!" and suckers buying it.
As if toxic masculinity defines manhood. Quite the opposite. But paraphrasing what has has been said often, no one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American male. These are the core constituents of a depraved idiocracy.
Ah yes, Zuckerberg discovers masculinity between podcast appearances, like a eunuch suddenly remembering he once had testosterone. How touching that our tech overlord, after helping neuter public discourse, now pines for alpha male status. Silicon Valley finds its inner caveman.
Masculine and misogyny are two very different things. I really hope the left is learning that lesson because there has been a backlash that drove men away from the party into radicalism and awfulness of the current regime. Men can be masculine and caring, we are out there.
You mean you hope the right learns that lesson. The left knew it all along. This *is* misogyny, not masculinity. That's the reality of the situation, and saying otherwise only encourages it.
No I mean the left. It’s a big blind spot to group all of masculinity as toxic, and even some of the examples in this article are doing that. The results of the election showed that too. It puts Andrew Tate on the same footing as Arnold Schwarzenegger. Both are masculine but one is a misogynist.
I don't hear many grouping all masculinity as toxic. Has anyone accused Arnold of that? I don't think so.
So no blind spot, but accusations of emasculation by liberals for respecting women are now part of the culture war. We now have a major party where violation of women seems a qualification.
Tactics of those who are scared to death. Now they have someone in a position of power to implement orders that will try to keep the women under their thumb. All you women out there that voted for Trump- see what you have allowed to happen.
All the talk about lost masculinity is meaningless without understanding the true qualities of a gentleman: respect, courtesy, kindness, good manners, honesty, integrity, selflessness, being well-informed, and treating everyone with consideration, regardless of social status.
A "boys will be boys" mentality is going to get a lot of young men killed because they are going to cross paths with the wrong person or they are going to end up alone because no woman is going to want to put up with that.
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Enough for what? They don’t know.
This is misogyny. Men have always tried to contain and control women, often with violence.
Men have always wanted to control everything. Men have enslaved, raped, pilliaged, committed atrocities, caused wars, bloodshed and ruin to societies throughout history.
Probably why this stuff runs in cycles of 30 years or so.
It’s not masculine.
It’s boyish.
They start spamming your email and is very difficult to unsubscribe from all their lists they’ll put you on. It’s just not worth the read.
https://www.removepaywall.com
TLDR: Literally fuck this article
After all, what could be more "manly" than worrying that everything is feminizing?
A bunch of damaged and abused children incapable of empathy, now men and women, trying to destroy the country to restore the white patriarchy.
I’ve never understood their desire to be governed.
These are misogynist douchebags we’re discussing here.
They are fragile little boys who only have a little boy’s childlike belief about what men and masculinity are like.
By the way, have you noticed that there's an autogolpe happening in this country?
– Naomi Klein
So I declare for the first time in my long, white, straight male life: “I’m offended.”
besides, these "alpha" morons describe themselves as maculinists.
So no blind spot, but accusations of emasculation by liberals for respecting women are now part of the culture war. We now have a major party where violation of women seems a qualification.
And I’m fine with it