What Does Beautiful Masculinity Look Like?
Your conditioning may not be your fault, but it is your responsibility.
The #MeToo movement has made clear what many of us have known for a while: there is a problem with the culture of masculinity. In the past, it was debatable, it was ignorable. It can no longer be ignored and there is very little real debate about whether or not the traditional culture of masculinity is problematic.
Thank you, women, again. Thank you for having the courage to do what we men could not do. Thank you for making it clear that something needs to happen.
Now that we agree that there is a problem, what do we do about it? There are both symptoms and underlying causes. What is the symptom and what is the cause?
I read an op-ed in the NYT that argued that masculinity is fundamentally brutal. I hear a lot of variations on this argument. “Male sexuality is fundamentally predatory”. I see this perspective as neither accurate nor helpful.
This view leaves men with two choices. One, accept brutal and predatory nature, in a sort of “boys-will-be-boys” and “that’s just Locker room talk” sort of way. This leads to acceptance of brutal and predatory behavior. The other option is for men to repress the very nature…
