To Galloway, neither the left nor the right — which can seem compelling to rudderless young men — are providing a genuine alternative. “The far right conflate masculinity with cruelty,” he says, referencing Tate and Vladimir Putin. “The far left thinks that men should, quite frankly, act more like women. Neither of those is productive.”
Men, especially young men, today are stuck in a no man’s land where they know that the toxicity of the past is not what’s socially acceptable, but no one’s giving them a model of what they can be. They are collateral damage of the culture wars.
Andrew Tate (just writing that name feels dirty) and his clique are exploiting this to cultivate hate and toxicity, but the traditional feminist approach that “Men should get in touch with their feninin side” will leave them isolated socially from their peers and emotionally.
The middle road will not be feminine and won’t be the traditional masculine role that’s still very present in culture, but will be a place where men can confidently own their vulnerability.
Well no, but Title IX was only ever fair as a stop gap measure until various groups can get their footing anyhow (eg to counter act the issues that red-lining are still causing).
If there’s declining male enrollment, the solution is going to be to look earlier in the school system to work out why buys aren’t getting as much as girls out of class and looking to fix it. IIRC, one idea was to have boys start school a year later to counter the developmental age gap.
In any case, tipping the scales at the university level is only ever going to mask the problem. I understand the need, but by itself it’s not going to work long term.
These groups thrive in the void that is self help for men.
The classic feminist discourse doesn’t speak to men as it was designed by and for women to allow emancipation.
The disconnect with classical feminism is best evocked by the trans community where trans men explain how surprised they were at the reality of being a man in today’s world.
There isn’t much if anything around to help young men learn how to be a man in the 21st century, so they are inevitably drawn to the simple but toxic solutions people like Andrew Tate and Jordan Peterson provide.
This void used to be filled with the pick-up artist community, so this issue isn’t new.
The obvious counter would be for feminist groups like ours to also provide non toxic solutions to the issues boys and men face so that they can go into the world.
There is a way to be manly and tolerant and express your needs and wants healthily. We’re learning it the hard way. We need to make it easier for the next generation. I’m saying this as a father of 3 boys.
Pet peeve, but even the name feminism is going to be a hard sell when you’re trying to explain to boys how to be men.
100% this. One of things I’m greatful for is that my son has a male teacher this year.
It is really important to encourage diversity in what are currently female dominated areas. Doing so will not only help with the gender pay gap, but will also help vehicle a healthier masculinity as a role model for up and coming generations.
This is a textbook example of “Men as a threat” and stereotyping, and is why a lot of boys and men feel lost. You can’t find your place in society if society rejects you as a threat.
People are, once again, portraying boys and men as a broken by design and pile on the blame rather than helping them grow.
Boys and men aren’t monsters programmed to strike, and they will naturally resent being called such.
You will also immediately lose them as a target audience, and shouldn’t be surprised that you’ve pushed them into the arms of toxic influencers.
It would be unthinkable to make such a sweeping statement about any other group today.
Francis Bacon called for scientific control over nature to exploit it.
Patriarchal masculinities pervade politics and action surrounding climate crisis and capitalist extraction.
We need to consider what might be driving us recklessly over the edge in the environmental crisis.
Patriarchy is a political-social system that insists on male dominance.
The structural and cultural system of gender leads us down the path of environmental destruction.
Anyone, not just cisgender men, can be wedded to patriarchal thinking and action.
Under our patriarchal system, there is a prevailing vision of what manhood should be, called hegemonic masculinity.
Traits like overconfidence, dominance, aloneness, disconnection, anger, and strength are core to what it means to “be a man” under patriarchy.
The video explores the role of patriarchal masculinities in driving the planet to the brink of extinction. The video traces the concept of patriarchy to Francis Bacon’s call for scientific control of nature and highlights how patriarchal thinking has pervaded climate crisis politics and action. The video argues that a structural and cultural system of gender is leading us down the path of environmental destruction, a system that these men buy into, and a system through which they maintain their power. The video also explains the concept of hegemonic masculinity, which is a prevailing vision of what manhood should be, and how traits like overconfidence, dominance, aloneness, disconnection, anger, and strength are core to what it means to “be a man” under patriarchy. The video concludes by discussing how we might forge a world beyond the obstacles of gender.
Bullet Summary:
Patriarchal masculinities drive the planet to the brink of extinction
Francis Bacon’s call for scientific control of nature foreshadowed patriarchal thinking
A structural and cultural system of gender leads us down the path of environmental destruction
Hegemonic masculinity is a prevailing vision of what manhood should be
Traits like overconfidence, dominance, aloneness, disconnection, anger, and strength are core to what it means to “be a man” under patriarchy
We need to forge a world beyond the obstacles of gender.
I feel this touches on two really important points. Firstly the need for a community hub where men and boys can meet and grow, and where we can help men who are feeling lost find places where they can exchange and realise they aren’t alone.
Secondly, brining books allows a broadening of experiences beyond just the people present and a nice counter balance to social media.
A really nice article, but one I feel needs to go a step further.
From experience, and outside really abusive relationships, if a relationship fails there’s always blame enough for both parties. I takes two to mess up a tango.
It’s worrying that social media is pushing these black and white narratives rather than helping growth.
The article is a sobering read, but unfortunately not a surprising one.
Demographically, Israel is split in 3 with secular Jews having a below replacement fecundity, orthodox Jews being off the charts (think 5 or 6 children per woman) and Israeli Arabs being around replacement.
This means that the orthodox community is getting bigger and bigger in the population, and this trend shows no sign of stopping.
Since orthodox women don’t work and orthodox men don’t serve in the army and often do religious studies, this means the community is becoming a bigger and bigger weight on Israeli society.
The current moves seem aimed at trying to appease the orthodox, and stave off an economic collapse in a few decades. Unfortunately by then the orthodox could well be a majority, and women look like the big loosers in this situation.