- being left alone by your woman (no chores, no telling you to be home by dinner time, no helping with the kids, and no "honey do" lists!)
- sitting in your favorite chair and scratching yourself
- shooting stuff or blowing something up
- eating steak
- shooting animals
- punching someone in the face
From their facebook group:
On June 15th, men across the nation will unite in one cause and one voice saying, 'I am man!'On that day, men across the nation will blow things up, they'll shoot big guns, they'll punch each other for no reason, they'll pump some iron, or they'll watch every Rambo movie from beginning to end. Straight through. And when asked why we do these things, we'll say 'Because I'm a MAN!' Since when has there been a time when that answer to a question has was unacceptable? Since when has being a man been lame? Since men have let down their guard and become sissies. It's time to take back the crown of masculinity.
It's time for men to be men.What should you do on this day? Be the man God made you to be. Be a good father, drop kick your best friend when he least expects it, dump a whole tank of gasoline on a pile of sticks and ignite it by shooting another can of gas! Be responsible for your actions, go out there invite every man you know, eat an 18 oz steak, get your wife some flowers, punch another guy in the jugular and be a MAN!
Hey at least "be a good father" made the list??
As laughable as all this may seem, there is a serious and growing problem with what young boys are taught about masculinity. Patriarchy, sexism, and "machismo" culture are just as damaging for men and boys as they are for women. For example, boys learn the type of masculinity that the Longanecker brothers are advocating at a young age are are rewarded for being tough, macho, and strong in the physical sense. This also teaches them that being a “real man” is associated with violence, power, and control. The consequences of this are not only great for women (due to increased instances of rape, sexual harassment, domestic violence, and physical abuse) but also for men who are often violent against other men. Men commit the majority of violent acts in this country, towards both women AND men because they are taught early on that they are being "manly" by doing so.
There are many wonderful groups forming that teach the type of masculinity that empowers young men in ways other than through violence. These groups embrace inward evaluation, compassion, bounding, and positive contribution to the community.
Check out these sites for more info and please leave others in comments if you know of more: V-Men, Homeboy Industries, and MAVAW
4 comments:
Hmm. Apart from the shooting animals and punching someone in the face I quite like doing all those things. Maybe I'll move be a man day to tomorrow and then I'll be a man for the day. sounds kickass.
This shows why feminism is good for men, too. Patriarchy hurts everyone.
I'm interested in this post vis-a-vis the counter-norm of masculinity I've been observing recently being promoted, by, of all things, a beer company (Tecate).
The following values you list "nward evaluation, compassion, bounding, and positive contribution to the community" are seen in female communnication dynamics. These values are vary feminine and discount the male experience and tries to unify it with the female experience. I have a friend who works with trouble young boys. You find out that a since of lack of power makes men more violent. Thing is direction of power is key. How can the feminist movement before the empowerment of women and then say men can't exorcise their power? The same power that is used to hurt can be used to defend. It can be channeled into working with ones hands. When power is used correctly it can be a way for men to vent and be productive. But a lot of reaction against this by feminist is a reaction through fear and not letting men have a male identity instead a of unisex identity. What you are seeing from the young men is a reaction to what feminism says a man should be. The trend will grow if authors, politicians, and other leaders don't realize the sexes are not the same and can't be merged and raised into an unisex generic mold. Instead of being afraid of young men getting a grasp of power you should be encouraging other men to show them how they can constructively use their power. In the end that is what they are looking for. Don't they have a right to that?
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