Time To Be Human
Robert Jensen on the current conception of masculinity, and why it’s time to jettison it:
It’s hard to be a man; hard to live up to the demands that come with the dominant conception of masculinity, of the tough guy.So, guys, I have an idea — maybe it’s time we stop trying. Maybe this masculinity thing is a bad deal, not just for women but for us.
We need to get rid of the whole idea of masculinity. It’s time to abandon the claim that there are certain psychological or social traits that inherently come with being biologically male. If we can get past that, we have a chance to create a better world for men and women.
Well said!!
n!
Comment by neela — September 8, 2006 @ 8:18 pm
What makes you think that men will subscribe to your views? Don’t you think that men can easily live without the few hardocre feminists like you?
Comment by dude — September 9, 2006 @ 12:24 am
A quote attributed to Robert Heinlein, famous writer of science-fiction ”
A man should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts,build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders,cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch
manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, and die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
Comment by raj — September 9, 2006 @ 4:39 pm
A quote attributed to Robert Heinlein, famous writer of science-fiction ”
A man should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts,build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders,cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch
manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, and die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
Comment by raj — September 9, 2006 @ 4:40 pm
Nice statement at the end:
“For those of us who are biologically male, we have a simple choice: We men can settle for being men, or we can strive to be human beings.”
Comment by gaddeswarup — September 10, 2006 @ 5:36 am
Chee, you hardcore feminists and your gul-dang inconvenient tendencies to think at all. Next you’ll say that women have some kind of ROLE or something in the present and future of humanity.
Comment by roswitha — September 11, 2006 @ 7:38 am
Good idea, however, if we get rid of the whole idea of masculinity, we would be asking men to re-think and re-assess all their male role models…
If men could do that, so easily, then we would not have the need to get rid of it in the first place!
Comment by Jay Sun — September 11, 2006 @ 10:50 am
Good idea, however, if we get rid of the whole idea of masculinity, we would be asking men to re-think and re-assess all their male role models…
If men could do that, so easily, then we would not have the need to get rid of it in the first place!
Comment by Jay Sun — September 11, 2006 @ 12:47 pm
The fact that a simple statement such as Jensen’s can provoke such extreme reactions from some people is in itself cause for worry.
Comment by angry fix — September 15, 2006 @ 7:30 am