Masculinity Under Attack

Masculinity Under Attack

Feminism used to be a movement to help project women ahead, to advance their aspirations and dreams, to make possible what had been unobtainable for them in prior times. Now it has become a weapon to destroy the influence and importance of men in general. The idea of masculinity was its first casualty.

It has become normal to imagine that a man should express no level of autonomy or power that has always been considered a masculine trait.

Hollywood, through its sitcoms and commercials, has emasculated men and turned them into morons who can’t think for themselves. A show like “Father Knows Best” would never make it today. Rather, we have the Al Bundy’s and Homer Simpsons who are anything but father figures that help shape their children’s lives in a positive manner.

Effeminate Gay men seem to be a part of every sitcom and their femininity far exceeds their masculinity, as if it is the desired new norm, or at least that is the reality Hollywood would have us embrace.

TV commercials present men as bungling idiots who clean fish on wooden countertops, measure their kitchen for cabinets using their shoe, and don’t know how to dress for a first date. Once you begin to notice it, you’ll see this tendency exhibited in commercials by companies like Sling TV, American Express, Lowe’s, Clorox, Progressive Insurance and The Hartford.

Why do advertisers think that they can sell products by degrading men? Because women respond to ads more than men do, they are less concerned with the way men are portrayed. But does making a man look like a loser make a woman buy more? It is a method designed to build her up by making her look like the decision maker and the sensible, sane one in the family, and tearing him down is the method they use to accomplish this. Properly targeted ads sell and portraying men as bumblers is the by-product of successful advertising.

This movement to shoddily portray men as incompetent has become politicized and to gain favor for an agenda, all you have to do is diminish the influence that men have to make your point.

The murder of Millie Tibbits is a perfect example. Murdered by an illegal alien, her case drew national attention to the challenges of illegals in America. But Liberals refuse to see the crime as reflecting in any way against people who are not legally in this country because it does not fit their agenda. So, they ignore the immigration aspect and blame her death on “toxic masculinity,” whatever that is.

Throughout history, there has always been jobs and duties thought of as typically suited for males and for females. The feminists and political correctness of today seek to change all that. School books no longer present the woman as a homemaker and mother who stayed at home and reared the kids and took care of the home but rather they seek to present her as gender neutral and assigning anything to her as “typically female,” such as ironing clothes or washing dishes, is frowned upon. Leaders see such ideas as limiting and demeaning to women. What used to be seen as honorable and necessary for women has become undesirable and sexist.

Even the use of “he” and “she” is frowned upon in an attempt to make every character in schoolbooks gender neutral. It has become absurd. Misguidedly, the use of terms like “mankind” has been labeled as offensive to the modern feminist.

In Italy, the Left Party is promoting a movement that would require men to sit when urinating. They claim that it is more hygienic for them to do so but is really a backhand way to proclaim the uncleanliness of men using public restrooms.

The LBGT community proclaims that men are not even essential any longer in the act of procreation and having a man’s influence in the household as a parent is no longer necessary in the rearing of well-balanced children. That is a whole twisted topic in itself as we see boys being taught that the male influence is of little or no value. Male role models will soon go the way of the Dodo bird.

We all know boys can be more energetic at schools than girls, who usually pride themselves in being more civil. This fact has boys being prescribed drugs for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder at a rate twice that of girls. This is seen as a viable and effective way to “control” masculine energy.

Men are being “kept in line” by the popular #METOO movement. Now it is even dangerous to give an honest compliment to a woman for fear she’ll scream harassment and you’ll lose your job and your reputation based on the accusation alone, no real facts needed, just the hint of impropriety.

In the UK, it was found that only 7% of men would offer a woman a seat on a bus because of a fear of offending them. Indeed, some women who demand to be thought of as equals, scold men who hold doors for them or offer them a seat on a crowded bus. Personally, it feels like an unfavorable consequence of feminism and women are losing out on simple acts of courtesy and respect.

A survey of 5,000 men showed that over a third of them would not offer to help a mother struggling to go up or down a set of stairs with a stroller and baby for fear of offending them. Three-quarters of men would refuse to help a woman carry a heavy bag or suitcase for the same reason.

A law was proposed in England that would make it a crime for a man to ask a woman for her phone number on a public bus, if the very act offended her. When did we become so thin-skinned? When did we begin to see every act of a man as suspect and with ill intent?

Historically, women have always seemed to appreciate the “little things” done for them by men which men view as common courtesy. In the climate of women demanding to be thought of as equals, men are now often confused and simply opt out of offering any assistance to stave off the wrath of a woman who might not appreciate the courtesy and act of simple good manners.

Men have always been seen as the “stronger sex,” so it is understandable that men should desire to aid a struggling woman, but even expressing that view riles some woman who see such assistance as offensive and patronizing. Also, that phrase implies that the woman is the “weaker sex” and now this is intolerable to declare.

Chivalry appears to be dying on a global scale.

There are a couple ways to have the best house on the block. You can dress up or paint your house, landscape the yard, add curb appeal in various ways, or you can simply burn down everyone else’s house. Feminism and the search for equality seem to prefer the later approach. Things have gone beyond a simple desire for equal pay for equal work. Often the destruction of masculinity is erroneously portrayed as necessary to accomplish equality for women.

There will always be differences between men and women, whether anyone likes it or not. Feminist seeks to eliminate the differences because to admit to them would demand we also recognize men and women for their weaknesses as well as their strengths. We were not created exactly the same and to think otherwise is delusional.

Forcing feminine traits on men to replace masculine ones seems to be their solution. Take an average man and add a dash of emotional sensitivity and the propensity to nurture and you have the ideal man. Well, not exactly.

We all know of men who could be more sensitive and understanding, who have the ability to see things through a woman’s eyes. But can this not be done without the tendency to erase masculinity altogether?

Like adding two colors together, a new and different color is created. One wasn’t enhanced, it was changed into something totally different and to think otherwise confuses everyone. Such an effort of redefining male characteristics to be more feminine does not erase undesirable “masculine” traits that some men exhibit.

A man can be a good father and an effective provider for his family and defender of them and still be considered a man. A man doesn’t have to relinquish his “manhood” to be strong for his family or community. Men have always donned that role and the very essence of a man does not have to be destroyed to make him a better human being. Today even John Wayne would have a tough time portraying his manliness without repercussions.

There are negative masculine traits, certainly. What keeps it all in balance is the attitudes of the individual. Men tend to focus on a narrow part, while feminine energy tends to focus on the whole, whether the family or the community. Women often forsake their own desires to fulfill the needs of her children or family. Actions taken to benefit others are a balance between the two, just as all of life is a balancing act.

What ever happened to the fight against negative masculine traits? Now, such actions are excused too often. Blame is placed on the economy, schoolyard or internet bullying or they have been demeaned for racial reasons. If Hitler were killing Jews today the “enlightened” among us would blame it on his rough childhood and the fact that his overbearingly “masculine” father would not allow him to pursue his love of art and painting. A “COEXIST” bumper sticker might even have his picture on it these days.

It doesn’t take the destruction of masculinity to set the world right. And any attempt to tear men down for the betterment of humanity, whether it is to portray men as abusive no-counts or as incompetent, bungling boobs, is misguided and self-defeating.

Honor masculinity. Honor femininity. Honor the differences. In attempting to destroy the differences, we are destroying what makes us uniquely human in the first place.