The feminization of the American male? (leader, abuse, government, program)
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Just for the record, I really don't condone the pulling of hair from either gender. But I guess my comments didn't meet the PC requirements and some people took offense, for that I am truly sorry.
That's OK. Your son would be on the first ambulance out of town for ball retrieval surgery if he ever pulled my daughter's hair.
"""The end result was that the West has become nations of soft, feminine males, afraid to be strong, unable to stand up for themselves, let alone for their nation.""
See, that is exactly what I mean when I talk about people's definitions of "feminine" and "masculine". Here someone asserts that "feminine" means soft, afraid to be strong, unable to stand up for themselves...all NEGATIVES.
Yes, for a man to be the opposite of a man is a negative. Is hot ice cream good? No, because ice cream is supposed to be cold. Does that mean hot food is bad? No, it just means that some food should be served hot and some food should be served cold, and when food is served the opposite of what it should be, it's not nearly as pleasing.
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I think feminine means strong , intelligent, independent, capable, brave, logical...POSITIVES. So if men become more feminine it's a good thing!
The qualities are human qualities, not specifically feminine qualities. If men have those qualities, it is good. If women have those qualities, it's good. But men are also supposed to have other qualities, which a lot of them are currently lacking. That's bad.
It's an interesting question. Now, I don't currently have a son, but when I do, I plan to teach him certain things about life and the nature of the world that are traditionally seen as 'male' avocations, including how to hunt deer and ducks, how to properly sharpen a knife, gun safety and aim, proper form for various weightlifting exercises, some practical home wiring and plumbing tips, how to use woodshop tools such as the bandsaw and router, and some basic car and motorbike mechanics.
This is education rather than indoctrination, which means that if he'd rather not do those things, I'm not one to force him. But the knowledge will be there. And another note - in my life, I went from a small, rural town to one of those fancy private colleges. Quite a demographic and social shift. But all the same, the women there - daughters of patricians and monied professionals - still found the tenets of traditional 'manhood' appealing in men. All things being equal, a man who can still 'act like a man' when necessary has the edge.
There sure is, but I think the real culprit here is Richard Simmons.
Just for the record, we have never accepted Richard as one of our own... I would like to see a DNA test proving his homosapieness
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Originally Posted by MooksterL1
Perhaps it's the simple fact that societal norms in terms of what is acceptable have broadened over the years. I would imagine that there have always been feminine men and masculine women, but they were overlooked or felt that they had to hide their true nature to fit into the society of their time.
Societal "norms" or trends have certainly changed and will continue to do so. There were times in human history even in ancient times in various cultures where homosexuality or even sex with young boys was considered the norm. Since then we have also trended back to the norms of puritanism and more recently the Victorian era where for a woman or man were to show anything above their ankle it was seen as riske'. Even during these various trends in what society deemed as normal at the time there were still clear gender roles that had changed little throughout history until modern times.
One of the direct results of this current trend since what I view as the rise of the fem-man or the rise of feminism has been been women who have assumed a more dominant role in relationships and a more prominent role in the workforce, academics, the political arena, etc... I will leave women and men to argue the merits of this later and in a related thread.
During a discussion and a subsequent poll of women, I asked if the expanding roll of women had the benefit and empowerment that many women had hoped for. Strangely enough, I found that a majority of women (appx. 3 to 1) desired a return to a more traditional gender role in relationships (avg age of women polled was 41). Many women felt that having to wear so many hats diminished the unique things that made them women.
I suspect a good deal of this has to do with Americans living in times of plenty. The bulk of men have not had to assert their natural tendencies towards a dominance as they did in the past. Save in the workplace, the one area where women still struggle to maintain a status-quo with men, in part at least due to fierce competition that mimics human survival strategies(kill or be killed) from a long time ago.
All those horrible little first graders running around with assault and battery charges! Too ridiculous. I thought pulling little girls' hair just meant they liked me! Now I see all those grown bully "criminals", so successful with their lovely families and homes. Better inform them just who they really are....
I recall reading that the men of the Byzantine Empire near the time of its collapse were notoriously effeminate, with many of them wearing makeup or elaborate costumes. This is one of the reasons the invading Ottoman Turks - a grizzled hill people sweeping in from the Caucuses and mountains of Iran - treated them with such contempt.
I don't think the OP was saying that being a boy meant freedom to act like a jerk. I think the post was referring to the fact that things like competition are no longer valued and that we don't keep score. Kids are not allowed to "play rough." Believe it or not, there is a difference between boys and girls. Some of this is socialized, but there are hormonal differences that bring on differences in behavior. Increased testosterone in boys brings on more aggressive play. If we choose to ignore this and expect boys and girls to play the same, then we are ignoring some real differences and not allowing for some natural variation. Having said that, this does not mean condoning the pulling of hair, but an assault charge might be a little much.
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