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What kind of program has this internet-brain-rotted masculinity brought us? A public-health official who neglects fatal outbreaks of preventable diseases because he seems to believe that only the strong should survive. A Department of Defense, renamed the Department of War, that launches a needless war of choice in the Middle East. A government that props up the fossil-fuel industry (manly) while deliberately suppressing green alternatives (girly), leading to a catastrophic rise in energy prices when that war doesn’t go as planned. A president who imposed tariffs to bring back “manly jobs,” but only drove up inflation instead.

It’s hard to see how any of this has made men’s lives better. But maybe making other people’s lives worse is enough.

  • velma@sh.itjust.works
    8·
    3 days ago

    You hit the nail on the head - great and succinct summary of the article honestly.

    Just as the manosphere and its galaxy of hucksters want you to fork over your cash so you can feel better about yourself as a man, Republicans want to make you feel insecure about your masculinity so that you vote Republican. Masculinity, in this sense, is a lifestyle product: one that comes with a set of political beliefs predicated on the subjugation of women, minority groups, and anyone else who men are told are their inferiors.

    There’s nothing inherently wrong with masculinity itself. Boys and young men don’t seek out the manosphere “because they inherently hate women or think they are inferior,” the feminist writer Jessica Valenti has written. Rather, they “are desperate for community and answers in a confusing time of their lives.” When people are constantly told that the only way to be a worthwhile human being is to conform to gender norms, they will naturally strive to meet those expectations, even if it means being harsh to themselves or others. But the strength of those emotions is precisely what makes them so exploitable.

    • socsa@piefed.socialEnglish
      2·
      2 days ago

      I would argue that there are absolutely many things wrong with the idea of “masculinity” as a normative, structuralist concept. Putting people in boxes never ends well, because people are individuals and the goal should be making the world safe for individuals. If you want to reduce masculinity to a purely descriptive concept then just use those descriptions. But the idea that there’s a certain set of traits which define some ideal man is and will always be a toxic idea.

      • velma@sh.itjust.works
        2·
        2 days ago

        I quoted the article, these aren’t my words personally, just for the record.

        Republicans are using this idea of masculinity to sway men into voting for them. The article is a really interesting read and does well at treating the topic of masculinity as it relates to this movement and not as a way to push men and boys into certain traits.

    • LemmyPlaceDN
      1·
      3 days ago

      You say I perfectly summarized it, but to be honest, I haven’t even read the article… I am familiar with the topic at least and just put my thought about it into a laconic comment.

      Generally one should only comment on an article after actually reading it.

      • velma@sh.itjust.works
        3·
        3 days ago

        It’s a good read if you want to dive in. Maybe not revolutionary or new though as evidenced by your accidental correctness haha