New York Times: It's Time to End Masculinity. All Masculinity. Even the So-Called "Positive Masculinity" Exemplified by Tim Walz and Doug Emhoff.
Plus: GAINZZZ

Do tell.

We Can Do Better Than 'Positive Masculinity

By Ruth Whippman

Ms. Whippman is the author of "BoyMom: Reimagining Boyhood in the Age of Impossible Masculinity."

Well that poor boy is a lost soul, huh?

Perhaps it's a predictable irony that in an election cycle that could realistically deliver the first female president, so much of the commentary has been about men. Or rather, not about men exactly, but about "masculinity." Because somehow, in 2024, we still find ourselves unable to talk about men and boys without using masculinity as the basic frame of reference.

The electorate is faced with a choice, the story goes, between two models for masculinity. Toxic versus positive. In response to the vein-popping, furious, felon model of the right, the left is offering us a more morally upstanding and expansive "positive masculinity."

"Positive masculinity" has been around for a while. Most likely coined in early 2000s by psychologists as a way of working with male patients in therapy... Masculinity has had an unfairly bad rap, its proponents argue, becoming permanently shackled to the word "toxic." Positive masculinity is an attempt to rebrand and reinstate it for the next generation, often with the claim that unlike the insecure posturing of the shirt-ripping strongmen, this is in fact "real" manhood.

The model is not a radical departure. Positive masculinity still draws on all the old trappings and anxieties of traditional manliness, the same belief that there is such a thing as a "real man" and the same fears of falling short. As its political standard-bearer, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, Tim Walz, is still required to constantly prove his masculine credentials.

And what a job he's doing proving those credentials!

After the cartoon supervillainy of Donald Trump and the smarmy misogyny of JD Vance, the "positive masculinity" of Walz and his ilk is a joyful relief, and these programs are often doing good work. But when it comes to truly shifting cultural norms for the next generation of boys and allowing them to embrace their full humanity without shame, we might do better to ditch the masculinity rhetoric altogether. Because rather than challenging the old stereotypes and patterns, the whole positive masculinity framework actually seems to be reinforcing them.

...

There is a lurking sexism in the whole positive masculinity conceit. If we have to attach the label "masculine" to a behavior before it can have value to men, then we are subtly communicating that embracing anything associated with women is a demotion, even an indignity. "Positive masculinity" is not about de-gendering universal human qualities, and certainly not about encouraging boys to believe that they could have something to learn from women or female cultural norms.

It's all about de-gendering men.

The Rainbow Mafia talks about the pain of being trained to feel attraction to people you feel no attraction to, and being forced to live an identity which feels ill-fitting, alien, and wrong.

I believe them.

But I guess the plan is to force all boys to live that way, and to force their brains into living the lie of genderless pseudo-homosexuality.

And we're expected to support this. We're expected to consign half of our population to the same hell that LGBT people complain of -- just to make girls feel better, or whatever justification they're giving for their endless war on normal, healthy boys.

An update to an earlier post about the Democrats' inept scramble to convince straight, normie men they totally don't hate them:

That is, unfortunately, all too real. This hilarious and skillful piece of media was assembled by a sissy jerkoff from the Jimmy Kimmel show.

And now: Does anyone have any GAINZZZ?

I had to go on to a semi-fast. I was eating some "low carb" cookies from Choc Zero. Lemme tell you, if it sounds too good to be truly low-carb, it is.

You got this... you got this... this is all you, dude...

You need motivation to get into shape.

When picking a gym buddy, choose one that's at about your level, not a n00b who will only get in your way.

You also don't want a gym buddy who molests you in the middle of your set.

Plus: GAINZZZ&bodytext=Do tell. We Can Do Better Than 'Positive Masculinity By Ruth Whippman Ms. Whippman is the author of "BoyMom: Reimagining Boyhood in the Age of Impossible Masculinity." Well that poor boy is a lost soul, huh? Perhaps it's a predictable...&topic=world_news"> posted by Ace at 03:30 PM

| Access Comments