Ever wonder why young male employees type with a lisp? See in the July-August 2010 issue: “The End of Men“. And let’s not forget that, apart from the fact that women are far more complex and more intricate than men–they always have been–“women power” is not just a matter of women rising in Western culture and in the workplace. In the last half-century, men, especially white collar men, did not just lag behind women in personal and professional development. Men also lost the notion of being men–whatever that means these days–in a modern world.
Yet women stayed women–and in all the best ways. Bravo.
Everyone loves neutered indoor cats. Consider countless male characters on television over the past 30 years. Most are wimpified beyond recognition: sexless cartoon characters, and suburban robot-peasants. Adult “male” TeleTubbies. Sure, they are kind, sweet and understanding, if goofy. They just do what they are told–by either women or a new egalitarian society that gives them mixed messages, and only confuses them, about how they should now be and act. To some extent, television’s male characters–pick almost any male sitcom lead from 1950 on–reflect how we see ourselves.
Do men now hold onto the barest sliver of “male” identity? Granted, in even earlier decades, John Wayne’s characters could be ridiculous, short-sighted and small; however, they were never pathetic, or stripped of their core aggression and wildness.
What a tool.
Originally posted June 10, 2010.