I'm sorry I'm sharing something from Fox, but something really needs to be said about this piece of misguided journalism. But not what's already being said. What's being said are things like, "Fox News Thinks Feminists Are a Threat to America’s National Security," and, "According To Fox News, Feminism Is A National Security Problem." Watch the video and we'll discuss why I think those two headlines don't even begin to get at what is going on here. The Video:
Did you notice that the two reporters mock men who want to do the dishes in the beginning? Or that the whole crew ridiculed men who care about their appearance? Did you catch that he's suggesting the US needs to be more manly in order to lead? Or even when Nick suggests that you're not a man unless you're winning?
This is not an issue of feminism; it's an issue of hypermasculinity. If this were a feminist issue, there would be some sort of repression: an inequality. At no point does anyone suggest that feminism is a national security threat, rather, a small and highly publicized group of feminists are blamed for essentially emasculating men. I know what you just watched probably feels like an injustice of some sort and the word feminism was brought up, but the people most affected by the injustice in this clip are our boys and young men trying to decipher what it means to be a man and how to grow into the best man they can.
As Nick Adams points out, it's a hard time to be a man. This is true, but not for the reasons he identifies. Instead, being a man today is difficult because of people like Mr. Adams. There is a clear definition of what being a man is in this segment which is a direct result of Nick's new book. Men don't do house work. Men win. Men protect and are invulnerable. For anyone at all concerned with the upbringing of the next generation of men, you know that all of those things are absolutely inconsistent with what we are striving to teach young males today. As someone who has recently grown from a boy to a young man, I think it's important to the future men of the world that they know it's okay to be respectful and diplomatic. It's okay to be compassionate, to feel emotions, and to cry. It's okay to lose, but it's also okay to keep playing if you don't want to stop. It's okay to love and it's okay to have fun. These qualities are essential to a successful future.
Can we also digress quick into the wussification of men being a national security threat? I just recently caught up on the seasons of Game of Thrones, and I swear they said almost the exact same thing. This is the narrow, patriarchal view of how the world works that is dominant in European culture and has been for centuries. It's encouraging fear in the viewers by suggesting that an inability to be the stereotypical man means that everyone is at risk. To assert that the only way to secure our nation is through intimidation, physical strength, and bouts of violence is greatly diminishing the potential of humans. Since we are all rational beings, shouldn't we try diplomacy and do our best to shake hands with everyone rather than sending in the men to hang our dicks out and walk around comparing who is swinging the biggest club?
I'm not trying to say that men shouldn't want to grow a beard, or go out and chop down a tree, or eat jerky from their deer they got this fall. What I'm trying to say is that men should also be able to work towards keeping their house tidy, keep looking great, and being compassionate, respectful, and honorable members of this planet. Men should be allowed to be well rounded humans instead of emotionally void love-children of Ron Swanson and Barney Stinson.
I will also admit that I have not read the book, and I'm guessing most have not since it's only been on shelves for four months. Though I'm not expecting it to, the book could come to much different conclusions than the video I watched tonight. I just want to be clear, I'm writing as a direct response to the video, not the book.
I know you're not supposed to write while you are upset, but I feel this topic needs all the attention it can get right now and I don't think this video will ever get less upsetting. It is people like Nick Anderson who are stunting the progress that could be made toward peace and wholeness in the world. He is a misguided man with antiquated ideals and he is being perpetuated by fear-mongering groups who are using his words to maintain and increase wealth and power. The reporters here are puppets of a machine with no brain or heart. They are mindlessly relaying the words on the teleprompter without question. The sooner we begin to realize that it is people like the ones in the video I've posted are a bigger threat to national and global security and peace, the sooner we can all start making progress to a better world. Thank you.
This is not an issue of feminism; it's an issue of hypermasculinity. If this were a feminist issue, there would be some sort of repression: an inequality. At no point does anyone suggest that feminism is a national security threat, rather, a small and highly publicized group of feminists are blamed for essentially emasculating men. I know what you just watched probably feels like an injustice of some sort and the word feminism was brought up, but the people most affected by the injustice in this clip are our boys and young men trying to decipher what it means to be a man and how to grow into the best man they can.
As Nick Adams points out, it's a hard time to be a man. This is true, but not for the reasons he identifies. Instead, being a man today is difficult because of people like Mr. Adams. There is a clear definition of what being a man is in this segment which is a direct result of Nick's new book. Men don't do house work. Men win. Men protect and are invulnerable. For anyone at all concerned with the upbringing of the next generation of men, you know that all of those things are absolutely inconsistent with what we are striving to teach young males today. As someone who has recently grown from a boy to a young man, I think it's important to the future men of the world that they know it's okay to be respectful and diplomatic. It's okay to be compassionate, to feel emotions, and to cry. It's okay to lose, but it's also okay to keep playing if you don't want to stop. It's okay to love and it's okay to have fun. These qualities are essential to a successful future.
Can we also digress quick into the wussification of men being a national security threat? I just recently caught up on the seasons of Game of Thrones, and I swear they said almost the exact same thing. This is the narrow, patriarchal view of how the world works that is dominant in European culture and has been for centuries. It's encouraging fear in the viewers by suggesting that an inability to be the stereotypical man means that everyone is at risk. To assert that the only way to secure our nation is through intimidation, physical strength, and bouts of violence is greatly diminishing the potential of humans. Since we are all rational beings, shouldn't we try diplomacy and do our best to shake hands with everyone rather than sending in the men to hang our dicks out and walk around comparing who is swinging the biggest club?
I'm not trying to say that men shouldn't want to grow a beard, or go out and chop down a tree, or eat jerky from their deer they got this fall. What I'm trying to say is that men should also be able to work towards keeping their house tidy, keep looking great, and being compassionate, respectful, and honorable members of this planet. Men should be allowed to be well rounded humans instead of emotionally void love-children of Ron Swanson and Barney Stinson.
I will also admit that I have not read the book, and I'm guessing most have not since it's only been on shelves for four months. Though I'm not expecting it to, the book could come to much different conclusions than the video I watched tonight. I just want to be clear, I'm writing as a direct response to the video, not the book.
I know you're not supposed to write while you are upset, but I feel this topic needs all the attention it can get right now and I don't think this video will ever get less upsetting. It is people like Nick Anderson who are stunting the progress that could be made toward peace and wholeness in the world. He is a misguided man with antiquated ideals and he is being perpetuated by fear-mongering groups who are using his words to maintain and increase wealth and power. The reporters here are puppets of a machine with no brain or heart. They are mindlessly relaying the words on the teleprompter without question. The sooner we begin to realize that it is people like the ones in the video I've posted are a bigger threat to national and global security and peace, the sooner we can all start making progress to a better world. Thank you.
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