I'm going to springboard off Erica's question today. As her question pointed out, men are as affected by their hormones, physiology, and socialization as women are. It's not uncommon for people to talk about women as if they're a deviation from men, but that view is simply inaccurate. So, in an effort to combat that misperception, but also to give men the time and space they deserve, my question today is all about men and maleness.
What makes men men?
What is masculinity, and how has it impacted your life, whether you're male or not?
Allow me to quote two men I respect to form and elaborate on my ideas on this subject (which is always informed by my love for and conception of my father). First, I'll quote The Green Arrow, a DC Comics superhero who wields an English long bow. While defeating an undead monster of a supervillain named Solomon Grundy, Green Arrow thinks, "Unlike Clark [Superman]--or even Bruce [Batman]--emotions are what make me a man." Second, I'll quote G.W. McClintock as played by John Wayne in the classic film "McClintock," "You have to be a man before you can be a gentleman; he fails on both counts." Men are strong. Insofar as it is possible, they do their all to take care of their stewardship regardless of what that entails. They are solid, they protect their families, and they should do their all to provide for them; however, they don't attain manhood until they love. Men (and all humans, really) should love and commit to the people in their family (and everyone else too--as per Jesus' instructions); they should love and commit to God; they should find a good cause that they LOVE to be anxiously engaged in. This is what makes a first-rate man and a first-rate human being. I have seen my father's fralities first hand, but I have always known he loves me. This taught me to always love him (and to love so many others); it also taught me that my father is a man not because he watches mma, he hunts, he swears, he farts, and he eats, but because he loves me, he loves God, he leads his family in righteousness, he exercises his priesthood, and he has found a good temporal cause to be anxiously engaged in. To me, that is masculinity.
ReplyDeleteKatie, I think that's a fantastic answer.
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