Manhood: Masculinity and Man
Essay 3
WC: 1199
Manhood
What is a man? Do we use the definition from Google: an adult person, as distinguished from a boy or a woman? Or do we base it off of characteristics and accomplishments? Since they’ve lost all traditional definitions of masculinity, physical dominance, social importance, financial achievement: is it time for them to strike out and define a new masculinity that acknowledges whom they are but also to the world in which they were born? What does it mean to be a man?
At first, this question may sound like a simple question from philosophy class, but the first instinct is to give a silly answer and move on. “Being a man means being able to fold a map and never stop for directions.” Then we realize: this is a serious question. Society has been coping with the sense that as a culture, we have “lost” the definition of masculinity. As Dr. Nerdlove said, there has been “wrestling with the idea of what makes a man, whether we’ve lost sight of it and if we have, if this is a good or bad thing.” He also states, “society tells us that we’ve lost something, but nobody seems to know what it was or how we lost it. Some blame women for stealing it or for convincing them to give it away. Some blame our culture and how it’s evolved. All we know is something threw the Earth off balance.” Paul Theroux states, “I’ve always disliked being a man. The whole idea of manhood in America is pitiful, in my opinion. This version of masculinity is like having to wear an ill-fitting coat for one’s entire life” (179).
Theroux comes off as disgusted and possibly embarrassed with being a man of today’s society. He shows this by saying “Even the expression “Be a man!” strikes me as insulting and abusive. It means: Be stupid, be unfeeling, obedient, soldierly and stop thinking”(179). Man means “manly” how can one think about men without considering the terrible ambition of manliness? And yet it is part of every man’s life. “It is a hideous and crippling lie; it not only
WC: 1199
Manhood
What is a man? Do we use the definition from Google: an adult person, as distinguished from a boy or a woman? Or do we base it off of characteristics and accomplishments? Since they’ve lost all traditional definitions of masculinity, physical dominance, social importance, financial achievement: is it time for them to strike out and define a new masculinity that acknowledges whom they are but also to the world in which they were born? What does it mean to be a man?
At first, this question may sound like a simple question from philosophy class, but the first instinct is to give a silly answer and move on. “Being a man means being able to fold a map and never stop for directions.” Then we realize: this is a serious question. Society has been coping with the sense that as a culture, we have “lost” the definition of masculinity. As Dr. Nerdlove said, there has been “wrestling with the idea of what makes a man, whether we’ve lost sight of it and if we have, if this is a good or bad thing.” He also states, “society tells us that we’ve lost something, but nobody seems to know what it was or how we lost it. Some blame women for stealing it or for convincing them to give it away. Some blame our culture and how it’s evolved. All we know is something threw the Earth off balance.” Paul Theroux states, “I’ve always disliked being a man. The whole idea of manhood in America is pitiful, in my opinion. This version of masculinity is like having to wear an ill-fitting coat for one’s entire life” (179).
Theroux comes off as disgusted and possibly embarrassed with being a man of today’s society. He shows this by saying “Even the expression “Be a man!” strikes me as insulting and abusive. It means: Be stupid, be unfeeling, obedient, soldierly and stop thinking”(179). Man means “manly” how can one think about men without considering the terrible ambition of manliness? And yet it is part of every man’s life. “It is a hideous and crippling lie; it not only
Cited: Crisis: Meaning and Definitions âInfoplease.com. N.p. Web. 01 Dec. 2012. . Mifflin, Paul Theroux; Paul Theroux Is The Author Most Recently Of ' 'the Kingdom By The Sea: A Journey Around Great Britain ' ' (Houghton. "The Male Myth." The New York Times. The New York Times, 27 Nov. 1983. Web. 04 Dec. 2012. . NerdLove, Dr. "What Does It Mean To Be A Man?" Paging Dr. NerdLove. N.p. Web. 04 Dec. 2012.