It’s perfectly fine to be a “feminine” man. Young men do not need a vision of “positive masculinity.” They need what everyone else needs: to be a good person who has a satisfying, meaningful life.

  • dumples@kbin.social
    7·
    11 months ago

    At the risk of coming across as argumentative - I can’t reconcile the idea that every group except boys benefit from positive role models that help young people see their potential.

    I think this is a good point that there should needs to be more positive male roles models. However, I think the article shows that we really need positive role models that are define beyond masculine and feminine traits. I think the reason that there is such difficulty is defining either of these terms was that they were defined as opposites of each other. So there is difficulty in getting valid definitions since all people have combinations of both of these traits together regardless of gender. We really should focus on universal value sets that are valid regardless of gender. I think this article could have better identified that there shouldn’t be any gendered values such as these

    • LallyLuckFarm@beehaw.org
      5·
      11 months ago

      I agree, more role modeling of universal Good Person™ traits is fundamentally necessary in breaking down gender stereotypes.

      But like, tell me that there’s little value in a young man seeing another older man treat another person equitably and respectfully and having it explained as “the manly thing to do” and I’m gonna check out. Sometimes we have to tailor our language to meet the needs of the learner and we’re not gonna get there giving regressive folks full reins of what words mean.

      • dumples@kbin.social
        3·
        11 months ago

        I agree. I think there should be a better definition. I would suggest up Terry Crews as my definition of positive male role model.

      • dumples@kbin.social
        2·
        11 months ago

        After thinking about this I think a lot of the traditional masculine values can be positive if defined the correct way. I’m sure any traditionally conservative men would say that Self Sufficiency is a valuable trait. But defining it as being able to cook, clean, change a diaper, etc it would be a more positive. Same with as a defender but define it as protecting minorities and those less fortunate instead of being able to kill a threat. These should be done and used

        • LallyLuckFarm@beehaw.org
          2·
          11 months ago

          Totally agreed here. Paraphrasing a conversation my wife watched a video of a while back:

          Traditionalist: “men should be supporting their family. If you’re a stay at home dad, you’re not a real man”

          Guy being attacked: “I support my wife’s professional aspirations, I support my kids’ educations by being there to get them ready for school, by helping with homework, and by providing them with healthy home cooked food to support their physical and mental needs. I support them when they’re sad, I support them when they’re angry. I support their confidence by telling them how amazing they are. All you’re doing is bringing home money, and that’s a weak show of support”