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โWe make men without chests and expect from them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst.โ
- C.S. Lewis, "The Abolition of Man"
Western Civilization indeed has a masculinity crisis.
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โWe make men without chests and expect from them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst.โ
- C.S. Lewis, "The Abolition of Man"
Western Civilization indeed has a masculinity crisis.
1/
There's a family I am friends with.
The husband, a good, hard-working man, travels for his job and has a medical condition that prevents him from doing much physical labor.
The wife works full-time, in addition to volunteering weekly at church and other activities.
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The husband, a good, hard-working man, travels for his job and has a medical condition that prevents him from doing much physical labor.
The wife works full-time, in addition to volunteering weekly at church and other activities.
2/
They live on several acres, and own a couple horses.
Needless to say, that's a lot of upkeep for two such people who are also empty-nesters.
It would be almost impossible for them, under normal circumstances.
"Toxic" masculinity to the rescue.
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Needless to say, that's a lot of upkeep for two such people who are also empty-nesters.
It would be almost impossible for them, under normal circumstances.
"Toxic" masculinity to the rescue.
3/
Every month, two or three teenage boys from their church make the twenty-minute drive out to the property to help.
They mow, repair fences, split wood, weedeat, and assorted other laborious tasks, while refusing payment for their day-long volunteer work.
4/
They mow, repair fences, split wood, weedeat, and assorted other laborious tasks, while refusing payment for their day-long volunteer work.
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These young men graduate high school next May.
One has already committed to the Navy. Another to the Marines.
The boys love their country, their God, and their families.
They serve, because they know duty is one of a real man's highest calling.
5/
One has already committed to the Navy. Another to the Marines.
The boys love their country, their God, and their families.
They serve, because they know duty is one of a real man's highest calling.
5/
We live in a time when men have largely rejected any connection to duty.
Most do so simply because they live in a state of arrested adolescence, chasing juvenile desires well into adulthood.
Uncomplicated, easy, and mediocre.
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Most do so simply because they live in a state of arrested adolescence, chasing juvenile desires well into adulthood.
Uncomplicated, easy, and mediocre.
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Underneath, though, is something more insidious.
It's the cultural whispers that those concepts that underpin traiditonal masculinity - duty among them - are the same traits that twist a boy into a nationalistic, everything-phobic time bomb.
How did we arrive here?
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It's the cultural whispers that those concepts that underpin traiditonal masculinity - duty among them - are the same traits that twist a boy into a nationalistic, everything-phobic time bomb.
How did we arrive here?
7/
Broadly, the issue breaks down into three components:
1. Labels
2. Narrative
3. Utility
Each feeds into the next, building in importance, scope, and impact.
Also, I am aware that this topic is fraught with emotion, and will endeavor to maintain equanimity.
8/
1. Labels
2. Narrative
3. Utility
Each feeds into the next, building in importance, scope, and impact.
Also, I am aware that this topic is fraught with emotion, and will endeavor to maintain equanimity.
8/
Labels serve a powerful purpose to those who would attempt to influence culture.
Primarily, it allows an influencer to load context and import into a singular word, and evoke a specific emotional response in a specific target audience.
Advanced communicators know this.
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Primarily, it allows an influencer to load context and import into a singular word, and evoke a specific emotional response in a specific target audience.
Advanced communicators know this.
9/
Specifically, adjectives are the most powerful of labeling devices.
To whit:
"Masculinity" carries a certain, generally-positive context to the average individual.
It calls to mind strength, ambition, resilience, three things most people want to embody.
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To whit:
"Masculinity" carries a certain, generally-positive context to the average individual.
It calls to mind strength, ambition, resilience, three things most people want to embody.
10/
Thus, the word "masculinity" rises to its own defense.
It's a word of power, with more upside than downside in common usage.
In order to achieve a cultural inversion of meaning, an adjective (and new context) must be hooked to it.
Enter "toxic".
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It's a word of power, with more upside than downside in common usage.
In order to achieve a cultural inversion of meaning, an adjective (and new context) must be hooked to it.
Enter "toxic".
11/
By modifying the noun ("masculinity"), the adjective ("toxic") poisons the well.
This is deliberate.
"Masculinity" is evocative.
"Toxic" is visceral.
It engenders visions of a vaporizing, malodorous green sludge that eats away at anything which touches it.
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This is deliberate.
"Masculinity" is evocative.
"Toxic" is visceral.
It engenders visions of a vaporizing, malodorous green sludge that eats away at anything which touches it.
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Understand, word choice matters deeply to the communicator.
Even my own words matters here in this thread.
Words inform, but they also SIGNAL.
By choosing a specific word or phrase, we invite or repel the participation of certain audiences.
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Even my own words matters here in this thread.
Words inform, but they also SIGNAL.
By choosing a specific word or phrase, we invite or repel the participation of certain audiences.
13/
To me, and to my tribe, "masculinity" is a concept to be celebrated and defended.
My patriarchal (another loaded word!) worldview is informed by the belief that mankind is best-served by rooting itself in the masculine virtues, and balancing them with the feminine.
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My patriarchal (another loaded word!) worldview is informed by the belief that mankind is best-served by rooting itself in the masculine virtues, and balancing them with the feminine.
14/
We reject the adjective "toxic" because we consider "masculinity" its own beneficent, holistic concept and framework.
For it to be toxic would cause it to cease to be masculinity at all.
It becomes something wholly different in scope, context, and acceptability.
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For it to be toxic would cause it to cease to be masculinity at all.
It becomes something wholly different in scope, context, and acceptability.
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The attempt to change the word (and its cultural context) through labeling it something else is invalid to me or people who operate tjhrough the same lens.
However, people like me are NOT the target of a (re)labeling exercise such as "toxic masculinity".
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However, people like me are NOT the target of a (re)labeling exercise such as "toxic masculinity".
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It's the persuadable middle who are the targeted audience.
Those who may generally see masculinity as a positive thing, but are susceptible to narrative devices, can be snookered by the reframe.
This does not make them dumb or wrong.
It just means they're normal.
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Those who may generally see masculinity as a positive thing, but are susceptible to narrative devices, can be snookered by the reframe.
This does not make them dumb or wrong.
It just means they're normal.
17/
I am abnormal in the sense that I have deeply studied and am hyper-aware of propaganda, influence operations, and marketing tactics.
I know, and respect, the immense power of communication.
There is a reason that John 1:1 in the Bible conflates God Himself with "the Word".
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I know, and respect, the immense power of communication.
There is a reason that John 1:1 in the Bible conflates God Himself with "the Word".
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This is because words are how we humans frame our entire reality.
Thus the power of labels to the uninformed recipient.
Everything has a meaning defined explicitly though a linguistic frame of reference.
Modifying that frame is where point #2, Narrative, comes in.
19/
Thus the power of labels to the uninformed recipient.
Everything has a meaning defined explicitly though a linguistic frame of reference.
Modifying that frame is where point #2, Narrative, comes in.
19/
A narrative may be easiest described as a series of labels strung together to create context.
From context and experience, we then derive meaning.
Further, narrative management is explicitly about gaining control of the perceptions (and thus, reality) of the listener.
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From context and experience, we then derive meaning.
Further, narrative management is explicitly about gaining control of the perceptions (and thus, reality) of the listener.
20/
By relabeling masculinity as "toxic", the intent is to create a negative frame (or, reality) of certain second-order traits normally associated positively with masculinity:
Strength
Power
Leadership
By denigrating these concepts, "masculinity" no longer evokes "leader".
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Strength
Power
Leadership
By denigrating these concepts, "masculinity" no longer evokes "leader".
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The narrative for the persuadable middle shifts from the archetype of the "masculine hero" to the "toxically masculine monster".
No longer does "masculinity" evoke John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, or The Rock.
It's mass killers, warmongers, and predators.
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No longer does "masculinity" evoke John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, or The Rock.
It's mass killers, warmongers, and predators.
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The narrative shift has a polarizing effect.
Men of good faith who don't wish to be seen as monsters begin to downplay, or wholesale reject, perceived behaviors and indicators of "toxic masculinity" - those same, beneficent traits that used to simply mean "masculinity".
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Men of good faith who don't wish to be seen as monsters begin to downplay, or wholesale reject, perceived behaviors and indicators of "toxic masculinity" - those same, beneficent traits that used to simply mean "masculinity".
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But as a man's perception of himself shifts with the narrative, so too does his role.
The man who fears being seen as toxic (and wishes to preserve his viability to the women in his circle), softens, and often debases, himself to conform to the (re)label of masculinity.
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The man who fears being seen as toxic (and wishes to preserve his viability to the women in his circle), softens, and often debases, himself to conform to the (re)label of masculinity.
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Understand, this is not the goal of ALL people who employ the term "toxic masculinity".
There are those who draw a distinction between what I know as masculinity, and "toxic" masculinity.
They are not operating in bad faith, but they are a memetic vector nonetheless.
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There are those who draw a distinction between what I know as masculinity, and "toxic" masculinity.
They are not operating in bad faith, but they are a memetic vector nonetheless.
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The label - narrative - of "toxic masculinity" is designed to marginalize and shame the "Patriarchy" (a negative term for male-led Western civilization).
Thus, the goal becomes "smash the patriarchy".
The solution to a better world is to destroy the framework of the old.
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Thus, the goal becomes "smash the patriarchy".
The solution to a better world is to destroy the framework of the old.
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Violence, for example, is regarded as inherently masculine.
I draw a distinction between necessary violence, and the evil predatory kind.
But someone who thinks all violence is bad AND avoidable, will see it as a toxic trait.
Teach males not to fight, and violence ends.
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I draw a distinction between necessary violence, and the evil predatory kind.
But someone who thinks all violence is bad AND avoidable, will see it as a toxic trait.
Teach males not to fight, and violence ends.
27/
Labels, and narrative, have a transitive property (remember your math lesson?).
If A, then B.
If B, then C.
A equals C.
Violence is a typical masculine trait. Violence is toxic. Masculinity is toxic.
Simple as it seems, this is how it works through constant reinforcement.
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If A, then B.
If B, then C.
A equals C.
Violence is a typical masculine trait. Violence is toxic. Masculinity is toxic.
Simple as it seems, this is how it works through constant reinforcement.
28/
"We don't want to change men!", the social engineers say.
"We just want to stop the toxic behaviors that cause men to hurt people. Women hurt people less. If men are more like women, society benefits with less violence!"
The narrative now has Utility (point #3).
29/
"We just want to stop the toxic behaviors that cause men to hurt people. Women hurt people less. If men are more like women, society benefits with less violence!"
The narrative now has Utility (point #3).
29/
What normal-thinking man or woman doesn't want to see less violence?
But here's the thing - THERE WILL ALWAYS BE WOLVES who prey on the weak because they can.
You cannot socially-engineer evil out of a human. There will ever be outliers.
Denying this is willful ignorance.
30/
But here's the thing - THERE WILL ALWAYS BE WOLVES who prey on the weak because they can.
You cannot socially-engineer evil out of a human. There will ever be outliers.
Denying this is willful ignorance.
30/
Conflating the rapist or murderer with the warrior is insane.
Yet, both archetypes (Predator/Protector) are compeletely at home with the darkness of human nature - those "toxic" behaviors of violence.
Gelding society ensures that we are vulnerable, not enlightened.
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Yet, both archetypes (Predator/Protector) are compeletely at home with the darkness of human nature - those "toxic" behaviors of violence.
Gelding society ensures that we are vulnerable, not enlightened.
31/
As the term has evolved, "toxic masculinity" is employed to enforce control over a man's agency in the modern world.
"Manspreading" and "mansplaining" are "toxic masculinity".
Take up too much space, or speak forcefully, and you're now committing violence against others.
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"Manspreading" and "mansplaining" are "toxic masculinity".
Take up too much space, or speak forcefully, and you're now committing violence against others.
32/
Part of being a man is knowing that thanks to our particular chemistry, we will be more prone to aggression, violence, and dominance-seeking.
So, too, will the smaller frame of the average woman require her to be proficient with social games, communication, and intuition.
33/
So, too, will the smaller frame of the average woman require her to be proficient with social games, communication, and intuition.
33/
This is our nature.
"Nurture" - family, economics, war, religion - is what gives motive and shape to the basic form of a man or woman.
And over time, we have allowed a label ("toxic" masculinity) to metastasize into a cultural attack on men.
The impact is pervasive.
34/
"Nurture" - family, economics, war, religion - is what gives motive and shape to the basic form of a man or woman.
And over time, we have allowed a label ("toxic" masculinity) to metastasize into a cultural attack on men.
The impact is pervasive.
34/
The ratio of protectors to predators skews more every day.
Fewer fathers in the home.
Men who don't know how be a husband, let alone a leader.
Violence increases because boys are encouraged to not become men.
The baby and bathwater are both lying in the yard.
35/
Fewer fathers in the home.
Men who don't know how be a husband, let alone a leader.
Violence increases because boys are encouraged to not become men.
The baby and bathwater are both lying in the yard.
35/
We cannot engineer away the bad angels of our nature. Anger, spite, will to power, are all endemic to our biology because they arise from emotional responses to simple human interaction.
Men and women are both prone to this.
We just use different tools to enforce or cope.
36/
Men and women are both prone to this.
We just use different tools to enforce or cope.
36/
Set aside the political nonsense and read this carefully:
Hating, and blaming, one another does not resolve the issues we face as a society.
We are complementary, not antagonistic, by nature.
Only the most radical of post-modern thinkers rejects this notion.
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Hating, and blaming, one another does not resolve the issues we face as a society.
We are complementary, not antagonistic, by nature.
Only the most radical of post-modern thinkers rejects this notion.
37/
Can men be better? ABSOLUTELY.
Get fathers back into the homes, teaching their sons how to process that normal rush of hormal aggression, to differentiate predatory and righteous violence.
To defend the weak. To aspire to great things, but not at the expense of others.
38/
Get fathers back into the homes, teaching their sons how to process that normal rush of hormal aggression, to differentiate predatory and righteous violence.
To defend the weak. To aspire to great things, but not at the expense of others.
38/
There is no "toxic" masculinity.
There is archetypal masculinity, and men who exist outside of it.
We must maintain this frame, because frankly, nuance is hard for the average person.
The label poisons the well from which society drinks.
39/
There is archetypal masculinity, and men who exist outside of it.
We must maintain this frame, because frankly, nuance is hard for the average person.
The label poisons the well from which society drinks.
39/
Men derive purpose from second-order concepts - duty, love of family, community - from the construct of "masculinity".
Purpose cages the beast.
Framing the tools of masculinity as "toxic" ensures purpose is never achieved.
Thus the spiral continues...
40/
Purpose cages the beast.
Framing the tools of masculinity as "toxic" ensures purpose is never achieved.
Thus the spiral continues...
40/
ADDENDUM:
Yes, I know it's a long thread.
But give it an honest hearing, in full, before you comment.
I hold no ill will towards ANYONE, merely arguing against the label, and for male responsibility.
I will block/report for aggressively stupid or malicious commentary.
Yes, I know it's a long thread.
But give it an honest hearing, in full, before you comment.
I hold no ill will towards ANYONE, merely arguing against the label, and for male responsibility.
I will block/report for aggressively stupid or malicious commentary.
Companion Reading #1 - "Letting Boys Be Boys" https://twitter.com/Flyover_Country/status/1158351567910838272
Companion Reading #2 - "Media and Narrative" https://twitter.com/Flyover_Country/status/1158721925457350656
