The Value Of Men In Society?
OK...although I feel passionate about this, it will be relatively short.
I'm expressing a macro view here. On an individual level, individual men are valued by those around them. However, at a macro level, men and their accomplishments are downplayed and discounted. They're continually shown to be the ones who are expendable, to be ridiculed, typically in favor of women.
This isn't an anti-woman piece, and I'm hardly an anti-woman guy. I'm simply pointing out the bad effects upon men. Women are typically put on a pedestal and given deference to in most situations. Nothing wrong with that. I think men deserve equal treatment.
It's hard to figure out where to start, as there are so many examples of how the worth of men is taught/shown to us.
How about TV and radio commercials? When was the last time you heard or saw a commercial featuring a man, and possibly a woman, where the man wasn't made to look like a fool? Get hurt and the injury seen as humorous? Be portrayed as a bad guy?
Better yet, have you ever seen a woman be made the fool, get injured in a way to make us laugh, or be seen as a bad person? No...we'd be mortified by such a portrayal, and run the advertiser out of business as being sexist.
What is the "successful" man as portrayed by our culture? He's either a sports star, physical prowess raising him to hero status, a killer, or ultra rich. It's no wonder young men seek to be 1) a super athlete 2) a bad ass thug, embracing gang culture or 3) a combination of 1 or 2 to try to become ultra rich. 99.9% of males will never reach any these to the point they become prominent for their achievement. But, we expect this of our young men.
We don't expect these things of our young women. Young women are encouraged to do what they want...to follow their heart. To encourage them otherwise would be seen as sexist, forcing them into a disempowered role that was not of their choosing.
We require young men to be ready to sacrafice themselves for the greater good all the time, be it military service, service to family, service to community, service to women (when a woman is threatened, who steps forward and who steps back...who is expected to do what?), service to. Why is expecting this of men normal, but expecting this of women sexist?
When you start looking for instances where the sexes are treated differently, you start noticing a lot. Be careful...once you start seeing it, there's no going back.
I'm expressing a macro view here. On an individual level, individual men are valued by those around them. However, at a macro level, men and their accomplishments are downplayed and discounted. They're continually shown to be the ones who are expendable, to be ridiculed, typically in favor of women.
This isn't an anti-woman piece, and I'm hardly an anti-woman guy. I'm simply pointing out the bad effects upon men. Women are typically put on a pedestal and given deference to in most situations. Nothing wrong with that. I think men deserve equal treatment.
It's hard to figure out where to start, as there are so many examples of how the worth of men is taught/shown to us.
How about TV and radio commercials? When was the last time you heard or saw a commercial featuring a man, and possibly a woman, where the man wasn't made to look like a fool? Get hurt and the injury seen as humorous? Be portrayed as a bad guy?
Better yet, have you ever seen a woman be made the fool, get injured in a way to make us laugh, or be seen as a bad person? No...we'd be mortified by such a portrayal, and run the advertiser out of business as being sexist.
What is the "successful" man as portrayed by our culture? He's either a sports star, physical prowess raising him to hero status, a killer, or ultra rich. It's no wonder young men seek to be 1) a super athlete 2) a bad ass thug, embracing gang culture or 3) a combination of 1 or 2 to try to become ultra rich. 99.9% of males will never reach any these to the point they become prominent for their achievement. But, we expect this of our young men.
We don't expect these things of our young women. Young women are encouraged to do what they want...to follow their heart. To encourage them otherwise would be seen as sexist, forcing them into a disempowered role that was not of their choosing.
We require young men to be ready to sacrafice themselves for the greater good all the time, be it military service, service to family, service to community, service to women (when a woman is threatened, who steps forward and who steps back...who is expected to do what?), service to
When you start looking for instances where the sexes are treated differently, you start noticing a lot. Be careful...once you start seeing it, there's no going back.
posted by cookies at 7:39 AM
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