The new youth poll released by Harvard Kennedy School's Institute of Politics finds a "pronounced" gap between the political views of young men and young women. Among young men, Biden's lead is six points; among young women, it's 33 points.
If young American men see Donald Trump as a role model for a masculinity they want to emulate and promote, then I wonder what kind of society they envisage building for themselves and everyone else.
Hey #gender studies scholars! I've cycled into town while listening to a podcast about 1920s horror fiction, I've attended an art-historical guided tour of a cinema, I'm having a cup of hot chocolate and a piece of extremely decadent chocolate mousse cake named "Elliot". And I am ready to do an in-depth interview about traditional cis-het Swedish #masculinity!
The social norm is constructed: not naturally occurring but created by the society in which it is found.
Hence there are no actions which in themselves are inherently #abnormal or universally condemned by all societies at all times. Deviance is thus situational and contextual.
Rough contact and impact peak around the age of seven. This is gradually replaced by peer monitoring in the years that follow.
Isabelle Clair: "Adolescence is a very normative age. At middle school, "there's a very tough relationship to what's the right thing to do".
Margot Déage: "Physical violence is much more prevalent in elementary/primary school, then decreases in middle school, and progressively through high school."
Margot Déage: "A girl who does not belong to a boy or a man can fall into the category of whore at any time, whatever her clothes or sexual practices."
Margot Déage: "Being in a position to say who’s a whore and who’s a good girl is a power in itself within the girls’ group, a power that is strongly mobilised by certain girls. The ones who can fall, in general, are the hardest on the matter."
"If a young woman does not follow the social injunction to have feelings in a sexual relationship, she knows that she risks being called to order, being punished. Or to feel shame or guilt. This burden of the social norm is primarily internalised."
"There is, in all circles, the threatening 'spectre of the faggot'. The determination to appear as 'a man, a real man' and secure one's masculinity, while escaping suspicion of homosexuality, which is considered demeaning and dangerous. Some gay boys from privileged backgrounds have told me that they were in a relationship with a girl at school to give the impression, to cover their tracks."
"If a young woman does not follow the social injunction to have feelings in a sexual relationship, she knows that she risks being called to order, being punished. Or to feel shame or guilt. This burden of the social norm is primarily internalised."
"There is, in all circles, the threatening 'spectre of the faggot'. The determination to appear as 'a man, a real man' and secure one's masculinity, while escaping suspicion of homosexuality, which is considered demeaning and dangerous. Some gay boys from privileged backgrounds have told me that they were in a relationship with a girl at school to give the impression, to cover their tracks."
"Is it possible my father, looking back, feels he was trapped by expectations, by the rules of manhood—or not so much trapped as formed, limited, incapable of feeling otherwise?" —Andrew Altschul for Esquire
I had previously said, after watching clips from Kat Williams' Club Shay Shay interview, that Kat was being mighty silly about the "men in dresses" thing. Basically he was like "they tried to make me wear a dress, and if you're a Black man in Hollywood they'll do this to you too, and if you refuse they'll blackball you."
Well, FD Signifier (of the #SignifiedBSides youtube channel) has a much better critique of Kat's comments: they're homophobic, obviously, and who benefits when Black men embrace and try to conform to a narrow ideal of brutish hyper-masculinity? White supremacy! What do police say when they killed a Black man? They feared for their life. What was the origin of so many white race riots that ended in a lynching? Accusations against Black men and boys of being scarily, violently hyper-masculine.
I love this guy's commentary, he has many great video essays. And I say that as a person who basically hates the video essay format.
A series of very congenial but devastating shots at contemporary gender politics ... Power seeks to carve out a new path in the relationship between men and women - one where neither side is stripped of its distinct humanity ... a refreshing take on sexual politics--Jarryd Bartle
The terrible human toll in Gaza has many causes.
A chilling investigation by +972 highlights efficiency:
An engineer: “When a 3-year-old girl is killed in a home in Gaza, it’s because someone in the army decided it wasn’t a big deal for her to be killed.”
An AI outputs "100 targets a day". Like a factory with murder delivery:
"According to the investigation, another reason for the large number of targets, and the extensive harm to civilian life in Gaza, is the widespread use of a system called “Habsora” (“The Gospel”), which is largely built on artificial intelligence and can “generate” targets almost automatically at a rate that far exceeds what was previously possible. This AI system, as described by a former intelligence officer, essentially facilitates a “mass assassination factory.”"
"The third is “power targets,” which includes high-rises and residential towers in the heart of cities, and public buildings such as universities, banks, and government offices."
"The unit is engaged in the same kind of AI work that the world’s biggest tech companies, like Google, Facebook and China’s Baidu are doing in a race to apply machine learning to such functions as self-driving cars, analysis of salespeople’s telephone pitches and cybersecurity — or to fight Israel’s next war more intelligently."
“I’ve always loved algorithms. I was already involved with them in high school and worked in the field. When I [was] drafted I wanted to combine the technology with a combat,” Maj. Sefi Cohen, 34, recalls.
The unit’s only female member left recently. so for the moment it’s an all-male team. Cohen says: “Everyone who’s here is the tops.”
“Criminals are a superstitious cowardly lot, so my disguise must be able to strike terror into their hearts! I must be a… a… fashion accessory!” #VintageAd#Batman#masculinity
Since it is #MensDay, I'm gonna share some things that have been helpful to me, personally, in my pursuit of becoming a kinder, braver, more authentic man.
Books:
The Will to Change - bell hooks
Set Boundaries, Find Peace - Nedra Tawwab
Attached - Amir Levine
Daring Greatly - Brené Brown
Atlas of the Heart - Brené Brown
F the Shoulds. Do the Wants. - Tricia Huffman
Online Content:
WholeheartedMasculine (Blog; seemingly abandoned since 2021, but has some great content)