It is around the time of “feminism” (masculinity’s annoying little sister), grabbing the world’s females by the scruff of the neck that the first holes started to appear. All of a sudden, it was wrong to hold a door open, pay the cheque or even stand up for a women, they were taking back what wasn’t theirs. Luckily, not all women cut their hair short and changed their sexual preference to spite the male population, but they did take some bite out of the male’s bark.
Fast-forward to modern day, and masculinity is holding on, albeit in a much reduced state. Thanks to popular culture and the media, us males can now stand tall (or hunched), with piercings, jewellery and cosmetics a part of our lifestyle, and no one except the elderly it seems will raise an unappreciative glance. Celebrities such as David Beckham signify the way forward as far as the future of masculinity is concerned. Beckham himself has opened up new doors, by being both masculine and fashionable in appearance. But is this new feminist male going too far? Some even resort to plastic surgery to enhance their “masculinity”, when in my opinion, you are only masculine on the inside. You could be a builder by day, and a drag queen on stage by night, with a wife and kids, and still retain your masculinity, whilst a surgically enhanced homosexual does not feature the same (if we can refer to it as this) masculine gene. The popular description is that God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve, and so therefore society’s idea of masculinity does not include homosexuals, especially seeing as the dictionary describes masculinity as “the trait of behaving in ways considered typical for men”. There is no doubt that in this day and age homosexuality is considered less taboo, but it is seen as a threat to masculinity.
But is masculinity actually in crisis? A vast majority of males, particularly in this country are still interested in showcasing their toughness and manliness by showcasing their talents, not always to impress women mind you! Sexuality and sexual prowess is however now seen as more important than it has ever been, often threatening rather than enhancing the male masculinity. There is a lot more pressure nowadays to succeed, more so now men are not the only breadwinners in the family. The surprising fact that throughout North America, Europe and Australia, male suicides outnumber females by a factor of between 3 and 4 to 1 signifies the growing amount of unrecognised pressure that males have to deal with. Is this a sign that masculinity is in crisis?
The fact that the male suicide rate is so high is largely due to the fact that men are still scared to accept their depression, because they are either too proud or lack enough emotion to realise they are in need of help. The pressure to fulfil masculinity has gotten the better of them, and they are now terrified to admit that they have problems.
The future of masculinity looks bleak. Some feminists often believe men are only the carriers of the seed of life, and if more women use technological advancements such as artificial insemination, the fate of man on this planet may seem to be only that. Writer Anthony Clare asks the question “Is there anything left of the male role as provider and protector”, a rather depressing but frighteningly truthful outlook.
And so it seems that as the world progresses through time, the changes will cut through the masculine way of thinking, becoming greater and greater.
“You can go and drink some beer, and hammer up some dry wall!” (Courtney Cox’s opinions on men, from a Friends episode)
