The MENaissance

[T_i_B]

I'll leave you lot to work out how much of this article is all a load of old cobblers.

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1816168,00.html

The man stands up in disgust at the tiny portion of haute cuisine on his plate. He storms out of the swanky restaurant as his gorgeous date looks on aghast. To swelling chords, he bursts into song: 'I am man, hear me roar!' - to the tune of the feminist hit 'I am woman'.

Soon the man has what he really wants: a Texas Double Whopper. Sandwich in hand, he strides down the street as legions of other men join him, all singing the new 'Manthem'. They burn their tight white underwear, bear placards declaring their manhood and set on a girlish-looking minivan. They toss the vehicle off a bridge into an enormous skip, which is being hauled by a muscle-bound chap in hot pursuit of a gigantic burger held before him on a spade.

This may just be a hit television advert, but its naked celebration of old-fashioned manliness - burgers, cars, feats of strength, an aversion to salad - is just the tip of a chisel-jawed iceberg ploughing through American popular culture. Advertisers know what appeals to millions of consumers, and what appeals now is not caring and sharing metrosexuality, but raw old-fashioned manhood.

In literature the hot new trend is Fratire, a male alternative to chick lit that celebrates drinking and sex. At the other end of the scale a Harvard academic, Professor Harvey Mansfield, has produced Manliness, an intellectual call to arms for men to reassert their power and identity. As the Boston Globe said recently: 'We're in the middle of a Menaissance.'

[ulysses]

1. this is cyclical.

The Neanderthal vs the Fop. Just traction for ad agencies.

[mitchum]

27. You are absolutely correct. It's not as if ad "geniuses" can ever come...

up with anything truly new. They are just swine who rework the same old tired tropes.

[rosesaylavee]

2. Anti- intellectualism at its peak right now.

Creating leaders who are white and stupid. And that the best thing you can say about any of them is 'I sure would love to share a beer with that guy.'

God help us...

[Zookeeper]

38. "...white and stupid.." ???

What ARE you talking about? As opposed to what...all the intellectual non-whites who have been elected to public office in the U.S. for the last 200+ years? Why does race play into your statement? That was really obnoxious. Stupid leaders come in all colors.

Edited for clarity.

[pooja]

3. ok men... if you want to assert your manly powers...

then take care of your family's, play with your kids, and don't nose around place you shouldn't.

Actually, I don't mind having a strong man around (and I'm not talking muscles). It is nice to have a man with strenth and character (I think it shows that there were some strong women behind him pushing him to do good--mother's and wives and daughters). The one thing I do object to is that its burger king xtra, xtra big fatty burger dripping with a heart attack. Not exactly the type of meal I'd like my husband or father or son to eat.

[lumberjack_jeff]

4. Most of what media presents as "manliness" is really arrested development

I would agree that "manhood" been marginalized to a status close to pathology, but I think celebrations of drinking and sex miss the point.

[readmoreoften]

5. Butchness is in fashion.

A lot of genetic females are transitioning, often to gay males. My butch girlfriend also likes hamburgers, cars, and feats of strength.

wait... "an intellectual call to arms for men to reassert their power and identity"

MEN HAVE LOST THEIR POWER? WHO THE FUCK IS RUNNING THE WORLD?

[readmoreoften]

6. an intellectual call to arms for men to reassert their power and identity

As if men have lost their power! And you cannot "lose" your gender identity because someone else likes salads and turkey. And anything written that has the word "frat" in it is a call to idiocy.

Oh, the men have lost their power. Who is running the world? Is condi running the world. Oh no. It's HILLARY. Hillary is running the world.

Ah hell, it's just a bunch of insecure garbage that will lead to date rape. Real men don't need to reassure their power. Fucking wimps.

[last1standing]

7. "Real men don't need to reassure their power."

Exactly right. This bullshit is just a play to the less intelligent amoung us - men and women. Celebrating ignorance is insanely disgusting yet these companies know it will play well in most markets because so many men are afraid that any lack of "manliness" will confirm their latent homosexuality.

Personally, give me some good haute cuisine with a nice glass of cabernet and I'm in heaven. I agree about the minivan, though. They're ugly, gas guzzling, pieces of crap for the most part.

[readmoreoften]

9. Nothing more manly than a leather daddy.

I don't know why these guys think masculinity absolves them from homosexuality. These guys ever see Toms of Finland? I personally love masculinity. I just prefer it on women.

[lumberjack_jeff]

10. I dunno, let me ask my governor. Hey Christine?...

... or failing to get an answer from her, perhaps one of my senators, Patty? Maria? Readmoreoften wants to know who the fuck is running the world.

And while I've got you on the phone, I'm curious why daughters are 50% more likely to go to college than sons.

[kiahzero]

11. Because masculinity is about being a moron.

Preferably as large and obnoxious a lout as possible.

[lumberjack_jeff]

13. I find that the individuals who say that most often

Are those most ignorant on the topic.

[kiahzero]

16. How so?

Just look at the commericial in question. It's not exactly a celebration of intellectualism.

[lumberjack_jeff]

23. I have some experience with masculinity...

... but I am ignorant about, and would not express opinions on the inherent nature of femininity.

Making conclusions about the nature of masculinity based upon hamburger advertisements is about as useful as making conclusions on the nature of cats based solely upon cat food commercials. A better conclusion can be made about the nature of ad agencies.

[kiahzero]

36. I'd like to think my Y chromosome gives me some experience w/ masculinity

Perhaps I should have used :sarcasm: on that first post?

[lumberjack_jeff]

37. Yes, that would have helped...

I'm a bit literal.

Thanks.

:blush:

[antigone382]

40. The point isn't that masculinity really IS about being a moron...

It's that our culture has turned masculinity INTO being a moron...the modern, sweaty, hairy manly-men aren't supposed to appreciate art or opera or fine wine or the female orgasm...even though any man who DIDN'T appreciate all of those things a hundred years ago (well, except the last one, which wasn't supposed to have existed back then) would have been considered a total lout. The modern concept of manhood is totally distorted...and moreover, it turns perfectly decent men who DON'T fit that silly mold into outcasts and laughingstocks. It fosters a culture that not only denigrates gay, bi, and tranny men, but even threatens them with physical harm and even death--not to mention what it does to WOMEN. See the thread about the eleven-year-old girl who was gang-raped by ten football players for a good example of what I'm talking about.

And if the book by that genius Harvard professor is the one I'm thinking of, it's a totally disgusting screed that out-and-out declares women to be inferior to men...literally, I'm not twisting the author's words, that's what he WROTE. No, I'm not a man...but I did spend my childhood playing G.I. Joe and going camping with my five brothers--all of whom grew up to respect strong women, and appreciate more than cars, sports, sex, and meat.

[bloom]

17. I don't know that it's up to 50%

But the answer would be male entitlement - the men don't think that they need it - college. When they do go - they often blow it off.

See the New York York Times article about it today?

At Colleges, Women Are Leaving Men in the Dust

'A Male Entitlement Thing'

..."The men don't seem to hustle as much," Ms. Smyers said. "I think it's a male entitlement thing. They think they can sit back and relax and when they graduate, they'll still get a good job. They seem to think that if they have a firm handshake and speak properly, they'll be fine."...

Still, men in the work force have always done better in pay and promotions, in part because they tend to work longer hours, and have fewer career interruptions than women, who bear the children and most of the responsibility for raising them.

Whether the male advantage will persist even as women's academic achievement soars is an open question. But many young men believe that, once in the work world, they will prevail.

"I think men do better out in the world because they care more about the power, the status, the C.E.O. job," Mr. Kohn said. "And maybe society holds men a little higher."

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/09/education/09college.html?pagewanted=6&ei=5087%0A&en=8e11d347c097fcbf&ex=1152590400


While you may not be working on your career - you would be the exception. Seems like you might be more sympathetic to the stay at home mom than identifying with the men who get promoted - whether they worked for it or not. Or maybe you figure - being a man - that your time out of the workforce won't be held against you. Like it would be for a woman in a similar situation.

[lumberjack_jeff]

24. I'm keenly aware of the trade-off I've chosen.

I am not career material anymore. I can't have it all, but the choice was right for me. In my experience the business world has a far bigger stigma attached to a dad who takes a long stay-at-home sabbatical than a mom.

In round numbers, 60% of college graduates are women - 3 out of 5. Thus women are statistically 50% more likely to get a college education than a man. I feel that this is a problem, and that the causes are related to social pressures, including underrepresentation of men in teaching.

[blogslut]

8. Stiffed

- by Susan Faludi. I still have to read it. Thanks for reminding me OP.

[Ms. Clio]

12. So funny, since there could scarcely be a less "manly" man than Mansfield

I saw him on the Colbert Report.

[Cocoa]

15. that's the funny thing

I've heard him on the radio a few times, he's so freaking effeminate and the host never seems to notice. :rofl:

[Ms. Clio]

30. He was a wispy little mouse of a man, the caricature of a professor

I think he has some real issues, and probably simultaneously lusts after, is intimidated by, and resents, the pretty young coeds on his campus.

Updated to add link to a devastating review: http://www.powells.com/review/2006_06_22

[Odin2005]

14. Us REAL men are chivalrous and courteous.

Not insecure wimps who need a hummer + machismo to feel manly.

[Warren DeMontague]

18. My take on raw, old fashioned REAL manhood:

Honesty, commitment, intelligence, integrity-- and someone who gives a damn.

[lumberjack_jeff]

28. Right on. n/t

[idgiehkt]

19. I hate fake trends

writers dream this bullshit up just so they have something to write about. Usually it's most popular in women's magazines, but now they are doing it to men, too. ZZZzzzz.

[Cocoa]

20. this is so 1990's

:eyes:

[bloom]

21. If by Menaissance

he meant that they are going to encourage men to stop being assholes - that would be nice. But why not go for equality and identity?

"In the Dickinson cafeteria on a spring afternoon, the byplay between two men and two women could provide a text on gender differences. The men, Dennis Nelson and Victor Johnson, African-American football players nearing the end of their junior year, teased each other about never wanting to be seen in the library. They talked about playing "Madden," a football video game, six hours a day, about how they did not spend much time on homework...

His female friends offered their assessment. "They're really, really smart, and they think they don't have to work," Glenda Cabral said.

But they do. After two years of good grades, Mr. Johnson this year failed Spanish and Arab-Israeli relations.

"He called me the night before the test and asked who Nasser was," Julie Younes said, rolling her eyes.

At Dickinson, as elsewhere, men are overrepresented among the problem students. Of 33 students on probation this year, all but six were male. They account for most disciplinary actions, too."

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/09/education/09college.html?pagewanted=6&ei=5087%0A&en=8e11d347c097fcbf&ex=1152590400


Sounds like the same problem as why men are not getting into college to begin with - they don't think that as men they should have to do the work. Or it's not cool. Or whatever. Their friends are making so much money without going to college - they don't see the point.

It sounds like some men might be getting worried that women are going to start running things. When 15% of our congresspeople are women. :eyes:

"But although women make up almost half of America's labor force, still only two Fortune 500 companies have women CEOs or presidents, and 90 of those 500 companies don't have any women corporate officers."

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/womenceo1.html

[lumberjack_jeff]

29. All-encompassing generalities suck.

"Sounds like the same problem as why men are not getting into college to begin with - they don't think that as men they should have to do the work. Or it's not cool. Or whatever. Their friends are making so much money without going to college - they don't see the point."

I've never been all that comfortable with ascribing motivations to ALL members of a gender - particularly one of which I'm not a member.

However, I don't doubt that the above blanket-condemnation rhetoric is familiar to women who fought to get into college in the first half of the last century. As it turns out, although some women viewed their futures as housewives ("didn't think that they should have to do the work or that it is undignified"), extrapolating those examples to make the case that women are fundamentally unsuited to education, any more than men are today, is flawed - your viewpoint notwithstanding.

In 1920 the problem with girls in education was societal, as is the problem with boys today.

Neither gender is inherently inferior.

[bloom]

35. I'm not saying

that either gender is inferior - that might be what you are hearing - but that isn't what I'm saying.

If more men are going to college and blowing it off - for various reasons - including Male Entitlement (that they figure that they can get a good job whether they study or not) - then if anything - it just goes to show you that society is less equal than ever.

And the point of the OP seems to be about men who want to make sure they maintain the Male Entitlement thing they have already got - that they probably woundn't admit to.

[smirkymonkey]

22. Oh, god. Shoot me now.

:puke:

[mitchum]

25. So masculinity is defined by consumption of consumer goods?

okay...

gawd, how I despise ALL advertising and marketing swine

[Warren DeMontague]

26. Can we have a "Menaissance fair"?

I bet the roast turkey legs would be HUGE!

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

31. The whole commercial is tongue in cheek.

You'd think the big fat bald guy pulling the dump truck would tip people off.

[T_i_B]

32. Well it seems to have fooled a number of people on this thread.

Or maybe we are just a bunch of humourless jerks on DU? :shrug: I dunno.

[Juffo Wup]

33. Shhhhhhhhhhh

n/t

[mitchum]

39. Yes, but that is how advertising pigs always cover their uncreative...

asses.
"I'm not really pitching a product (like some barker in a broken down carnival), I'm being ironic"
I agree with the late Bill Hicks 100% when he requested that everyone in the ad industry kill their fucking useless selves.

[lectrobyte]

34. What's a man now? What's a man mean?

Take your mind back - I dont know when
Sometime when it always seemed
To be just us and them
Girls that wore pink
And boys that wore blue
Boys that always grew up better men
Than me and you

Whats a man now - whats a man mean
Is he rough or is he rugged
Is he cultural and clean
Now its all change - its got to change more
cause we think its getting better
But nobodys really sure

And so it goes - go round again
But now and then we wonder who the real men are

See the nice boys - dancing in pairs
Golden earring golden tan
Blow-wave in the hair
Sure theyre all straight - straight as a line
All the gays are macho
Cant you see their leather shine

You dont want to sound dumb - dont want to offend
So dont call me a faggot
Not unless you are a friend
Then if youre tall and handsome and strong
You can wear the uniform and I could play along

And so it goes - go round again
But now and then we wonder who the real men are

Time to get scared - time to change plan
Dont know how to treat a lady
Dont know how to be a man
Time to admit - what you call defeat
cause theres women running past you now
And you just drag your feet

Man makes a gun - man goes to war
Man can kill and man can drink
And man can take a whore
Kill all the blacks - kill all the reds
And if theres war between the sexes
Then therell be no people left

And so it goes - go round again
But now and then we wonder who the real men are

-- "Real Men" by Joe Jackson