Men & masculinity
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I was standing
in the shower
thinking
about what makes a man
an outlaw or a leader
I’m thinking about power
the ways a man could use it
or be destroyed by it
the water hits my neck
and I’m pissing on myself
standing
in the shower
thinking
—Jane's Addiction
~
The crisis facing men is not the crisis of masculinity. It is the crisis of patriarchal masculinity. Until we make this distinction clear, men will continue to fearthat any critique of patriarchy represents a threat.
—bell hooks
~
Suffer your interpretation
of what it is
to be a man.
—Fugazi
~
Look here,
not a thing to fear
Brother to brother,
not another as sincere
Teach a man how to be a father,
to never tell a woman
he can't bother
You can't say you don't know
what I'm talkin' 'bout,
but one day
brothers gonna work it out
—Public Enemy
~
Some people claim
that there's a woman to blame
but I know it's my own damn fault.
—Jimmy Buffett
~
Why don’t you do right
like some other men do?
―Jessica Rabbit
~
Malcolm: Dispute it like a man.
Macduff: I shall do so;
But I must also feel it as a man.
—Macbeth
~
dusting off
his father’s sheet music—
spring moon
—Kris Moon Kondo
~
My mother once said the world would never find peace until men fell at their women’s feet and asked for forgiveness. This is true. All over the world, in the jungles of Mexico, in backstreets of Shanghai, in New York cocktail bars, husbands are getting drunk while the women stay home with the babies of the everdarkening future. If these men stop the machine and come home—and get on their knees—and ask for forgiveness—and the women bless them—peace will suddenly descend on the earth with a great silence like the inherent silence of the Apocalypse.
—Jack Kerouac
~
I am a proud man anyway.
—Jane's Addiction
~
All humans, regardless of gender, have the capacity and the need for toughness and fallibility, gentleness and emotionality, wild courage and tender nurture. If we really want to help boys break free and find more expansive andhealthier ways to show up in the world, it’s not ‘positive masculinity’ that they need, but full humanity.
—Ruth Whippman
~
If every man says all he can
if every man is true
Do I believe the sky above
is Caribbean blue?
—Enya
~
In every man chest,
there beats a heart.
—Bob Marley
~
I am Kenough.
—Barbie
✺
Poem: Divorced Fathers and Pizza Crusts
Poem: Walking Through A Spider Web
Men’s groups with potential openings
Boys get everything, except the thing that’s most worth having
Men are lost. Here’s a map out of the wilderness
Today’s masculinity is stifling
We can do better than ‘positive masculinity’
Boymom: Reimagining Boyhood in the Age of Impossible Masculinity
The miseducation of the American boy
Raising boys with a broader definition of masculinity
The many possible meanings of the ‘masculinity crisis’
21 reader views on the masculinity crisis
What does healthy masculinity look like?
Dude, You’re a Fag: Masculinity and Sexuality in High School
The end of violent, simplistic, macho masculinity
The problem with a fight against toxic masculinity
Psychology has a new approach to building healthier men
Stay-at-home dads are reshaping American masculinity
Men have to ‘allow ourselves to be loved’
The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love
The Hidden Spirituality of Men
Reclaiming the divine masculine
Practices for recovering the sacred masculine
The Rag & Bone Shop of the Heart
Carl Jung’s life lessons men learn too late in life
Area Man's Knee Making Weird Sound
Area Man Only One With Problems
Christ Reluctantly Enters Area Man’s Heart
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Reaganomics Finally Trickles Down To Area Man
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Lunch Barely Misses Area Man’s Vital Organs
Area Man Committed To Being Spicy Food Guy
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Human Civilization Brings Out Worst In Area Man
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Area Man Thought He Had More Forks Than This
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Area Man Self-Conscious About All The Wrong Things
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Area Man Already Knows Which Chicken Tender He’s Saving For Last
Area Man Has No Idea What He Went Downstairs For
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Area Man Too Deep Into Haircut To Start Talking To Barber Now
Spatial Skills Abandon Area Man During Search For Correct Tupperware Lid
Area Man Got Good Amount Of Meat In That Last Bite
Area Man's Knee Making Weird Sound
Last 12 Years A Real Wake-Up Call For Area Man
Area Man Clearly Came To Redbox Machine Without Any Game Plan
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Area Man Just Wants Regular Haircut Without All The Frou-Frou
Bed Bug Feels Bad For Area Man, But A Bug's Got To Eat
Area Man Would Have Done Things Differently If He Were Killer In Movie