ADVERTISEMENT
What do you think are the three most damaging and destructive words you could say to your son?
You probably wouldn’t guess this.
“Be a man.”
The team that created the film Miss Representation, have a new project in the works – this time about how modern Western society treats young boys. The messages it sends to them. And how it shapes them into men.
We can’t wait to see more.
Click here find out more about The Representation Project’s film, The Mask You Live In.
Top Comments
Wow, what an amazing insight. I must say, I agree with this far more than with the recent post where a mother said she didn't want her child called "beautiful" - though I can see they are kind of from the same place.
I'll wait for this with interest. There is no doubt that patriarchy rules the world at the moment and that it not only tries to exclude people based on gender and race, but also exacts a price on men to conform to the system. It's everywhere from porn-sharing, to office politics to football fanaticism. Given the systems tendency toward control and violence, I also wouldn't be surprised if there was a major backlash waiting for us somewhere in the future as we try to dismantle it.
I was interested in a GetUp rally to stop buying housing in an effort to make housing prices crash. David Koch at the time told the organisers that if they got what they wanted it would be accompanied by a catastrophic crash in the stock-market. Is that what they wanted?
As a man, the question I would like to be addressed is, what alternative is proposed. In my personal experience, I have found that even though I supported my wife in starting up a business she had trouble seeing that I couldn't work full time and pick up more work at home. There was a security for her in having a base level of steady income from which to launch her business. I had to basically get to the point where I made the decision to cut back hours and told her that something has to give. I had to jump off the corporate ladder. It is now working fine and I'm happy to share in both paid and unpaid duties.
There has to be an alternative to western capitalism. I think there is. I think it can be found in distributism built around family centred business and I'm willing to bet my future on this experiment.
I think, if we are going to tell our sons not to "be a man" then we have to really back it up with action. A liberal feminist program of awareness won't cut it if you aren't willing to risk the middle-class lifestyle that patriarchy rewards many of us with.