Men's Group

Bonobo

(29,257 posts)

3. And yet...

Mon Dec 3, 2012, 02:15 AM

Dec 2012

Men and women are different. The beauty and balance comes from their differences. The essence of women is something that is often thrown out as virtuous and wonderful. Motherhood, creation, intuition, sensitivity.

Think of what manhood is touted for. Violence, short-tempers, machismo, "boys will be boys", "too much testosterone".

Those negative messages about men are touted regularly here on DU just as a small example of how prevalent they are and how accepted they are. Do you believe that we can swim in the familiarity of these negative stereotypes and not be affected as a culture? Of course not.

So some of it is a chicken/egg thing. Women have raised awareness of negative images and negative rhetoric and yet there seems to be only scoffing when a man stands up and says "That's not fair". Often the scoffing itself is a perfect example of sexism because it is designed to shame men by saying, in effect "Don't be a baby".

Edit history

Please sign in to view edit histories.

Recommendations

0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

28 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

The rape threads point to a larger need...revolutionary change in what it is to be "a man". [View all] Ken Burch Dec 2012 OP

There are no gender ethics. There's just ethics. rrneck Dec 2012 #1

Thank you for the x-post. I'll reply more in the am when I'm on a real keyboard. nt lumberjack_jeff Dec 2012 #2

And yet... Bonobo Dec 2012 #3

Men and women are different...this is true. Ken Burch Dec 2012 #4

It's an easy call to make to distance yourself from those behaviors Major Nikon Dec 2012 #8

i have been fighting that for years on du. seabeyond Dec 2012 #7

I consider you one of the most reasonable people who post on HoF Major Nikon Dec 2012 #9

Yes, I know that and appreciate it. nt Bonobo Dec 2012 #12

I disagree that men, in general, need "repairing". Warren DeMontague Dec 2012 #5

Agree. Denninmi Dec 2012 #6

Most men don't rape and most men aren't violent and yet almost all rape and Warren Stupidity Dec 2012 #13

Are you violent? Warren DeMontague Dec 2012 #14

Apparently none of us are violent and none of us are rapists and there is no problem Warren Stupidity Dec 2012 #21

The degree to which the innocent can prevent the guilty from victimizing is limited. lumberjack_jeff Dec 2012 #25

"Own up to it"? DavidDvorkin Dec 2012 #15

So what? Warren Stupidity Dec 2012 #22

In Buddhism, true change begins by changing oneself. Bonobo Dec 2012 #24

There's only 4 people on this planet for whom I am responsible in this way. opiate69 Dec 2012 #16

"We" aren't owning up to anything.. Upton Dec 2012 #17

Besides gender, are their other groups that need to own up for things? ProudToBeBlueInRhody Dec 2012 #18

Most muslims are not suicide bombers. Yet all suicide bombers are muslim. lumberjack_jeff Dec 2012 #19

Muslims need to address jihadist violence within Muslim culture. Warren Stupidity Dec 2012 #20

And what do you think -and be exact- that a middle-class Muslim in say, Sweden, Bonobo Dec 2012 #23

I'm sorry for my snippy response in the other thread. lumberjack_jeff Dec 2012 #10

I've also been living on the West Coast for a long time, I just don't see the cultural rigidity Warren DeMontague Dec 2012 #11

Yeah, but it's a much bigger issue than rape... TreasonousBastard Dec 2012 #26

Unchanged. lumberjack_jeff Dec 2012 #27

6th gonzo_del_oeste Dec 2012 #28