Watch now (20 mins) | What don’t they tell you about Precarious Manhood? That’s what we will look at today. Gilmore Book https://www.amazon.com/Manhood-Making-Cultural-Concepts-Masculinity/dp/0300050763 Vandello https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/features/men-a0029826.pdf
I've mentioned Walter Ong's view (in "Fighting for Life") that what is called "precarious" manhood is a form of insecurity that carries benefits. Proving one's manhood is often seen as a burden placed on men by women who want to possess the best of the men available. True enough. But maybe men should think less about what women want and more about what men want--strength, confidence, self-reliance, skill, and authority, to pick just five. The boxers I know don't like only the best boxers; they like any boxer who gets in there and does his best. That admiration, or "communal narcissism," as Ong calls it, is a reward men give to each other, earned by effort, not only by success. Every boxer has his weaknesses. Every boxer I know admires a man who does not let those limitations keep him out of the war. A boxer working to become a better boxer is a powerful motivating force for men who hesitate to test their precariousness, their insecurity. We need to value the views of our own selective community above those of communities hard-wired to demean men's achievements. It's ok to fail. It is not ok not to try.
Sad but true, Tom. Still, I like to think about what the men I admire think and try to pay less attention to everybody else.
Excellent
I've mentioned Walter Ong's view (in "Fighting for Life") that what is called "precarious" manhood is a form of insecurity that carries benefits. Proving one's manhood is often seen as a burden placed on men by women who want to possess the best of the men available. True enough. But maybe men should think less about what women want and more about what men want--strength, confidence, self-reliance, skill, and authority, to pick just five. The boxers I know don't like only the best boxers; they like any boxer who gets in there and does his best. That admiration, or "communal narcissism," as Ong calls it, is a reward men give to each other, earned by effort, not only by success. Every boxer has his weaknesses. Every boxer I know admires a man who does not let those limitations keep him out of the war. A boxer working to become a better boxer is a powerful motivating force for men who hesitate to test their precariousness, their insecurity. We need to value the views of our own selective community above those of communities hard-wired to demean men's achievements. It's ok to fail. It is not ok not to try.
Indeed Allen. "It's ok to fail. It is not ok not to try." Yes, right on the money. But precarious manhood doesn't agree.....