Manhood; traditional values in a modern world

Why Traditional Manhood Is Killing Us

Many follow the battle of traditional gender roles versus the modern world in terms of women’s rights but the battle is just as prominent, if not more, regarding men. Defining manhood in the modern world has become a controversial debate due to the contrast between what is considered the “traditional male” and those who identify as gay or transgender. Charlie Glickman refers to traditional manhood as living in the man box. Gay and transgender people risk being bullied physically and/or verbally everyday by defying the standards of traditional American manhood and living outside of this box. But what exactly is traditional manhood?

“The rules of the Man Box go something like this:

1) Real men don’t show their emotions (anger, yes, but little else).
2) Real men are always confident. They make all the decisions.
3) Real men are providers not care givers.
4) Real men are heterosexual and sexually dominant.
5) Real men continuously talk and play sports.
6) Real men are never handicapped, disabled or unemployed.”

Things used to be very black and white in terms of gender and many wish the modern world was more like the past which was considered “simple”. “When men were men and women were women. When everybody knew their role in the scheme of things.” Unfortunately for people who wish for that, the world is ever changing and the modern generation is far more accepting of different genders and sexual orientation than previous generations. That being said gender roles are still very much so a problem in modern society and boys should be raised knowing its okay to live outside of the man box. Men are human too therefore they have emotions and should be able to show them. Men shouldn’t always have to make the decisions and many men are just as self conscious as women considering confidence does not come easy to all. In modern society it is common for there to be single dads, stay at home dads, or dads who are the head of the household; being a caregiver is not solely a woman’s job. These expectations are unrealistic. A man doesn’t have to be sexually dominant or interested in sports in order to be a man. Everyone is different and boys should be raised knowing they don’t need to fit in this box of standards.

Katey Padden

How far does the bro code go?

Popular YouTuber Aria Inthavong approaches multiple men to see how far the unwritten “Bro Code” extends. When he approaches multiple male strangers he says nothing but “My girlfriend is pissed, play along.” In the attempts to convince his girlfriend (who’s in on the prank) that he was with the strangers the night before, most of the strangers actually went along and made up convincing stories about where and when they hung out the night prior. Although their stories start to fall apart when Aria’s girlfriend asked the strangers what her boyfriends name was. While it may be unwritten, most men seem to follow the bro code and make up stories to cover other “bro’s” backs’.

-Tom S

Is the ‘be a man’ stereotype hurting boys

In the Be a man article, the author writes about how men in the modern day world are bogged down by the fact that they aren’t allowed to show any emotion or have any outlet for emotion. In news of a school shooting, the author believes that if the shooter had an emotional outlet, things would have gone down differently and a shooting could have been avoided completely. Due to the fact that it’s seen as unmanly or to show any type of emotion or to talk to someone else about things that bother you, instead men today are forced to suck it up and deal with their problems by themselves.

-Tom S

Doing the Hardwork of Becoming a ‘Real Man’

Doing the hardwork of becoming a ‘real man’

Being a man is not as easy as everyone makes it to be, from what i read. As a women perspective on the topic i never really thought being a man could be that hard. But in the article it tells you how the culture has changed and being a man has it difficulties. I can see how men might look at things and think they have to be brave, smart, and the person in charge of keeping the family safe. There was also a very interesting perspective in this article of a transgender man who said that being a man is a lot harder than it looks and for him it was very difficult because he had to become a ‘real man’ after he was already a women.

Maddy McClure

Defiant Baruch Fraternity Pledge Fought Back in Fatal Hazing

Defiant Baruch Fraternity Pledge Fought Back in Fatal Hazing

A fraternity in Pennsylvania has been charged with hazing. The frat brothers tried to make the freshman Mr.Deng run across a frozen lake while wearing a blind fold and carrying 20-30 pounds of sand in a backpack on December 9th, 2013. This symbolized their burden as Asian-Americans trying to break into the mainstream. Mr.Dung refused to participate and the other frat brothers got angry and started fighting and hitting him. Mr. Dung suffered severe brain and body injuries which turned out to be fatal.

-Vinny C

A Dating Apocalypse?

Has Tinder replaced dating with hookup culture?

An article by Nancy Jo Sales looks into how Tinder has taken over the dating culture. Tinder is an app that is meant to be for dating but is mostly used to meet for casual sex. In her article, a man on Wall Street took time to explain Tinder and how guys try to “rack up” as many girls as possible while the women tend to hold on to the one they are hooking up with. It is a game to see “who cares less”, more than less times it’s the men who win that contest. They compare men to taxi drivers, saying they’re only available when their light is on, if it’s not on, he’s not ready. So are we living in a dating apocalypse?

-Tyler R

In tech, some bemoar the rise of ‘brogrammer’ culture

In tech, some bemoar the rise of ‘brogrammer’ culture

In this article it shows how people in the work place (computer programming companies) have joined in the company for reasons other than computer programming. The media and movie industry have now painted a picture for companies that have made being in the work place more of like being in a frat house. People are starting to think that the office is a place full of kegs, sex, and trying to attract the “sexiest girls”. The programmers are now calling themselves “brogrammers” based on movies of people partying in the work place. It has people not taking there jobs as seriously and making women and certain men in the work place become very uncomfortable and offended. This just proved way that tech is changing our whole culture and have people thinking that it okay to act this way.

Maddy McClure

Rape Case puts on Culture of Elite St. Paul’s School

Rape Case Puts on Culture of Elite St. Pauls School

Owen Labrie, a senior at St. Paul’s school participated in the “senior solute” in which a senior makes a list of younger women to kiss, touch or have sex with at school. Labrie raped a 15 year old girl in 2014 by asking her if she would join him in the “senior solute” and took her to the mechanical room and assaulted her. She is now pressing charges on the now 19 year old Owen Labrie, he has pleaded not guilty to 10 counts of rape and sexual assault.

-Vinny C