Earlier this week, an article appeared in the Ottawa Citizen about the beginnings of masters’ studies in masculinity and male-oriented studies at Concordia University in Montréal. The professors quoted often in the article suggest that the traditional power and social structure of masculinity needs to be studied with regards to its impact on men and that impact can be quite negative.
When I attended a local community college, I took a class called Psychology of Women. I’m not entirely certain as to why – I think I needed an additional humanities class or I was curious. I was just out of the military and the only women I really knew prior to that were my mother and my sisters. Sitting in the class, I was surrounded by a room full of women and three other guys. One was there to pick up women, one said nothing the entire semester and the third just agreed with what the women said. My expectation was that the class would explain why women act and think the way they do but much of the class conversation centered on the faults of men. Being young and cocky and right out of the military, I took to defending men. My teacher liked me, I passed the class but reached no closer understanding of women. Remember, I was young and unaware that such knowledge was beyond mere mortals.
Concordia seeks to show the impact on men of societal roles. As one professor said, “(masculinity) as a structure, as a lived experience, can also be fundamentally disempowering to men.” As I read the article, I wondered if the purpose of the study was to expose the flaws of masculinity or the current manifestation of it. I don’t see anything malevolent in the school’s efforts but the article made me consider the state of masculinity today. Perhaps, there is something to teach but I consider the impact of women’s studies. As a man, I was taught to respect women, not as women but as equals. They are not to be fretted over, worried about or analyzed into weakness or victimhood by academics. If it can be said that women’s studies does not empower females but rather make them dependent, what will a new focus on masculine studies produce?
Worse yet, what is the impact of teaching people to look at things through a single prism? In the same way that ethno-studies rob students of an ability to see the whole picture of history, so would gender studies perhaps prevent a broader look at who we are and what our strengths and weaknesses are. It has been said that nature is blind to inequities but tasks people with working within themselves. Perhaps the focus of a masculinity class (and a feminine one as well) undermines our ability to cope with and work within our gender traits.
Jews have a concept of boys growing up to be a “mensch” or the ideal of a Jewish male. A mensch is one who represents the best of a male – responsibility, protection, honesty, devotion, commitment among many other attributes. Previously, parents, ministers and teachers taught these traits and they were instilled in young men. Not all took to the path but all were aware. My parents insisted on teaching me, not just what it took to be a man but how to handle those responsibilities. The professors at Concordia bemoan the impact the pressures of masculinity and being a male as damaging but that is true only so far as one is prepared.
So, I turn my attention to the boys in my high school classroom. Many of them lack the wherewithal, the work ethic or the integrity that can define a man. They seem weak, easily surrendering to the amusing vapid nature of the internet or other entertainment rather than embracing the nature of work and study to improve themselves. They have no ability to endure the expectations. Perhaps, this is a product of the age rather than gender. At the risk of sounding like a male Phyllis Schlafly, I feel I should be a vanguard against the trends I see. Then again, as a man, perhaps I should not overthink it.
For the original article, check out:
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/opinion/Beyond+macho+Defining+world/6067776/story.html
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