fascinating how often men expect women to sympathize with their fears of being perceived as or treated like a woman
so much "masculinity" is constructed around the certainty that being gay or being a woman is inherently demeaning. and we're supposed to nod along supportively
"male loneliness crisis" ok so like.....what would happen if you started acting like a better friend to other men in your life? what's stopping you? is it the fear of being perceived as one of your inferiors?
"men aren't allowed to show emotions" ok so like…..what would happen if you started being more emotionally expressive? what's stopping you? is it the fear of being perceived as one of your inferiors?
#patriarchy hurts men #patriarchy hurts boys
i think you've VERY fundamentally misunderstood the point of my post tbh
men and boys first and foremost hurt themselves to avoid being perceived as their lessers (i.e. women and gay men)
they could stop. but the punishment is being perceived as one of us, and that would be just terrible. so they won't.
“The first act of violence that patriarchy demands of males is not violence toward women. Instead patriarchy demands of all males that they engage in acts of psychic self-mutilation, that they kill off the emotional parts of themselves. If an individual is not successful in emotionally crippling himself, he can count on patriarchal men to enact rituals of power that will assault his self-esteem.”
— The Will To Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love (2004), p. 66, by bell hooks
So, yeah, those tags seem to me to be reasonably related to your point.
yes, your tags would be appropriate for an entirely different person's book. not my post. well observed
the entire point of the of the post is that i'm not going to sympathize with men experiencing "rituals of power that will assault his self-esteem" when that self-esteem is built on and maintained by the foundational belief they must be inherently superior to me
if they gave up that belief, those "rituals" would have very little power. but they clearly understand that they benefit from patriarchy more than they are harmed by it, which is why they won't let it go
hope this helps




















