Chris Menning, the man behind the ModPrimate serious of video blogs, wants to explore the ways in which violence is tied to masculinity in our culture.
He asks, “Does the very fact that I’m even asking that question make you feel defensive? Could it be that we’re socially conditioned to defend our manhood, with violence if necessary? Could it be that mass murder is the unfortunate and rare offshoot of that same masculine defensiveness taken to it’s extreme end?”
Chris doesn’t have answers, but he thinks it’s time we explored the question.
Get to know more about Chris by watching his Origin Story.
Thank you Chris. It is refreshing to hear a man say that there IS hatred of women out there. I see it in some men on this website. But let me ask you this Chris:” are the mass killers sexually frustrated men?” Are they in conflict about their sexuality or involuntary celibate ? Hitler sexuality was not normal as far as I know. Anders Behring Breivik was voluntary celibate for 10 years before his massacre. Did Adam Lanza have a fulfilling sex life ? He was a grown man. Is there a connection between Americas many mass murderers and school… Read more »
Violence is tied to human nature, not masculinity.
Anyone can be violent. That includes women. Just because it’s not present in the numbers doesn’t mean that you should label it a masculine issue alone.
Compared with women, men are overwhelmingly involved in all types of violence. It is mostly men who commit acts of personal violence against girls and women, as well as toward other men and boys. Men are most often implicated in “organized” or institutional violence as victims and perpetrators of violence. I don’t think Chris is labeling it a masculine issue “alone,” but we have to explore the gender socialization processes in the US surrounding men and women. The ideology of masculinity is complex, it embraces multitudes. And of the multitudes that it embraces, some of them contradict others. But the… Read more »