Men are often accused of being aggressive, jealous, and/or selfish, but what (likely) lurks behind all of these labels is the masculine instinct to protect his person, partner, and property at all costs.
I am not suggesting that this is a noble instinct, even though the oft-misunderstood-but-popular concept of chivalry reeks of (over-)protectiveness. The protective instinct can often be reduced to basic survival, which can take many ugly forms if a man feels threatened. Ethics and morality take a back seat when the amygdala is driving one’s behavior.
To give one classic movie example (spoiler alert): David Sumner’s defense of his home in the 1971 movie Straw Dogs. There is just something perversely satisfying about a nerdy mathematician beating a man to death with a fire iron for daring to break into his house because such an act, while barbarous, demonstrates the universal instinct of self- and family-preservation. Win or lose, there is no scenario that is more likely to turn even a passive man into a merciless killing machine. I have no proof of this, of course, but watching the movie for the first time, given the context of the home invasion and the savagery of the invaders — which I won’t spoil — made my blood boil in such a way that I would have rushed headlong into the melee if it were real life. And I have never been in a fight.
I have also never been violently jealous: this is the worst manifestation of a man’s protective instinct. (I use the word “protective” here to be intentionally ironic.) I am horrified when I read stories of senseless murder over real or perceived infidelity, i.e., an incursion into a man’s “territory.” These stories overwhelmingly feature a male perpetrator, and, when coupled with reports of infanticide due to jealousy in the animal kingdom, I wonder if (some) men have really advanced beyond their primate ancestors.
Territorial aggression, when taken to its extreme, is a disturbing paradox. The aggressors may tell themselves that they are chivalrous knights protecting their dependents and property; they may tell themselves that it’s an unsafe world; they may tell themselves that masculinity or even survival is based on the ability to defend one’s honor — but this is the twenty-first century where women and children are people, and a man diminishes that personhood and its accompanying freedoms if he positions himself as an armed guardian when there is no legitimate threat to guard against.
We can protect “what’s ours” without oppressing or destroying it in the process. Excelsior!
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Male Stereotype Number One: Men Don’t Cry
Male Stereotype Number Two: Men Don’t Ask for Directions
Male Stereotype Number Three: Men are Competitive
Male Stereotype Number Four: Men Don’t Cook
Male Stereotype Number Five: Men are Warriors
Male Stereotype Number Six: Men Are Clumsy
Male Stereotype Number Seven: Men Are Aggressive
Male Stereotype Number Eight: Men are Either Good or Evil
Male Stereotype Number Nine: Men Can’t Be Friends with Women
Male Stereotype Number Ten: Men are Strong
Male Stereotype Number 11: Men are Breadwinners
Male Stereotype Number 12: Men Don’t Refuse Sex
Male Stereotype Number 13: Men ‘Manspread’
Male Stereotype Number 14: Men ‘Mansplain’
Male Stereotype Number 15: Men Don’t Listen
Male Stereotype Number 16: Men Are Better Drivers
Male Stereotype Number 17: Men Like Porn
Male Stereotype Number 18: Men Don’t Do Therapy
Male Stereotype Number 19: Men Can’t Handle Commitment
Male Stereotype Number 20: Men Aren’t Feminists
Male Stereotype Number 21: Men Like Guns
Male Stereotype Number 22: Men Don’t Have Feelings
Male Stereotype Number 23: Men Don’t Shop
Male Stereotype Number 24: Men Are Leaders
Male Stereotype Number 25: Men Are Childish
Male Stereotype Number 26: Men are Stubborn
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https://pixabay.com/en/knight-warrior-horse-soldier-war-2565957/