In Man Box culture, boys are trained from infancy that “real men” have control over women and girls.
Alito’s leaked opinion on the majority’s preliminary vote to reverse Roe v. Wade is rooted in a simple but ugly truth. In our dominance-based culture of masculinity, boys are trained from infancy that “real men” have control over women and girls.
We, as men, have to acknowledge the very clear ways in which our culture of masculinity teaches us contempt for women. Stop pretending it isn’t happening. Stop pretending there isn’t a little voice in the back of our heads that says women are less.
Men can’t change it if we don’t acknowledge it and men must change if humans are to survive as a species. End attacks on women’s bodies and on women’s rights by owning up to and fixing our deeply conditioned bias against/contempt for women. Enough denial, defensiveness, excuses.
Learn about Man Box culture and all the damage it does to us all.
Our compulsive need to control others is the result of a lifetime under the boot of Man Box culture which trains boys out of expression and connection, slots us into a bullying dominance-based hierarchy, and then makes dominance over others a shortcut to masculine validation.
Our bullying, dominance-based culture of masculinity is a broken culture top to bottom, creating lifetimes of loneliness, anxiety, addiction, violence and early mortality for men and for all those whose lives we impact. Alito’s Roe v. Wade opinion is just another example of it
Millions of men are breaking out of Man Box culture, choosing instead to create lives of full expression and connection. We are creating a culture of healthy masculinity which values creating power with others instead of power over others.
Find a men’s group like @mankindproject, a therapist who specializes in men’s issues, a coach, order a book. Break out of the Man Box. End the lifetime of abusive programming telling us that others are less. End the goddamn bullying. We all deserve better.
For those who want research, articles, videos and other resources on the Man Box. I googled it for you. https://google.com/search?q=the+man+box
In the meantime, as men we need to do our part. Each man reading this, please contact your state and federal reps in support of Roe. It’s a few minutes of our time but it is crucial that we shift from watching the assault on Roe v. Wade to taking political action in support of women’s right to choose, and then we must continue taking action. And thank you.
READ MORE:
Reclaiming What Was Stolen By the Man Box
Mark Greene Deconstructs Man Box Culture
Men and Masks: How the Man Box Is Getting Us Killed
Predatory Capitalism, Racism, and Man Box Culture
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Previously Published on Medium
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I’m a long-time repro justice activist in the midwest. I am exhausted and terrified. Can you please call on men to contact their state and federal reps in support of Roe? We’re literally on life support out here.
Yes, Karen, I’ll make every effort to do so including by revising the end of this article.