Note: Fixed broken links. Sorry, everyone.
An article asks if we need real men– or real people.
Frank Deford dislikes the Olympics because it’s all obscure sports. By a complete coincidence, all the obscure sports are sports that are gendered feminine, like gymnastics. Funny how that sort of thing works out.
I’m wrong about a thing! It happens. Sometimes. But just because I haven’t invented my Omniscience Ray yet.
An AlterNet article about how layoffs are fucking up people’s love lives, especially those of men, since men are more likely to become stressed and depressed about layoffs.
Trigger warning for descriptions of rape. A soldier describes his experience of female-on-male rape.
Many already sentenced minors may stay in prison for life— even though the Supreme Court severely limited the number of circumstances in which minors may be sentenced to life without parole.
Trigger warning for descriptions of violence and severe mental illness. The military’s mental health crisis.
Time for some gay boy scouts.
The New York Times asks what’s bad about boys who want to wear dresses. A decent article, despite some cringeworthy cissexism (no, trans people do not necessarily fall between genders, and no, trans people do not reinforce the gender binary). All hail the pink boys!
Honestly: there’s no such thing as a real man.
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An article asks if we need real men– or real people. I don’t know about needing real men but if you look at all these ad campaigns a lot of people sure as hell want so called “real men”. It would be nice if people meant “real men” in the sense that they want men who are truly able to be themselves and not be burdened by the various oppressions, sexisms, dynamics, and other things that harm men. But when can’t turn around without seeing a “Real men….” campaign the answer is clear. And in case it isn’t bear this… Read more »
What’s (gendered) feminine about “Swimming, gymnastics and track and field”?
OK, I might buy the gymnastics, since the female athletes seem to get loads more of attention there, although I bet there’s almost as many male as female competitions throughout.
But swimming, and track and field??
I’m not sure on what basis anyone could argue that track is gendered feminine. Running faster, jumping higher, throwing stuff farther? Which of those (and related) isn’t [traditionally] masculine?
On the Olympics, I do avoid them (I managed to only catch a few seconds over the course of the fortnight…) for a reason similar to Deford’s dislike. You know how heavy drinkers refer to New Year’s Eve as “amateur night”? I have basically the same attitude towards the Olympics: it’s when people who aren’t sports fans get to claim to be sports fans. Saying “people who aren’t sports fans” isn’t saying “people who aren’t fans of $INSERT_MAJOR_SPORT_HERE”. But I am talking about the people who will watch the Olympic competition but not the separate World Championships of a sport… Read more »
I was going to say the same thing. In fact, it should be put in the context that Deford has been most vocal about his dislike of soccer, which is arguably one of the more gender neutral team sports.
Just wanted to point out that the links for the “female-on-male rape” article and the “stay in prison for life” article are borked.
Yeah, it looks like the AlterNet article on layoffs is broken as well. Also, the life in prison one is pointing to the same broken link as the female-on-male rape one.
Until Ozy can fix the post, here they are:
http://www.alternet.org/economy/love-time-layoffs-can-we-get-together-without-falling-apart?page=0%2C4&akid=9155.249641.G1Al6k&rd=1&src=newsletter685406&t=1&paging=off – AlterNet layoffs article
http://mydutytospeak.com/2012/08/03/men-are-survivors-too-male-soldier-writes-about-surviving-female-on-male-rape/ – Female-on-male rape