Monday, July 10, 2006
What Has Really Changed Between the Sexes?
The Observer World The Menaissance: "What is emerging is a new definition of masculinity, or as Mansfield prefers to term it in his book, a new idea of manliness. It is not a complete throwback to the past. Instead he sees it as a realignment after the shocks of feminism. Now both sexes are coming to terms with equality and trying to adjust to it. 'Feminism needs to come to terms with manliness. I think women are confused about what they want men to be and that leads to male confusion,' Mansfield said.
Mansfield's vision is that men need to recapture old virtues of manliness - such as decisiveness and assertiveness - and not be afraid to display them. He argues that women would on the whole prefer that too. He believes that there are stark differences between the sexes, but these should be accepted and celebrated. He chose the title Manliness for his book - which has outraged many liberals - because he felt the word spoke directly to the innate differences between men's and women's ways of thinking. 'The word masculinity is more about the body and physical differences. Manliness is more about a way of making judgments. It is a term of distinction,' he said."
This writer, using the new writing phenomena of fratire as his foundation, suggests that men have been changing all along based on these broad cultural shifts. In the CB world, that is just not true. How men have been potrayed has been maybe different. How men have been percieved by women might have been different. What men (the entirety) were thinking all along, however, has unlikely changed. Are women supposed to read Tucker Max and think that this is a new way of thinking of sex and manliness? Do we give the entirety of women too little credit? Most women know that men are genuinely interested in sex with whomever crosses the path first. Most women know it is their role to hold the line lest they be the subject of gross comment on a webpage as quickly as they got naked. The only change there is the technology, not the realignment of values, goals, or behavior. Now, men are just celebrating, in the open, what has been consistent for centuries.
Mansfield's vision is that men need to recapture old virtues of manliness - such as decisiveness and assertiveness - and not be afraid to display them. He argues that women would on the whole prefer that too. He believes that there are stark differences between the sexes, but these should be accepted and celebrated. He chose the title Manliness for his book - which has outraged many liberals - because he felt the word spoke directly to the innate differences between men's and women's ways of thinking. 'The word masculinity is more about the body and physical differences. Manliness is more about a way of making judgments. It is a term of distinction,' he said."
This writer, using the new writing phenomena of fratire as his foundation, suggests that men have been changing all along based on these broad cultural shifts. In the CB world, that is just not true. How men have been potrayed has been maybe different. How men have been percieved by women might have been different. What men (the entirety) were thinking all along, however, has unlikely changed. Are women supposed to read Tucker Max and think that this is a new way of thinking of sex and manliness? Do we give the entirety of women too little credit? Most women know that men are genuinely interested in sex with whomever crosses the path first. Most women know it is their role to hold the line lest they be the subject of gross comment on a webpage as quickly as they got naked. The only change there is the technology, not the realignment of values, goals, or behavior. Now, men are just celebrating, in the open, what has been consistent for centuries.
Thursday, July 06, 2006
What Happened to 'Liberal New York'?
Newsday.com: NY court rules against gay marriage: "The New York decision said lawmakers have a legitimate interest in protecting children by limiting marriage to heterosexual couples and that the law does not deny homosexual couples any 'fundamental right' since same-sex marriages are not 'deeply rooted in the nation's history and tradition.'
'It's a sad day for New York families,' said plaintiff Kathy Burke of Schenectady. 'My family deserves the same protections as my next door neighbors.'
Burke and her partner of seven years, Tonja Alvis, are raising her 11-year-old son."
It's all about the children? Really? That is just the worst excuse possible. And to say that it is not "deeply rooted in the nation's history and tradition" is to say that we have always behaved poorly, so we should continue to behave poorly. I see this in southern states where there are devout constituencies, but in New York, we all expect more from them. The Legislature should right this wrong quickly regardless of the Christian/Catholic constituency. We need to finally recognize that it is wrong to discriminate against people who are born this way.
'It's a sad day for New York families,' said plaintiff Kathy Burke of Schenectady. 'My family deserves the same protections as my next door neighbors.'
Burke and her partner of seven years, Tonja Alvis, are raising her 11-year-old son."
It's all about the children? Really? That is just the worst excuse possible. And to say that it is not "deeply rooted in the nation's history and tradition" is to say that we have always behaved poorly, so we should continue to behave poorly. I see this in southern states where there are devout constituencies, but in New York, we all expect more from them. The Legislature should right this wrong quickly regardless of the Christian/Catholic constituency. We need to finally recognize that it is wrong to discriminate against people who are born this way.
