A new call for masculinity
By: Kayla Hunt, Columnist
What am I mad about today? Today, I am mad about the newfound movement, Raise Boys and Girls the Same Way. I am calling for a redefined movement, Modernize Masculinity. I do believe both men and women are limited within their behaviors of what is considered to be acceptable by society, based on their gender. However, I feel as though there needs to be a larger microscope focused on men, and how they are restrained by gender roles.
I recently read Gloria Anzaldúa’s essay, “Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza,” and one of her messages struck me:
“Tenderness, a sign of vulnerability, is so feared that it is showered on women with verbal abuse and blows. Men, even more than women, are fettered to gender roles. Women at least have had the guts to break out of bondage. Only gay men have had the courage to expose themselves to the woman inside them and to challenge the current masculinity. I’ve encountered a few scattered and isolated gentle straight men, the beginnings of a new breed, but they are confused, and entangled with sexist behaviors that they have not been able to eradicate. We need a new masculinity and the new man needs a movement.”
I agree with Anzaldúa in every aspect, there needs to be a call for a new masculinity. Masculinity needs to be redefined. I believe that there has been much focus on redefining what it means to be a woman in this world, what it means to be feminine and the misconception surrounding the feminist movement period. I think now is the time where we should begin to modernize masculinity and redefine what it means to be masculine.
#modernizemasculinity.
