Monday 23 February 2009

Beginning

Alright. Here we go. I have been meaning to do this for a while.
There might be some doubt in your mind about the value of writing a blog about men, for men. Let me first of all point out that I am not very patient with the predictable psycho-babble I have heard about how we are all the same, and that boundaries between the sexes are non-existent.
I am a spiritual kind of guy. I don't think there is anything more basic than the fact that we are creative beings. And I think that the last 100 years of struggle and emancipation for women, mark a serious shift in western culture, and look like they are taking us out of the criminal repressiveness of patriarchical culture.
Wheeeew. Okay. What I don't like is the view that masculinity is nothing particular and needs no special attention.
This blog is for guys who are sick of all the bollocks. The fact is we need to renew the definition of what it is to be a man. I am not going to sit here and split hairs about the legitmacy of that aim. It is taken as a given, that much of the problems in the world today come from patriarchical notions of property, conquest and war. My starting point is that men are as much victims of this as women - just victims in a different way.
I am not going to argue my point either. This a blog, not a sociology essay. Suffice to say that so many men in contemprary society are unhappy, undersexed, lonely, and desperately out of touch with their emotions. It is my belief that for many men, this is the result of centuries worth of conditioning under negative ideas and beliefs about what it is to be a man. These beliefs have always been destructive, but in the face of so much change in modern culture, they are becoming drastically insidious.
So stay tuned for updates. i want to deal with these issues from a personal point of view, without wishy-washy bollocks, but also with honest self-examination. I, and my own personal demons, are the product of a tradition of domestic violence, drunkeness and abuse, all caused by generations of men in my family. But I am not going to moan or bitch. I want to look into the heart of these issues and find out why these men behaved like this, and offer some understanding about how core beliefs about masculinity continue to fuck up this society. Watch this space.

3 comments:

  1. This is really great! I can't wait to see how this blog develops. Would you mind if I mentioned it to some American friends of mine who are interested in the same topics?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dude that would be great! I am glad you liked it, I have been wanting to do something like this for a long time. I am really passionate about it too.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Get off the grass Black!!

    ReplyDelete