Thursday, July 2, 2009

Woman is at once apple and serpent. Heinrich Heine

"Christianity--and this is its finest merit--subdued to a certain extent that Germanic lust for battle, but could not destroy it, and if some day that restraining talisman, the Cross, falls to pieces, then the savagery of the old warriors will explode again, and with it that mad berserker rage about which the Nordic poets have told so much. This talisman is decaying, and the day will come when it will crumble. Then the old stone gods will arise from the forgotten ruins and wipe the dust of centuries from their eyes, and Thor will at last leap up with his hammer and smash the Gothic Cathedrals." Heinrich Heine
A colleague of mine and I have been discussing masculinity. He's working on his PHd and his studies are focused on developing a working theory for masculinity. All current and past work on masculinity has either been done by feminists or by metrosexuals. He shared the above quote with me the other day and I found it fascinating. In my past, I've been attracted to the "bad boy". My colleague wanted to know why. I pondered this question, wanting to give him a truly honest answer. "There is something quite satisfying in taming something wild, or attracting it in a way that it doesn't hurt you, but guards you and protects you. It's risky and sometimes, the wild one will turn on you even when you think it loves you."

I agree with my colleague, that American men are being softened, civilized, infused with feminine qualities and pretty much becoming the biggest wimps in all the world. Don't get me wrong, yes, I'm happy that women have freedoms now, that former feminists fought for--voting, property ownership, equal pay... BUT I do believe that men and women are different. I celebrate those differences. I'm not talking about the good ol' boys, sitting in board rooms scheming up ways to swindle people...no, I'm talking about Mr. Rugged Fixit Hard Core Primal Tool Carrying Protector Kill It Drag It Home kinda guy.

11 comments:

Durango said...

I killed a cockroach today, but I didn't have to drag it home. It was already there.

twister said...

This is old news but I always believed that Meg Ryan left Dennis Quaid for Russell Crowe for this reason. Ryan's husband, Quaid had become domesticated and she was pheromonally attracted to Crowe's testosteronic scent, as it were. Ironically, the monogamous relationship over time will cause testosterone levels in males to lessen. I guess this is natures way to tame the males and help the relationship to work, but sometimes it'll cause a backfire and the woman will go on the prowl for masculinity.

Cheap Tricks and Costly Truths said...

I suppose to counteract the drop in testerone due to a monogamous relationship...women should encourage their cave men to go out and conquer something...motorcycles, rock climbing, hang gliding, flying a plane, race car driving...

Twister, does having sex with only one woman cause this drop? Since a monogamous relationship normally leads to a more sedentary lifestyle...which leads to accumulated body fat...which is a storehouse for testosterone...I'd think most men would triple the amount! BUT that's just my thought on the matter...well, in both of my marriages...i never went on the prowl...the wild ones did. ;)

I suppose that I could have altered my appearance more often, you know to look like a different woman, maybe that would have peaked and kept interest.

Whyte Wolf said...

Interesting topic. If I may put in my own 2 cents...

The American male has been dumbed down sexually and intellectually over the years as much as the American female has been over-powered to the point of breaking the family bond in society. No Offense to ANYONE....it's just how the 'ethical cards' have been played by the MEDIA. Males have been de-masculated over time to become docile and inferior now. Any advertisement will surely show you this. We are either pretty boys with no intellect but well chiseled bodies or homely home bodies who don't know which exit to take for the family reuinion.

As far as women....well, let's see how they have evolved over the media period. Women now have more control over the relationship than men. They control when to have sex, when to go out, when to be with friends and all other activities. This is not the fault of women....it is the fault of the media. The media that drives women to have perfect bodies as well as minds and to be dominant, and the media that drives men to be dumber then they are as well as sexually inferior. And in the meantime, the children of such relationships suffer, the males will become even more disconnected from their true nature and feelings as well as young females becoming more angry and sexually aggressive then the previous generation. David Rockefeller once said to Aaron Brusso that the REAL reason for the Rockefeller Foundation backing the Women's Liberation Movement was only to ensure that BOTH parents would now be taxed as working individuals and to see that the children were raised by the State - NOT the Parents. Well...where are we now in this dilema? I, myself, am a perfectly hormoned, non-conditioned, open minded, sexually balanced male. I believe that if more people would just turn off the BOOB TOOB and enjoy REAL life we would find ourselves and be content with each other.

As I said...my 2 cents...

Cheap Tricks and Costly Truths said...

I think that was more like a million bucks! Great comment Robbie...and I concur. I'll also add...that women that don't conform to the "media" representation are often scorned and I think (from my own experience) left in the marriage for a woman that does meet society's expectations. I also don't believe that this is a world wide epidemic. I haven't done the research, but I would be interested in looking into men in such countries as Australia, Greece and a few other places. If anyone would like to put up research money...just let me know :)

Whyte Wolf said...

The term - BE YOURSELF - should be stated and explained and re-affirmed to both sons and daughters in their own specific meanings. Spirituality is also a MUST! For the next generation I pray that both male and female find themselves and accept themselves...we are who we are...and we are BEAUTIFUL!

twister said...

Of course if a woman can go on the prowl it's also just as likely for a man to do so as well. Sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.

Cheap Tricks and Costly Truths said...

So, noone is willing to fund the research on Australian men? I'm truly disappointed. :(

Please don't misread me...I'm also highly attracted to the intellectual type...really I find all men appealing in some way. There's something unique and interesting about everyone, maybe that sounds a bit clicheish, but I do. Take for instance, I have several male friends as well as men I sorta know and then there's some that I don't know much about, such as Twister (i'm assuming twister is a male, because Durango refers to twister as Mister) and I can guarantee that I can specifically name something about each one of them that I find attractive.

Whyte Wolf said...

I'm curious about my list....

Cheap Tricks and Costly Truths said...

No, sorry Robbie...it has to be someone else asking about what I find attractive about you. You can't ask about yourself, that's not in the rules! ;)

Anonymous said...

Hello. And Bye.