Gillette asked, in a two-minute advertisement recently, if what men are today really represents ‘The Best a Man can Get.” The advertisement shows how horrible men in society are, by nature, and then asks men to rise above our masculine tendencies, becoming something better than what our genetics predispose us to be. The message is that masculinity is toxic, and we need to fight against it.
Gillette, and by extension, it’s parent company, Proctor and Gamble, have decided to join the War on Men.
Jordan Peterson defined morality in a brilliantly simplistic way. He said that morality involves doing things that are good for yourself, both immediately, and all the way out to the distant future. That’s not morality by itself though, because what you do has to also be good for your family, both immediately and out into the future. That’s not morality by itself either though, because it has to also be good for your neighbors, and your community, and the nation, and the world, both immediately, and out into the distant future. Those who stray from that moral base – doing things that are not good for the world, or for their nation, or for their community, or for their neighbors, or for their family, or in some cases, even for themselves – these people must be ostracized by society until they fall back in line with this very basic morality. Everything we do should be done from the prism of how it affects us as individuals, as well as how it affects others. The simple truth is that we all matter equally, and that we should treat each other as equals. That’s morality, forever and always. Believing otherwise is the kind of stupid John Wayne was talking about in the picture below.
Sexual harassment, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse – really anything sexual in a negative way – violates this creed. Our desire to procreate goes just as deeply into our innermost psyche as does our desire to eat, and is just as important. We are sexual beings. Whatever happens to us sexually goes just as deep, and because of this sex crimes are in some ways the worst kinds of crimes a person can commit. People need to understand that when they hurt someone sexually, in any way, they are hurting that person in the deepest part of that person’s inner being, which amplifies the effect hundreds of times over.
I would never want to harm anyone in that way.
Sexual assault allegations are coming out all over the place, and we are learning that sexual misconduct is as frequent as it is harmful. Much of the media wants to blame men for it, and it is getting blamed on ‘masculinity,’ in spite of the fact that most of the allegations are in Hollywood, which is a bastion of anti-masculine sentiment.
Most of the sexual assaults are being committed by the very people who are a part of the war on men.
Let’s talk about masculinity.
We evolved over millions of years into what we are, and the structure of our society is a part of our evolutionary process. Masculinity and femininity are baked into our biology like yeast in bread, and today our colleges (and Gillette) teach that masculinity is somehow evil. At the same time, chivalry is played off as an outdated, sexist structure.
Chivalry is not only alive, but it must be nurtured. The components of chivalry, such as honor and courage, are valuable traits everyone should strive to have, and strength is worthless if it cannot be used to protect those who are weak from those who are wicked.
What do we expect men who have no sense of honor, and who believe chivalry to be dead, to do? Schools can not teach evolution or biology out of a man any more than I can teach the desire to hunt out of my dog. My dog was bred to hunt, just as biology made me a man. My dog’s love and loyalty makes him a good dog, and my sense of honor and duty makes me a good man.
Imagine being a boy who grows up believing that masculine traits are evil, while also always feeling those masculine traits within himself. Liberalism is creating conflict within boys that there are only three ways to resolve: 1) become men anyway, understanding that the left will hate you for it; 2) suppress masculinity the way a Vulcan suppresses emotion; or 3) snap. Is it really surprising that for many adult boys, choice two causes choice three? If I am right, and the suppression of masculinity causes violence, one would expect men to be becoming more violent against women over time, as masculinity becomes more suppressed. Sure enough, The Guardian shows that rates of violent crime against women – committed in all cases almost exclusively by men – is rising. Masculine men may get into fights with other men sometimes, but emasculated boys are far more apt to hit women. Go figure…
Do you have any idea how much harm we do to boys when we teach them that masculinity is evil? One can learn to suppress masculinity, but it does not go away, and if a man believes that masculinity is evil, then he must also believe that he is evil, for that masculinity is in there no matter how deeply it is buried. Our society is doing everything it can to teach men to hate themselves, and for the most part men seem to be going along with it, but teaching them this is evil, wrong, and dangerous.
What does a volcano do when it builds up too much pressure? I can tell you want my dog does if he does not get enough exercise. What do you think a man does if he has to suppress his masculinity his whole life? We need to teach boys to be kind, courteous, and respectful; we need to teach boys to be men. We cannot do that without also allowing them to be boys. Aggression, when channeled correctly (such as in competitive sports), is a positive trait.
We should not teach that fighting is inherently wrong, because that is not true. Self defense is justified, and defense of others is honorable. Hitting girls is inherently wrong, but we should champion those who hit those who hit girls. If you are a woman and a man opens a door for you, don’t call him sexist. Say “thank you,” because that man is showing you respect. A tip of the hat or a nod is also a sign of respect. We need to stop condemning politeness.
We need to start holding feminists to the same standards that we hold other bigots. We need to take away feminist’s microphones, throw feminists out of our schools, and remove feminists from positions of power. Today’s feminists are not marching for the right to vote, or for equality. They already have that. Today’s feminists simply hate men. Ladies – it is not cool to hate men. You may be equal, but so are we.
Do you know what condemning masculinity leads to? It leads to men who are confused, and who do not know how to be men. It leads to Kevin Spacey, Harvey Weinstein, Bill Clinton, and Bill Cosby. Those men, and all other men who commit acts of sexual assault, lack honor, and are not chivalrous. They are not men, and they belong in jail. But that does not mean that all men belong in jail, and it does not mean that masculinity is in any way bad. All it means is that boys need to learn self-control so that they can control themselves when they grow up.
Masculinity it not evil, so it is time to stop saying it is. Embrace it. Celebrate it. We need masculinity. Along with masculinity, honor and duty need to be honored dutifully. Chivalry is important. We should always stand up for those who are weaker than we are, and ideally we should stand up for injustice period – particularly injustices committed against women, but also, increasingly, injustices committed against men.
Gillette just committed an injustice against men, and Gillette, along with their parent company, Proctor and Gamble, should be punished. Going back to Jordan Peterson’s statement on morality, we can ask ourselves if Gillette’s war on men is good for Gillette, now and into the future. It is leading to a boycott, and one that I am joining, so I’m going to venture no. Is it good for Gillette’s family (Proctor and Gamble)? That whole family of brands is being boycotted, so I’m going to venture no. Is it good for any community to brand men as toxic? Is it good for our country, or the world, to pretend that half our population is evil?
If you think that the answer is in any way ‘yes,’ then you are the problem and I’m as done with you as I am with Gillette.
We do not need to ‘fix’ men. Doing so is what caused this problem in the first place. Men are not the problem – adult boys are. The only way our society improves is if we teach boys to be men again. Masculinity is not toxic. We need more masculinity – not less.
As for Gillette, and their parent company, Proctor and Gamble, their products are not “The Best a Man can Get,” and we shall teach them that making their products political is going to hurt.
Note: This article was originally written on The Daily Libertarian, in November, 2017. This copy has been updated to reflect the new Gillette advertisement.
What the ad and our elites describe as ‘toxic masculinity’ is better summed up as ‘sinful behavior by men.’ Masculinity, on the other hand, is necessary, noble, and honorable, when informed by and infused with Biblical morality. We must teach our young men how to be real men.
Treating males as “toxic” or wrong has been going on for a long time.
Its called ADDHD and treated with powerful medications
If a girl is active then she gets the same treatment as boys
I know this because both my son and daughter were both declared to be ADDHD.
Didn’t use the word “diagnosed” as no doctor was involved in either case
Just the anecdotal “observations” of teachers and school officials
Good article
You well-substantiated a profound and insightful assertion: “Do you know what condemning masculinity leads to? It leads to men who are confused, and who do not know how to be men. It leads to Kevin Spacey, Harvey Weinstein, Bill Clinton, and Bill Cosby.” Terrific article, Wallace!!