Just read the first section of The Will to Change. As a man, it’s fascinating and enlightening to see a feminist deal with men and masculinity rather than dismiss them.
Comment on What is the history of modern male gender roles and where did it come from?
spujb@lemmy.cafe 2 weeks ago
Short answer: It’s complicated, but it likely stems from how women were historically kept at home due to childbearing, while men were often away at war.
Medium answer: As above, but in Western culture, this dynamic was reinforced by the advent of private property, which created a need to protect assets, further solidifying male dominance.
Long answer: As above, and as Simone de Beauvoir explains in The Second Sex, these roles evolved into patriarchal systems that have shaped society for centuries. Feminism as a whole is dedicated to unraveling these complexities, and the points above are only a broad overview of a much larger, nuanced topic.
Layman’s answer for those without time to read massive works of analysis: If you haven’t, I always recommend reading bell hooks’ The Will to Change. It’s available as a free PDF under 200 pages on the Internet Archive but it’s also written to be very accessible to non-academics and so it’s also absolutely fine to skim and jump between chapters as suits your curiosity! The introduction and chapter 2 would probably get you a long way there 😊
slingstone@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
spujb@lemmy.cafe 2 weeks ago
bell hooks is truly a blessing! she’s certainly not the first to do so, but she’s the most forefront and accessible of feminist voices to attend to the needs and experiences of men under patriarchy.
witty_username@feddit.nl 2 weeks ago
Thanks for the book, will give it a read
Zachariah@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
happy cake day
1984@lemmy.today 2 weeks ago
It makes sense that the physically stronger gender becomes the protector, yes. Who else?
spujb@lemmy.cafe 2 weeks ago
By whom? 🤔
And yes it does make sense that the physically stronger sex becomes the protector. Feminists will agree with you on this.
But they will take immediate issue with your supposition that men therefore need to be emotionally repressed in order to protect women from… most often, themselves.
1984@lemmy.today 2 weeks ago
I don’t know where that comes from. Emotionally repressed? I agree men doesn’t need to be emotionally repressed.
spujb@lemmy.cafe 2 weeks ago
Well the perceived need I talk about had to do with emotional repression, so looks like you badly misunderstood.