‘Viagra & Jack Daniels Culture Creating A Crisis of Masculinity’
My first instinct, on reading this article in the Daily Mail today, was to praise Diane Abbott for having the courage to raise the issue of problems men face in contemporary Britain.
But then I actually read the article and found myself astounded at how superficial, unfocused and watered-down her argument actually is.
For a start, why the emphasis on sexual performance anxiety? Oh yes…I remember…all men ever think about is sex. Silly me. I forgot that. So you guys are feeling disenfranchised because there is too much pressure on you to perform sexually.
According to Abbott this is creating a generation of men who ‘find themselves locked into a transitional phase at home, or find themselves voluntarily creating an extended adolescence, sometimes resentful of family life’.
And, because we can’t resist bringing it back to what’s actually best for the ladies, this resentment at not being able to sexually perform, feeling useless because they are living with their parents (lets not say anything about the ladies that are living with their parents – it ruins the flow) creates a ‘hypermasculinity’ that:
‘At its worst, it’s a celebration of heartlessness; a lack of respect for women’s autonomy; I fear it’s often crude individualism dressed up as modern manhood.’
Ok…newsflash Abbott – ‘modern British manhood’ is a product of a Labour government that shifted everything so far into the favour of ‘modern woman’ that it completely raped ‘modern man’ of his self-worth (yes, I mean you Harriet Harman).
He’s not important anymore. He doesn’t know his role anymore. Does he hold a door open or not? Does he look at you, or will he be accused of sexually assaulting you? Should he feel happy that he is able to provide for you, or is he a repressive patriarch?
Should he bother at all, or should he go and live up a mountain in the Himalayas until someone starts talking sense?
He’s still not important in your argument – you have to bring it back to ‘a lack of respect for women’s autonomy’.
She goes on ‘This generation no longer asks itself what it means to be a man.’
Yes, because we live in a society that will not let him be a man. Viagra, sexual performance……I’ll tell you something – I hear from many men every week, telling me their concerns, issues and experiences…and not one of them has ever mentioned his penis, or the fact that he thinks his iPhone makes him more of a man.
Which makes me wonder just how much research Abbott put into finding out what the real problems actually are before coming out with this half-formulated nonsense theory.
Still, I am at least heartened at the fact that the article goes onto say Labour is looking at a raft of ideas based around men’s concerns, and that Jon Cruddas seems to be talking sense.
But I am not holding my breath.
Here’s the original article:
