It reminded me of Cynthia Enloe's observations about the sort of masculine image crafted around Bush, and how that often contrasts with the reality of him as a draft-dodging Ivy League male cheerleader who, in spite of supposedly being a cowboy, seems to prefer riding mountain bikes to horses.
And it also reminded me of this horrible piece of shit:
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Symposium: The Return of Manhood By Jamie Glazov FrontPageMagazine.com | August 8, 2003
After years of creeping feminization, manhood and masculinity appear to have made a significant comeback in American society. Since the national security crisis of 9/11, America has rediscovered the virtues of soldiers, firemen, policemen and other traditionally male (and masculine) professions that require courage and physical strength. What explains this phenomenon? Why is manhood, once again, being held in high esteem? Or is this all just a mirage, destined to vanish in the near future?
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Interlocutor: Welcome gentlemen, to our symposium. Let me begin with this question: has America fallen in love, once again, with soldiers, firemen, policemen and other traditionally male (and masculine) professions requiring courage and strength? Is manhood held in high esteem again?
Bowman: Yes. Fashion's pendulum has once more swung back in the direction of the warrior and the manly man. But this should not blind us to the enormous forces that our culture still has arrayed against him. So long as the soldier, the policeman, the fireman retains his new popularity, we can expect the culture wars to heat up. The academic, intellectual, artistic and entertainment worlds will be even more unanimously opposed to any return to the honorable and chivalric standards that were admired before the First World War than they are to other forms of traditionalism because they are more threatened by them. Nor should we underestimate the difficulties of bringing them back even if we were not so opposed. Modern individualism is also against it. But the return of honor for our boys in uniform is an encouraging first step.
Tiger: Obviously 9/11 and now the Iraqi action have provided a strong sense of the bedrock nature of what males can provide to the social system. But if manhood as such has a somewhat enhanced reputation it may well be because women with light skin in this community are beginning to understand what women with dark skin have long known, which is that men are intricate and flighty and that securing the goods and services which husbands and durable partners are able to provide requires some thoughtful management and even respect.
The increased respect for manhood clearly threatens the simple gaseous Women's Studies notions of patriarchy as a device sustained by all men against all women. One of the strongest responses I had to my book The Decline of Males was from the mothers of boys who had realized that their sons faced truncated opportunities in the school system and hence, later, in both the productive and reproductive spheres. And with 57% of college students females, the educational industry has begun, however dimly, to perceive that it has both a marketing and - even - a moral problem. The Mrs. degree has been abolished but not the practicality of women marrying men who are slightly older and with more resources than they have. A good arena in which to meet such men has been in the educational system but now less than ever. Perhaps health clubs are a moist alternative.
Ledeen: I think most Americans have remained very positive about fighting men. The intelligentsia, or significant parts of it, rebelled against military heroes as part of the feminization of much of American intellectual life. Of late, beginning with the Gulf War and continuing through Operation Iraqi Freedom, there have been defections from the intelligentsia, including some of our most brilliant journalists (e.g. Michael Kelly).
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http://www.frontpagemag.com/articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=9310