Should we try to make our sons like what our daughters used to be? One of the things I remember from my graduate school experience was learning about “Occam’s razor.” Basically, what I recall is that it meant that when competing theories arise, it is best to use the one that makes the fewest...Continue reading
Category: Masculinity
Does Concern for Boys Put You In the Alt-Right?
Progressives still label worry about men’s and boys’ problems as conservative. So there I was, reading a piece in the New Yorker by Steve Coll, titled “Donald Trump’s Fake News Tactics(link is external),” where Trump was seen as “draw(ing) on the contemporary idioms of the alt-right.” Quoting a report by researchers Alice Marwick and Rebecca Lewis, Coll...Continue reading
America Has A Major Fatherlessness Problem on Its Hands
After yet another school shooting, which we all knew would eventually happen, the connection between fatherlessness and school shooters has finally been seriously exposed. Several videos, discussing the links between fatherlessness and school shooters, generated over ten million views and articles drew an unprecedented level of interest. In fact, for the first time in decades, the issue broke into the national media, in...Continue reading
White Boy: A Summer Job and the Making of Manhood, Part III
20. Mid-July was a transition point for me in the warehouse. For the first time, I now had something interesting to do over the lunch break. In addition, I had become expert in my work, and had already cut the size of the pile of damaged bags in half. I felt that I could actually...Continue reading
White Boy: A Summer Job and the Making of Manhood, Part II
8. Over the next few days, I got better at my job. I became familiar with the dinky and organized all aspects of the reconditioning process. My arms and hands began to grow accustomed to the work. By the end of the first week, my daily output of reconditioned bags began to exceed the average...Continue reading
White Boy: A Summer Job and the Making of Manhood, Part I
0. ON A HOT SUMMER AFTERNOON in 1953, I answered the doorbell at our family home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I was fourteen years old, and alone in the house at the time. I opened the front door and looked through the screen door to see a black man, naked to the waist and sweating...
Do Men Really Care About Contraception?
You will never guess what the CDC just revealed about single American men in the US. Recall that this federal agency monitors and prevents disease outbreaks, from autism to zika, and also maintains nationwide health statistics. They do good work and, like me, are keenly interested in men’s health. I applaud them. So what are sexually active young American men...Continue reading
In Search of My Lost Body: Real Men Eat Meat and Other Masculinity Myths
It’s January and once again I begin thinking about losing weight. I keep track of my weight and keep losing and gaining the same 20 pounds. I eat pretty well, but I eat too much. Like most people, there are a million reasons why I weigh more than I want to weigh. I’ve always been...Continue reading
Is There a Link between Dental Health and Men’s Fertility?
By now, we’ve all heard about the health risks of poor oral hygiene, which go far beyond toothaches, cavities and tooth loss. Neglecting your dental health can put you at greater risk for heart disease, respiratory problems, diabetes, stroke, arthritis and other medical issues. According to new research, it may also affect your ability to...Continue reading
Accusations of Sexual Assault: Today’s Salem Witch Trials?
I can write this because I am a woman. A man would be afraid to touch it… More than 400 years ago, nearly 100 years before ratification of the U.S. Constitution, mass hysteria took hold throughout the Massachusetts Bay Colony, most famously in Salem Village, outside of Boston. Almost 70 years ago the same fever...
