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Karen's avatar

Funny - I’ve been seeing this exact problem for years and worry about what lies in store for my son, who turns 18 in a couple weeks. Fortunately my husband (his stepdad of 10 years) is an outstanding example of a “real” man: strong, brave, skilled, gentle and keeper of his own counsel. I also have four terrific brothers.

Still, the deficits you describe are so conspicuous in the younger generation, that a couple of months ago I approached three male friends (mid 60s) to form a “council of wise men” to do exactly what you describe - create mentoring teams for young men, with concrete objectives to build skills and resilience and courage. I told them my goal is simply to strike a match - this is not something I ought to be a part of. One of them asked “why not?” I just laughed. Of course not.

Don’t give up guys. Most women definitely prefer masculine men. I think the wealthy part is overrated (and a form of compensation for missing virtue). The big things are inner strength, bravery and intelligence.

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Daniel D's avatar

All I can say is, fucking fantastic and amen! The good news is, I think the cultural zeitgeist is shifting. "Nothing argues like success..." Nothing, that is, except catastrophic failure. And few failures have been as spectacularly catastrophic as woke feminism and critical gender theory and all the madness that it has unleashed on our culture. Great fucking essay, like always!

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