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Is machismo dying?

Apparently, there’s a record numbers of young males joining feminist organisations. Observers find it hard to agree exactly why, but I wonder if it’s a reflection of less inclination for young men to follow (in some quarters) traditional male stereotypes.

I was listening to ‘If I was your girlfried’ by Prince the other day.The song describes a man frustrated at being unable to be as close to his partner as she is to other women. While he has to hide his feelings and is unable to get close to other people, she doesn’t let him and turns to her best friend for emotional comfort.

Is this like this for young men? Maybe they are seeing the lives women have and want to join in. I wonder if it’s the expectations of other males stopping them, or the very women they want to be closer to not letting them in? Lads magazines are declining in the UK – is that a symptom of this?

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2 responses to “Is machismo dying?”

  1. Carol Avatar
    Carol

    The most interesting guys want to understand life better.
    I can’t imagine my dear boyfriend dropping round or phoning round to make sure all his friends are regularly informed of work status, love life, family members, clothing and household purchases and finishing up by saying how much he loves them.
    The nicest people, guys and girls, are happy to move outside their comfort zone sometimes and are tolerant of differences and mentalities.
    But the differences between men and women are kind of cool too.
    I think machismo is masculinity without empathy.
    This reminds me of a line from Buffy:
    “I was brought up to believe that women have the babies and men dig up the corpses.”

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  2. andrew Avatar
    andrew

    I agree that there are some natural differences between the sexes, but there are some manufactured ones too. My own view is that men tend to miss out on a lot of the emotional nourishment mamy women get from friends and loved ones.
    I think tolerance is important for anyone – and you need to know lots of different people who can make up for your own shortcomings.
    Incidentally, I do all the cooking and Mrs Hovells does all the DIY.

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