Unfortunately I had to get into a struggle session this morning about whether men and masculinity are inherently cruel and misogynistic by nature.
I love this website, and I’ve seen us improve through discussion many times over the years, so I’d like to open this thread to discuss (trans)masculinity and how it fits into leftism.
As leftists, one of our core beliefs is in the ability of people and societies to improve. I think this goes hand in hand with the ability to understand and create space for positive masculinities in our communities.
Framing all masculinity as inherently oppressive and misogynistic is counterproductive for several reasons, including (but not limited to):
- Giving men an excuse to refuse to examine toxic behaviors (e.g. “I can’t help it, it’s in my nature!”)
- Making trans men and transmasculine people feel ashamed to transition and/or come out of the closet.
I’d like to share one of my favorite articles about transmasculinity. I’ve posted it on this site before, but it bears posting again: https://thenewinquiry.com/on-hating-men-and-becoming-one-anyway/
An excerpt:
Secondly, unitary theory redefined the terms of gender oppression in a way that places the ultimate blame on the bourgeoisie (a group that I, in my entry-level research job, definitely do not belong to, with none of the grey area associated with my maleness). I now understand the ways in which working-class men benefit from oppressing women as analogous to the ways in which scabs benefit from strikebreaking. The gains are undoubtedly real on an individual level but are not representative of workers’ ultimate class interest in either scenario. This allows for meaningful solidarity across gender lines.
good on ya for posting this. this site’s got a serious lack of intersectional analysis sometimes, which seems to me to be rooted in an individualistic moralism & desire for a feeling of sanctimonious superiority that shortcuts people out of examining their own reactionary brainworms and internalized oppressive beliefs.
lot of people on here could stand to look inward and accept that we’re all shaped by hegemonic, reactionary hierarchies that are soaked in violence, so we all have work to do in that way. but! since that’s a universal condition none of us chose, that also means that - if people can grow to trust each other to approach the process in good faith to a reasonable degree - it can be a positive, healing process undertaken collaboratively (albeit not a painless or frictionless one).
i do think the majority of that hard, contradiction-laden work would be done offline, in structures built by the working class. pretty jaded on online spaces in general & don’t have the energy for a struggle sesh today, so gonna do the 2-cents-and-dip
Spoiler: So does that article.
Masses Elites and Rebels is about exactly this. I highly encourage everyone to give it a read, he breaks down the pitfalls of hyperindividualism so well.
Yep
Yep