Status: Occurring
Prediction: Death of masculinity
“Like the Woolly Mammoth and that other guy from Wham!, masculinity is nearing extinction.”
“While evolution takes thousands of years, physical labor faded in the last 150. Now technology changes so fast, evolution stands no chance. That businessman is still bigger and stronger, but society couldn’t care less. His primal, competitive instincts now squeeze neatly into a cubicle. If he wants to rage, he’ll have to do it with a snooty email, not a blow to a competitor’s skull. Sure, that makes for a more civil society, but it doesn’t address the widening gap between male biology and its futility in modern society.”
“Gadgets, software, architecture, medicine and engineering will drive evolution. Ironically, many of the advances driven by men are accelerating the obsolescence of their gender. Luckily, we’ll all be gone by the the time Samsung’s Manatee 5000 learns to whisper sweet nothings.
What Happened
Not only has the technology made men obsolete, culture and social movements are accelerating the decline, but #activists are making sure #whitemaleprivilege #mansplaining @manspreading #metoo #ThePatriarchy #microagressions #toxicmasculinity and #bullying kill off all threats masculine, real and perceived.
THE MAN TRAP, Jun 2017
Traditional ideas of masculinity persist in the workplace, even though men are now expected to do more of the household chores – and work longer hours. Emily Bobrow investigates the trials of modern manhood
The weaker sex, The Economist 2015
Boys are being outclassed by girls at both school and university, and the gap is widening
DIY Is In Decline Because Today’s Men Are Too Soft 2014
“Metropolitan, largely office-working men launched a mass PR campaign to win the hearts and minds of women – and their peers. They publicly decried wolf whistling and Page 3 of The Sun – while privately consuming a tidal wave of internet porn (ironically making them do-it-yourselfers in a very different sense). Men were clamouring over themselves to be seen as anything but sexist.”
Men Pay A Steep Price When It Comes To Masculinity 2017
“As women began to show up in places where men had exclusively dominated — boardrooms, the armed forces, Congress — men who had once felt safe to talk as they please, now felt imprisoned by a culture of political correctness. The cultural shift has left some confused, others feeling powerless and a lot of men angry.”
The Age of Female Dominance, Brought to You by Robots, Nov 2016
Poor, white men more likely to ‘cling’ to guns, study finds, Nov 2017
“Gun control for these owners has come to represent an attack on their masculinity, independence and moral identity,” Froese said in the release. “The gun becomes their central, sacred object.”
Prescription: Man Camps
Man camps for hunting, farming and fishing. There’s already a place in Queens, NY that lets people kill their own animals. There is room to expand on this concept to let men harness inner provider instincts.
Survival centers – teach men survival, building and electrical skills
Kits – you’ve always been able to buy model or replica cars, furniture, even homes you could build. I wonder what else comes pre-fabricated that can be made more satisfying by building it.
More outlets for male aggression: fight clubs…? OK, boxing or wrestling might do.
What Happened
Meteoric success of Tough Mudder and multiple similar survival competitions.
This Boot Camp For Men Claims It’ll Revive Your ‘Primal Nature’ 2017
A Masculinity Camp for Boys That Starts at Age 8 2017
“Camp Nick began in January after parents asked Tucker if he could develop a boys’ equivalent to the after-school programs they had for girls — like yoga and Girls on the Run.”
Figures like Professor Jordan Peterson and hunter Cameron Hanes have become popular as a response to fading masculinity, hearkening back to a time for men that is as heroic as it is obsolete.
What’s Next?