Masculinity & Politcs

In a new television advertisement for General Motors’ H3, two men stand in a grocery store checkout line while the cashier scans the first man’s items. The cashier prominently tilts a large package of tofu for the camera while man one sheepishly turns to man two as if embarrassed by his purchase. Man one then notices man two’s grocery items, which include red meat and charcoal. Humiliated, man one spots an H3 print advertisement, burns rubber out of the parking lot, leases a new Hummer and ends the ad contentedly driving along while the catch-phrase “Restore Your Manhood” is prominently splashed across the screen.

It seems lately that American male masculinity is increasingly defined by impulsiveness and childish one-upsmanship. It’s a masculinity where objective evidence is ignored in favor of instinctive knowledge; where perceived slights are mitigated through retribution; and, where impulsive action trumps reasoned thought. Swagger and absoluteness are revered while contemplation is looked upon as indecisiveness; where something’s appearance is more important than its truth. And it’s a corrosive version of masculinity that filters down and repeatedly portrays intellectualism, patience and reasoned thought in terms of weakness.

Al Gore was derisively mocked during his 2000 presidential campaign for receiving earth-tone consulting tips from author Naomi Wolf; a girl. And a feminist girl at that. Implied in the criticism was that he needed to be more manly. Gore played right along, planting a staged smooch on Tipper before his commencement address and receiving tips on how to not be a “beta-male.” Part of Gore’s problem, among various others, was that he was viewed as a wonky science-type intellectual, which for some reason wasn’t concomitant with being an alpha-male; or being masculine. John Kerry repeatedly tried to convince Americans of his toughness in 2004, which usually entailed a promise to “fight” for whatever he was advocating.

The new Time magazine cover story declares the death of so-called “Cowboy Diplomacy,” which seems to imply – gasp!, that America is exhausting all available diplomatic options, engaging our partners and not acting out through petulant, childish barbs, such as: “Bring ‘em on;” “Wanted – Dead or Alive;” or, referring to North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il as a “pygmy.” The astounding aspect of the death of “Cowboy Diplomacy” is both that it was ever alive to begin with and that it took five and a half years to die.

During a recent press conference with Tony Blair, President Bush expressed regret over some of his words. He stated that he learned a lesson about expressing himself in a more “sophisticated manner” and that "in certain parts of the world it was misinterpreted." Unfortunately, the problem was the words were interpreted exactly as they were intended; as impulsive schoolyard taunts intended to make the speaker seem tough. And lately, that kind of ill-conceived bravado is what seems to pass for the male form of strength.

Words matter. I enjoy my red meat as much as the next bloke, but some tofu every now and then is nice also.