Day: April 25, 2021

Manscaping. Man Boxes. Beards.

The definition of manhood–American Manhood, seems to be a shifting scale of kitch, hipster, and varying degrees of toughness. In fact, what toughness is has often vacillated between cage fighters and really well groomed dudes. I think the uber goal of all this is to create an image of men that is both–A Conner McGregor if you will; a man who is immaculately dressed but somehow a true ruffian when required. It seems parallel to the (male) feminine ideal of a perfectly groomed woman who is a closet freak.

When I write men I don’t lean on any of these ideals. I consider thoughtful individuals who are socialized by their various backgrounds and are not in fact aiming to be one thing. My most recent character is a black Londoner who is doused in the punk rock culture and ultimately feels like an outsider who is trying to make his own in-group of which he has no real set boundaries or expectations of behavior other than–do they love the system? If no check here.

But that is not the modern male. I’m supposed to be buying crates and kits and manscaping and investing in $1000 knives and wearing tight jeans (is that still a thing?) and having a very limited and curated appreciation of music. None of this sounds like me to me . None of this sounds like a character with much depth or world appreciation either. It sounds like a new version of the old drone.

I think the deeper issue/question here is about American culture and what is it we are really trying to create or manufacture to be called so-called white culture. Honestly, I think most of the issues in American culture stem from this clear lack of a sustained cultural profile. Black men are defined within American culture as one thing. Every racial group outside of ‘whiteness’ is defined as one thing in American culture and that main thing has not shifted in any useful way since the beginning. On the other hand, nothing has ‘stuck’ for white males and as a result there is this constant need for definition which seems to rely heavily on defining the ‘other’.

What can we do to make a better culture? Fix that stuff right there.

Nothing cohesive today. I’ve been thinking about all kinds of things as I watch spring heat up into summer. I’d like to share…

Some Thoughts:

1. Watched Jordan Klepper’s Trump episode on the daily Show today. Absolutely terrifying how people can openly support a double standard so long as it protects their sense of us v. them and gives them a righteous leg to stand on. More terrifying than that is the amount of power that Tucker Carlson wields from behind that bowtie. People truly believe that man and his statements on air. They don’t stop to reflect that this is not news. This is opinion. He is a person spouting white supremacist propaganda under a nicer name and they, largely, don’t get it. Or maybe they do and like the cover he provides them to do so.
2. Novel looking better. If only I could write it a lot faster.
3. Spent most of the day working on the backyard which is also looking a lot better.
4. I spent a small part of the day looking at the youth scores–much smaller part of the day than ever before. That situation last week killed some part of it for me. I’m looking forward to the boy’s seventh grade season and looking forward to that being the last one. We will try something else in the fall of 8th. Wrestling to be sure but who knows what other school sport he’s gonna take a shot at? This is the best time to learn–before HS starts. By 8th I will have a serious training program ready for the kid and we will go hard… Still need a Jugs machine though.
5. Haven’t started thinking about the next novel. Give me a few weeks and I’ll start turning it over in my head. I have thoughts about the next step for this crew but nothing that constitutes a novel.
6. Speaking of novels, the Expanse is a solid series. On book 3 and super impressed with 1 and 2. 3 lacks the kick, but that is because I don’t truly enjoy the characters in this one–not yet.