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.