Masculinity versus Aggression
With a local football hero in trouble for his drunken behaviour in South Africa, it seems appropriate to reflect on what really maketh a man. Contrary to popular perception, to me a strong man is not necessarily someone who is physically intimidating, is not necessarily a 'success' in the conventional sense, and is certainly not inclined to aggressively dominate those around them.
Whether physical or emotional, so many of our role models today are either manipulative and untrustworthy, or abuse their strength through aggressively dominating those around them. To me, that's not what being a man is about. Without claiming to be exhaustive in any way, I note three characteristics that I think are particularly important for men:
- Purpose
- Peace-seeking
- Legacy-driven
posted by Daniel @ 5:47 pm
3 Comments:
Unfortunately ego and manipulation are traits of insecurity and as you say they are not good traits. To be a good person you need to show strenght of character and resolution.
Being a Man in my eyes are such men as Gregory Peck, Robert Menzies, and Abraham Lincoln to name a few. Such men had dignity without the insecurities and egoes. One actor I really admired was Gregory Peck, especially in his role as Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird. He represented manhood with dignity and respect without the need to resorting to gratitious sex and violence to prove himself. Where are such actors and role models today? I hate to think that there are no in our world?
Garry
Recently there has been an increase in abuse at sporting events by parents showing aggressive behaviour and even violence towards local sporting games. For instance in Logan which is between Brisbane and the Gold Coast, a father abused a 10 year old boy and threatened a referee over the way this game was played. Surely such events should be treated as just a 'fun' game rather than a game which involves the use of violence and agression. Surely, egos can be put aside to allow for a more 'cohesive' atmosphere in such a sporting event. It saddens me in Australia, that amongst all things that attendance at church and the belief in God is declining. Our very fabric of society depends on the belief in God to allow for unity and spiritual growth to occur. This applies especially to such events as mentioned above in a sporting game for surely that is all it is. It is a means to allow for competition but it should not be treated as a means of lack of control and self restraint. As a society, I feel we are placing too much emphasis on success but we are not allowing ourselves the means of attaining this success in a rational manner. Too often you only hear of when you do something as a criticism rather than a praise and I feel that more praise is needed to allow for encouragement. Perhaps you may not agree with me on your masculinity versus agression in this example?
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