My Man Show
On my way to drop Jacob off at preschool today, I was listening to my usual sports talk morning show. They shared a story about a gym in another part of the country that made a new rule of "no grunting allowed". They made the news because they recently kicked out a member for breaking the "no grunting" rule. They also have rules in place that prohibit no do-rags and bandannas. (For the record, I think do-rags and bandannas need to be outlawed nationwide because you look ridiculous wearing them) The female owner of the gym said she has made such rules so other members wouldn't feel intimidated. My suggestion: Make it a women's only gym and get it over with.
A common theme that constantly seems to be popping up all over the place now a days is the feminazation of men. Society is trying their hardest to make more and more men act like women. From female clothing designers telling men that "pink" is the new black to no more grunting in gyms. Of all places you would have thought a man could be a man, the gym was the most sacred. But not anymore. Next thing you know, men's rooms will no longer have urinals and we'll all be ordered to pee sitting down.
Another place this feminazation of men is occurring is in our churches. We design everything about our churches to suite the best interest of the females in our congregations and we wonder why more men don't attend church. I have been in an interesting email debate recently over a new ministry called "Godmen" ( www.godmen.org )In this new men's movement, they describe themselves as "Promise Keepers on crack". They have very strict rules about there conferences (no women allowed, no one under the age of 18 allowed). Their sole purpose to to draw men closer to God and in the process, restore men to be the men that God designed. Tough, masculine, and godly, what more does a woman want in a man? To quote their website: "We don't force men, Christian or otherwise, to wear "spiritual bras." We show them a more rugged yet always righteous side of the Christian faith that is almost completely ignored today." The email debate I have been involved with has pitted me against a few another men who believe this way of thinking is out of line. That men need to be more humble and softer. That this warrior image of man is outdated and ineffective. Maybe it's just me, but when I read the bible, I don't see any of "God's men" being told they're to manly. From Moses, to David, to Paul, to Peter, to Jesus, everyone one of them displayed the same masculine approach to life that today's society is trying to bury. God designed women to be beautiful, tender, strong, and confident. God designed men to be tough, assertive, proactive, protective and loving.
Give me my Jack Bauer's, my Al Bundy's, my Brett Farve's, My Dirty Harry's, my John Wayne's, and every other man that has stood for being a man. And at the end of the day, give me a wife like Beth that doesn't ever ask me to be something I'm not.
Comments
In addition to this, there are many passages that benefit women much more than men. Such as if woman's husband dies, her brother-in-law must take her into his home.
Changes in the structure of the Christian religion also seem to benefit women over the long run. Control of the church is by celibate men with no chance of their offspring taking control of the religion.
Once medicine advanced to the point where survival of one's children no longer depended on having a large number of them, the protestant religion permitted contraceptives which allow women a better chance for their young to prosper.
And many of the main tenants of Christianity, such a promoting peace, are more beneficial to women than men. When men fight wars, the surviving men who win reap tremendous benefits including the increased ratio of women to men.
So in a society that is highly secure such as the U.S. where violent crime is low and wars are waged by a very few professional soldiers, it is to women's advantage to reduce aggressive behavior in men...
A classic example of this is a push to reduce access to "violent" video games by putting ratings & restrictions on the games. Where I see that a first-person-shooter teaches my son to effectively defend himself and kill enemies without any hesitatioe. Women view the same game as promoting violence in society.