Men's Liberation
This community is first and foremost a feminist community for men and masc people, but it is also a place to talk about men’s issues with a particular focus on intersectionality.
Rules
Everybody is welcome, but this is primarily a space for men and masc people
Non-masculine perspectives are incredibly important in making sure that the lived experiences of others are present in discussions on masculinity, but please remember that this is a space to discuss issues pertaining to men and masc individuals. Be kind, open-minded, and take care that you aren't talking over men expressing their own lived experiences.
Be productive
Be proactive in forming a productive discussion. Constructive criticism of our community is fine, but if you mainly criticize feminism or other people's efforts to solve gender issues, your post/comment will be removed.
Keep the following guidelines in mind when posting:
- Build upon the OP
- Discuss concepts rather than semantics
- No low effort comments
- No personal attacks
Assume good faith
Do not call other submitters' personal experiences into question.
No bigotry
Slurs, hate speech, and negative stereotyping towards marginalized groups will not be tolerated.
No brigading
Do not participate if you have been linked to this discussion from elsewhere. Similarly, links to elsewhere on the threadiverse must promote constructive discussion of men’s issues.
Recommended Reading
- The Will To Change: Men, Masculinity, And Love by bell hooks
- Politics of Masculinities: Men in Movements by Michael Messner
Related Communities
!feminism@beehaw.org
!askmen@lemmy.world
!mensmentalhealth@lemmy.world
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There are fundamentally two conflicting and clashing schools of masculism in society.
One teaches that violence, strength, and destruction are paramount. That responding violently is the answer, and that most problems can be solved with brute force.
The other politely disagrees, and asserts that violence should always be the last possible resort, and every attempt should be made to resolve peacefully, and violence should be only utilized when all avenues have been exhausted. It champions patience, courage, knowledge, tactics, and empathy.
Both have plenty of examples in popular media. I'm sure anyone here can think of tommes of examples of both.
The difference is, almost always the movies in the former category must set up some form of unrealistic, incredibly violent opposing force to justify its own premise. They don't see reason, they only understand violence! Thus the protagonist must Rio and tear and kill every last one if them.
Meanwhile the latter typically focuses on more "human" interactions. The protagonist is often much more relatable and real. He doesn't want anyone to get hurt, and he wants peace and happiness.
Characters like Aang from AtLA, Spiderman, or Luffy from One Piece, all demonstrate that violence only is reserved for when it is the only remaining option, typically self defense or defending others who are weaker.
Meanwhile media like John Whick, Taken, Predator, or Game of Thrones position "unstoppable forces" as the antagonists. They cannot be reasoned with, they won't even consider it. Only violence remains from the very start.
So one has to ask themselves if there are cases of glorifying violence in media, when the protagonist could have resolved the situation peacefully?