Masculinity is often fragile and toxic for those who subscribe to the way society makes it seem you have to be. I don't feel qualified to speak of masculinity or racism as I walk the earth in a white female body.
Most men I know are not afraid of expressing feelings, although they may lash out at times because they don't know how to express what they are going through.
I do not feel afraid of men overall even though individually they can be intimidating. Women will generally play along and pretend to be interested in a man because they are afraid of being killed for rejecting him (which has happened too many times to mention) or because they are at work and are required to be nice to everyone, which can be seen as flirting. Guys say just tell him what's up and he'll leave you alone but he might not, they don't realize this. The constant preparing to fight back or run. Never knowing when something bad will happen so always being watchful of your surroundings, always armed just in case. That's the scary part, you never know who your attacker might be. It could be someone you thought was perfectly nice (e.g. Ted Bundy), so you can't really generalize about a race being scary when it could be literally anyone alive.
The system of the patriarchy holds men in higher power than anyone else (except the Queen), especially straight white men. Though many straight white men feel they have no power over anything, they are a part of the system that oppresses those who are considered by the system to be below that group.
You become a part of the system when you use your car.^1
Men who are nice to women sometimes feel entitled to thanks (and sex) even though it is simply being a decent person women are asking them to do, something that should be a norm anyway.
1. "Punkrock Anarchy" by Johnny Hobo and the Freight Trains
No comments:
Post a Comment