Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Christian Piatt

Home
Progressive Christian
Bromosapien: Evolution of the Postmodern Male (Part 2)

Bromosapien: Evolution of the Postmodern Male (Part 2)

Last updated on: September 5, 2012 at 4:11 pm by Christian Piatt

Bromosapien: Evolution of the Postmodern Male (Part 2) 2012-09-05T16:11:49+00:00 Christian Piatt

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

This is kind of a three-part blog post series. I wrote about part of the discussion I was a part of at Wild Goose Festival on Masculinity and male identity two days ago, and yesterday, I shared the first half of the story I told during that workshop. Below is the second and last part of that story.

***

A few examples of how clueless I am about male identity, and how mixed-up the gender roles are becoming, just in my own family:

I’ve never killed anything, at least on purpose. The only time I ever shot a gun was when my dad took me to the range and handed over his Ruger for a few rounds. I hated it. The noise was deafening, and the recoil scared the shit out of me.

I own a pathetic amount of tools for a man in his late thirties who has owned two homes. By my age, my dad and grandparents had staked their claim on the garage as exclusively male territory by covering every wall and bit of floor space with table saws, drills, vices and every wrench – standard and metric – anyone could ever need. I have more guitars than screwdrivers, and it was only a few years ago that I finally got straight in my head what the difference between channel locks and regular pliers is.

I like potpourri; my wife digs the nickel defense.

I changed more diapers in the first month of my son’s life than my dad ever did on me. I take care of the kids when Amy goes to meetings in the evenings, and I work from home every day.

I cry every time I watch Extreme Home Makeover. Amy records every episode of Real Sports on HBO. Oh, and I always cry when I watch that too. Damn you, Bryant Gumbel.

I know how to braid hair. I also cook most of our meals, and I actually enjoy it. I went to the first year of the Lilith Fair festival, and I paid good money to get second-row tickets to an Indigo Girls concert when I was in high school. I went by myself to that concert. Wasn’t even trying to impress a date.

I don’t get NASCAR. At all. I once took my nephew to a monster truck rally and was so annoyed by the noise and fumes I was ready to leave before the first event was over.

I’ve never been to a rodeo. Every time I even see clips from one on TV, I just end up feeling sorry for the animals.

I am an avid fan of American Idol and, though I’m ashamed to admit it, I also watch Dancing with the Stars.

I think cigars are disgusting. Even the smell of one being smoked makes me want to vomit.

All of this being said, I should point out that I do possess at least a handful of prototypical male traits too:

I can tell whether a team is running man-to-man or zone defense when I’m watching a basketball game.

I can tune up a car, as long as it was built before about 1980.

I love to grill pretty much anything; I have a magnetic, primal attraction to fire.

I absolutely adore scratching myself, and I do so any time I have the opportunity.

I say “dude” reflexively far too often in casual conversation (also a dead giveaway of my whiteness).

I am obsessed with boobs. I can think of nothing negative to say about boobs whatsoever, and regardless of shape, size or age, I have yet to encounter a pair of boobs from which I can’t derive at least some modicum of enjoyment.

I am a voracious fan of all things Monty Python, and I have a special place in my heart for the Three Stooges.

I can quote every single line from any Quentin Tarantino Movie – the good ones, at least, before someone told him he had talent and got obnoxious.

I can name every artist and album name for any 80’s heavy metal song ever played. On a good day, I can also nail the year it was released, what label they were signed to and every member of the band at the time.

I enjoy scotch, even when no one is watching, and I can explain the difference between a lager, an IPA and a stout. I also consider it heresy to put a piece of fruit in a beer under any circumstances.

Another critical part of my potentially emasculated male self-image lies in the very fact that I’m involved in church. Not only that, but my wife is the one in charge and I’m in a support role. We started a church a little over five years ago in our living room, and we’ve graduated to a “big kid” building, with chairs, toilets and everything. But despite the pretty amazing diversity in our congregation with regard to age, income level, ethnicity and even religious background, the great majority of people at church are women.

Not only are men less involved in religion than women; they’re also significantly more likely to identify themselves as atheists. In many seminaries across the country – at least the ones who allow women to prepare for ministry in the pulpit – there are way more women enrolled than men. And though some churches still hedge at the idea of a female pastor, more often than not they’re facing this as an inevitable choice if they want to have trained leadership at all.

So what’s with men? We’re outnumbered in everything from church to college. Are we facing a cultural and spiritual identity crisis? If we can be in charge of everything, are we doing the equivalent of packing up our toys and going home? Or have we actually become so self-conscious and tentative about who we are as men that we’re afraid to express ourselves at all? What if guys don’t really care what it means to be a man anymore? Am I a prophet for the Fallen Man, or a bitter guy with an identity complex, licking his wounds in the public eye?

And if postmodern male identity is so up in the air, am I a man or not? How would one even begin to define what constitutes masculinity any more, if people even care? For every Dale Earnhardt these days, there’s a queer eye. For every hairy-chested icon of bygone years, there’s now a freshly manscaped boy-model to take his place. And for every charismatic preacher-man there’s a behind-the-scenes male preacher’s wife like me.

Previous Post

September 4, 2012

Bromosapien: Evolution of the Postmodern Male (part 1)

Next Post

September 8, 2012 Identity Theft: When Politicians Hijack Jesus' Name

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category atonement belief bible Bill O'Reilly Buddhism CCM children christian piatt christianity Contemporary Christian Music current events derek flood Easter education Everyday Sunday faith faith and culture Frank Schaeffer great commission Haaz Sleiman Hobby Lobby Homebrewed Culture humor ISIS Jesus John Paul Lederach Killing Jesus LGBTQ marc driscoll Mission Year Music My Jesus Project Nat Geo parenting politics popular culture postChristian prison reform Ray rice religion republicans sacrifice sexuality theology Uncategorized video violence wild goose festival World Vision young adults

Select a Month December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What famous prayer did Jesus teach his followers?

Select your answer to see how you score.

The Lord's Prayer The Prayer of Jabez The Jesus Prayer The Hail Mary