The Best A Man Can Get

If I didn't know better, I might think that these things were coordinated and sequenced.  First, an 11 year old boy in drag was celebrated on Good Morning America.  Then, the American Psychological Association (APA) released its statement on "traditional masculinity."  Almost immediately thereafter, Gillette released its new ad aimed at destroying the "boys will be boys" epithet and moralizing about male behavior, and although Gillette did not use the term "toxic masculinity" the MSM filled it in when it described the ad campaign.

What is going on here?

It amounts to a big push from the Left to normalize the pathological and make the normal pathological.  Under the guise of tolerance and equal rights, the Left is eating at the core of the characteristics that made our country great-- strength, independence, achievement oriented, enduring. Of course, there are instances in which some men act atrociously (but so do some women).  But the Left doesn't care about throwing the baby out with the bathwater.  It really wants the baby thrown out.

I want to focus primarily on the APA statement and the Gillette ad.  While cheering on a young drag queen is part of this phenomena, I wish to treat this sickness and perversion in a separate post.

The APA has declared "traditional masculinity" to be harmful and pathological.  Traditional masculinity, according to the APA, is marked by "anti-femininity, achievement, eschewal of the appearance of weakness, and adventure, risk and violence."  The APA strings out these attributes  and deprives them of any context, and assumes they are negatively correlated with masculinity.  Aside from the first (for which no data is provided), whether these traits are positive or negative is wholly dependent on context.  There is a time and place for each one and being a man means you know when it is appropriate to exhibit such attribute.  There is a time to be adventurous.  There is a time to take risk.   And, yes, if a thug is shoving an old lady front of you, trying to steal her purse, there is a time to be violent, and it is entirely appropriate to be that way.   Many of the attributes that the APA delineates in its statement are associated with healthy, progressing, exciting and ALIVE people.

Traditional masculinity, the APA asserts, is marked by "stoicism, competitiveness, dominance, and aggression-- is, on the whole, harmful."  Really?  What exactly does the APA find objectionable about the cool competence of  Chester "Sully" Sullenberger?  Or the competitiveness of Steven Jobs? Or the take-charge attitude of the New York firefighters on 9/11?  Each of those "masculine" attributes marked by something the APA as harmful was instrumental in achieving something great and sometimes saving lives.  Under those guidelines, Theodore Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and George S. Patton were all pathological. 

Not to be outdone, corporate America jumped in.  Gillette introduced its preachy, virtue signaling "We Believe in the Best In Men" ad campaign, stereotyping male behavior and imploring, "It's been going on far too long.  We can't laugh it off.  Making the same old excuses."  The ad then throws in a snippet about sexual assault and sexual harassment as if it automatically follows that this impulse is an immutable aspect of male identity.  The words and imagery of the ad is unmistakable. 

Things may have changed since I studied marketing in business school.  In my class, we studied topics like market segmentation, product positioning, and ad campaigns that flattered the consumers in your target market or promised a sexier, slimmer, smarter, or more chic consumer.  It would have been unthinkable to propose an ad campaign to hector its target market or tell them how deficient they are.  But Gillette's ad doesn't say, "Our product will improve you," but rather that "You need to improve." 

And along with the stereotyping, Gillette opened itself up to charges of hypocrisy.  Within hours of the release of its ad, social media was filled with earlier ads of Gillette that objectified women-- one with beautiful young women in skin tight pants with "Gillette" prominently displayed across their backsides.

But aside from the stereotyping and hypocrisy, what is most disquieting about the APA and Gillette is that they both have taken it upon themselves to be the standard bearers of values.  The APA is supposed to be devoted to the promotion of mental health.  Gillette is supposed to sell shaving products.  Instead, each drifted out of its lane into roles that do not belong to them.

Who appointed them and why are they taking on this role?

In my view, it's because the Left has largely been successful at attacking, diminishing or dismantling the social structures that have been vital to the formation of men.  The family unit, especially the black family, is under siege.  A full quarter of men grow up in a single parent household.  Over 70% of African American births are to single women.  70% of teachers are women.  The Left has turned on football, another bastion of maleness.  The CTE hysteria has reduced participation rates in this activity that emphasizes teamwork, sacrifice, and accountability.  The Boy Scouts, another traditional structure for the formation of men and values has been attacked.  They finally caved in, took in girls and changed the name to "Scouts."  It may not make it anyway and is flirting with bankruptcy.  Organized religion, which the Left openly scorns has been another vehicle for teaching virtuous men.  With the erosion of these structures, others have attempted to fill the void.

But corporate America and the APA are ill equipped to fill this role.  Male virtue should not be taught by the marketing department at P & G.  And I certainly would not want the APA guidelines forming the core set of beliefs of my son.  I do not want an organization telling him there is something wrong with appropriate risk taking or competitiveness.  Now, you're intruding on my turf and I resent that. 

The misplaced stereotyping and false messaging from the APA and Gillette was revealed last week when a young state trooper was killed in an accident near my home.  Off duty officer Chris Lambert (an Iraq War veteran) stopped to help at the scene of a crash during a snowstorm when he was hit and killed by another car.  The family's statement to the press summarized his life, "he left this world in the way in which he lived: putting the well-being and happiness of those around him before his own."

Now THAT was a man- voluntarily putting himself in harm's way under dangerous conditions to protect others.

We really don't need Gillette or the APA or their cheerleaders in the APA lecturing us about fake and empty phrases like "toxic masculinity" or "the patriarchy."  We need to strengthen the structures that produce men like Officer Lambert and then celebrate them.   The reality is that men like Officer Lambert are actually quite the norm.  The Left isn't paying attention.