On masculinity and morality
More from Guyland toward the end of the book (page 387):
“In the end we have to develop a new model of masculinity. Young men must understand on a deep level that being a real man isn’t going along with what you know in your heart to be cruel, inhumane, stupid, humiliating, and dangerous.”
A few thoughts:
This brings to mind a very disturbing scene in Leaving Las Vegas where one of the main characters, who is a prostitute, is with a group of young men in a hotel room. One of the men is very shy and gets egged on by his friends who cheer as he sexually assaults her.
The novel I plan to publish this year has to do with a narrator who has been in sort of addicted fetal position for a long time but has to take action because of an intense situation. Righteous action trumping passive addiction.
“Passivity” is an odd word. Often it is a good thing: calmness, meditation, gentleness. But it can also involve sins of omission: passing by a dying homeless person on the sidewalk or Nazi soldiers who said they were only following orders.