The call for masculinity is itself compelling. In this case, the term is being used to describe reigning in extravagances. In Kabbalistic teachings, this action of strictness and containment is actually considered feminine. The qualities of "judgement" and "severity" are feminine, while the qualities of "mercy" and "understanding" are considered masculine. It seems that such ideas are culturally coloured. In our moment, for instance, it sure appears to be the case that femininity is associated with permissiveness (mercifulness...? meh, not so much), and masculinity with severity, containment, being goal oriented and the like. The first time I heard a lady tell me about the crisis in masculinity, I laughed pretty hard, and said, "Do you really think that there can be a crisis in one gender and not the other? And once you've determined THAT, who's to say which gender is the one in crisis?" If one considers healthy motherhood, one can see why the Kabbalists would perceive severity as a feminine quality: it's the mother's duty and obligation to reign in the extravagances of the child, to help shape their kids into viable members of society. I'm sure there are studies out there that trace the development of the idea that the mother is the permissive one, while it's the father who's the scary disciplinarian. Often enough, I wonder how much of these gender ideas we have are mainly an outgrowth of a short period in the 20th century in the West (mainly the 1950s-1990s... maybe starting earlier, like WWI?)
A very valuable comment. Thank you for it! What a great remark that is, about a crisis in one gender but not in the other. I am going to think about men in novels who seem to be scary disciplinarians. One who comes to mind is Virginia Woolf's father, who is represented in To the Lighthouse as Mr. Ramsay, who has a grim idea of "alphabetic knowledge" that even he cannot master. Woolf's father, you probably know, was the first editor of the Dictionary of National Biography. Her mother died when Woolf was in her early teens. She remembers her father as remote, rigid, very strong, but full of self-pity.
Thanks Allen. Fascinating read. I had no idea of the culture of the tech companies. Wow.
You wrote: "This is the now the signature of the woke journalist: empathy instead of information, feelings instead of facts. Inside this fuzziness, however, is a steel core of smug superiority."
The call for masculinity is itself compelling. In this case, the term is being used to describe reigning in extravagances. In Kabbalistic teachings, this action of strictness and containment is actually considered feminine. The qualities of "judgement" and "severity" are feminine, while the qualities of "mercy" and "understanding" are considered masculine. It seems that such ideas are culturally coloured. In our moment, for instance, it sure appears to be the case that femininity is associated with permissiveness (mercifulness...? meh, not so much), and masculinity with severity, containment, being goal oriented and the like. The first time I heard a lady tell me about the crisis in masculinity, I laughed pretty hard, and said, "Do you really think that there can be a crisis in one gender and not the other? And once you've determined THAT, who's to say which gender is the one in crisis?" If one considers healthy motherhood, one can see why the Kabbalists would perceive severity as a feminine quality: it's the mother's duty and obligation to reign in the extravagances of the child, to help shape their kids into viable members of society. I'm sure there are studies out there that trace the development of the idea that the mother is the permissive one, while it's the father who's the scary disciplinarian. Often enough, I wonder how much of these gender ideas we have are mainly an outgrowth of a short period in the 20th century in the West (mainly the 1950s-1990s... maybe starting earlier, like WWI?)
A very valuable comment. Thank you for it! What a great remark that is, about a crisis in one gender but not in the other. I am going to think about men in novels who seem to be scary disciplinarians. One who comes to mind is Virginia Woolf's father, who is represented in To the Lighthouse as Mr. Ramsay, who has a grim idea of "alphabetic knowledge" that even he cannot master. Woolf's father, you probably know, was the first editor of the Dictionary of National Biography. Her mother died when Woolf was in her early teens. She remembers her father as remote, rigid, very strong, but full of self-pity.
Thanks Allen. Fascinating read. I had no idea of the culture of the tech companies. Wow.
You wrote: "This is the now the signature of the woke journalist: empathy instead of information, feelings instead of facts. Inside this fuzziness, however, is a steel core of smug superiority."
Exactly! Very well said.
Nothing masculine here