Cornell University informs us, through Robb Willer's research, that men who get their masculinity threatened, respond by supporting the Iraq war, wanting to buy an SUV, and hating on gays.
Ook: that was too many commas. It might not happen again.
Read the press release and then ask yourself if you or someone you know falls into this? I think the war and SUV angle can be attributed to a yearning for a positive association with strength. Myself, I see the Iraq war and SUV driving as symbols of weakness. Violence (for both of these are expressions of violence) is a refuge for those who insufficiently express their souls. True strength is Jesus-like, or Ghandi-esque. Who is stronger than he who is free to choose his action?
Homophobia is bit harder for me to address, since I have to admit to a fair measure of such in my own make-up. I get queasy seeing same-gender couples together. The fact that my best boyhood friend was powerfully homosexual and died of AIDS fills me with repressed emotions of many flavors. The fact that I value my gay friends while struggling with their definition of self is as far as I can get on my journey to this moment. Threatening my masculinity wouldn't change how I feel towards homosexuality, though. At least, I imagine it wouldn't.
A guiding principle here at the Home of the Future is nonviolence: specifically, "Tear down no thing, build up all people." If tearing down a man's masculinity predisposes him to favor violence, then we all have a responsibility to honor men's masculinity.
For the good of each other and the good of the planet.
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