On Masculinity
Konrad Neumann
The concept of manhood and masculinity is a common theme in the articles of Liberation Front members. From members like GW Junior, Shadow, Aries Sun, Vincent Pain and many others used the issue of masculinity as a form of critique and attack. We had seen strange and distasteful comments from these people. We had seen recent articles like WE NEED REAL MEN GOV!!!! but is masculinity so simple as liking people with big breast? What do they mean real men? How do they define masculinity? The issue of masculinity is very interesting and while I am not a sociologist, I would like to share my thoughts on this issue. I will first talk about what I call eClassical masculinity (the common view of masculinity) and then offer alternative views of masculinity.
Masculinity itself does not exist in nature but a social construct. It is a cultural device and not biological. The ideals and tenets of masculinity changes throughout history and is not constrained by space and time. Therefore, masculinity should not be understood as an tangible item that men can lose or be taken away.
But what is masculinity? I do not think there is one clear definite answer; however, the most common understanding of of this term are economic and hegemonic masculinity. Be it of political/legitimate power like that of a CP or respected politician (in this game it can be expanded to military leaders) or economic masculinity which in this game is linked with strength (means to obtain strength and high damage). I would classify these two forms of masculinity as eClassical masculinity as it is the most traditional and common understanding of the concept of masculinity.
If we look at PTOers in general (be it in eBE and abroad) it is more or less an issue of masculinity for they either seek treasure and/ or power. Marketplace masculinity or economic masculinity is very interesting as the marketplace is a highly genderized. The contestation of MU's strengths and what they can offer members, etc is very engendered arena where tensions are high. Not only does it base on actual strengths it also equates to the spending power and economical success. The marketplace is an arena where masculinity is tested and proved. The more the individual or MU can offer, the more damage an MU can unleash, demonstrates prowess in masculinity. With the nature of this game where people can spend real life money into this game, it is also a means of public proclamation masculinity as well. For under no traditional form of masculinity in RL media, portray a homeless person as the archetype of masculinity. The ability to spend real life cash into this game (which is not cheap especially if one upstarts a big MU) shows that the person must have the economic resources to do so in the first place. Means of survival are taken care of and the surplus moneys can be spent on recreational activities like eRepublik. I would say in the case of GW and VP, they seek more economical (base on their past demands for state funds for their MU and private programs) masculinity while Shadow, ChristijanXD, and Thorin etc seeks hegemonic.
Why are they doing this? While there are political and economic reasons, there are correlations for an argument base on masculinity . For men are in constant contestation with other men. They compare themselves to others, trying to outdo others. It is to have power over other men and women. The term masculinity is that of a comparison of the self to others. It is a relentless test against anything that is perceived as weak or feminine. Therefore, it is not uncommon both in the game and in real life to see correlation of masculinity with sexism and homophobia.
As mentioned already, men are in a constant competition with others. We can think eClassical masculinity as a homosocial enactment in which manhood is demonstrated for other men's approval. As being masculine as being anti-feminine, men do feats of risk, challenges, aggressions, and other "non-sissy stuff" to seek approval of other men. Many fear a poor self prospection. This fear of being not masculine (feminine/ homosexual) is a great fear which many faces and often the case reacts in feats of aggression and violence in hopes to obtain approval from others.
This explains the articles of the PTOers quite well. I think to add insult to injury, we in eBE have a "Gay Government." Not only do they do not have the power they seek, the people who controls apparatus of governance are real life are the antithesis of the archetype masculine men. Therefore, we see GW's and other articles about needing a real men government. They are using the Queerness of Valeyard and myself as an attack. I do not think others would stop voting or supporting the government solely base on our orientation nor is it effective an effective political attack. Their intent is to offend people, trying to hurt them but more importantly, an act of aggression in hopes of seeking approval with his cohort of friends and supports within Liberation Front. We also see in the past of comments attacking MaryamQ's gender etc. The reason for their attacks on MaryamQ is not much different. As ChristijanXD comments for MaryamQ to return to the kitchen etc, it is his attempt to dominate and seek power to control that of the non-masculine. For there are no means of physical violence in this game but verbal attacks is the closest thing to violence in the game.
I personally am not a fan of the eClassical masculinity. I do not think it is healthy nor productive. For there is no need for such contestation. It does not bring any good or benefits to the society. On the contrary I see it only bring more negatives. It brings hostility and bigotry out of some. However, will they admit it or not, it tells a lot about the people who use hateful language and comments. It shows their inner anguish and self perception. To hurt others to boost themselves up while ethically questionable; tells that the victims of violence are not the only person that is suffering. It might be empowering to know players who do questionable things like PTO's, stealing treasuries, trolling, and other forms of abusive and "violent" conducts are suffering a lot more than the victims. While we should not feel happy and enjoy schadenfreuden, but I think this concept is very important for us to understand.
With that said, I think we should have a rethink of what masculinity should be. It is not about enjoying pictures with breast for it would be strange to call lesbians masculine. In addition, many women also fall into eClassical masculinity minus the gender constraint. I think the ideal solution is to have a post gender construct world where there is equality in the social construct for all genders. (male female, intersex, etc) It is based on self security and of ethics. Until that day comes, my ideal form of masculinity reflects on the ideals of post gender construct. The term masculine should not be base on contestation but of being self secure. While this has links to the classical way of understanding the term, the ideal form of masculinity should have actual self security that is not base on perception. For a term that is base on perception breeds vulnerability and of fear. This fear breeds contestation and more insecurity which breeds negative results in our overall game and real life communities. That means being self secure is vital to the ideal form of masculinity where even if you are gender non-conforming, the most important thing for that individual to be at ease with his identity. It is my opinion, that it is more manly for a man who is at ease with who he is be it LGBT straight, etc those who attack him for being different. Lastly, I think there should be a moral component to masculinity. It should not be that of power (economic, political, and/ or physical in real life). It should include doing the right thing. I understand that there are many different forms of ethics but in this case, I would argue for the deontological ethics. For motive is vital. Despite the consequence, the motive is more telling of the individual. Actions should not be taken in expense of another person. As Kant said, "Nothing in the world—indeed nothing even beyond the world—can possibly be conceived which could be called good without qualification except a good will." Take the moral high road and in many cases, it is more risky and challenging to trek in this path.
In short: Masculinity should not be a struggle from without but from within.
Comments
Amazing article, And thanks for adding pictures :3
voted
nice article
I looked at the pictures. 😃
Meow! ♥
nice article, vote and support o/
Ich liebe dich
Evans mi amor ♥
voted
"It is my opinion, that it is more manly for a man who is at ease with who he is be it LGBT straight, etc those who attack him for being different."
YES
confidence is sexy
I see what you did there... interesting
That is quite an article for eRep. Sweet. And extra credit for Kant quote.
Voted, was going to waffle here but I don't think I'd stop myself
NEEDS MORE GREELING!!!
" I think the ideal solution is to have a post gender construct world where there is equality in the social construct for all genders."
Hard Vote
I have to admit that in certain circumstances, I know that my behavior before ptoers was offensive and incorrect. So I want to apologize the community for it. Is important not to mix real life with the game.
All Different, All Equal.
Learning everyday Mate o7
Free people can really work together. Competition, being boss, being slave is a system used a lot, but it is in itself not the best system. Look at the real world full of richness and poverty, even in the highest developed nations. Worse are the seeming inevitable wars.
In this game we see the same as in real life, but we see also the cooperation at equal base being very successful. So yes we can.
Voted.
i agree with you for a part, but you forget one thing. We are not always a victim. i was locking the article of G.W.JUNIOR, it was the humor.
We can have serious debate but why continue to make a debate about that, all know that's stupid to say : we need men .... Don't worry about them.
The wise person is not in the ignorance, the stupid does not try to understand.
I'd put a lot of this under the heading of real world biases that I don't feel have a place in the game world. There are plenty of in game reasons to dislike a person or a group. There's no reason to bring personal bigotries into the game.
tl;dr
x3
Interesting article, Konnie
Somehow made me think of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQucWXWXp3k
Wow, great poem that.. 🙂
That is really powerful!
powerful? It's about a fat chick who keeps wandering over how fat she is in stead of going out and doing some sport. I wanted to comment "run a triahtlon in stead of nagging about this sh*t,, woman. Let's see if you'll still cry about being fat then".
Seriously if you want to fake smart arrogance at least do it well
1. She's not talking about how fat she is but how she is teached to grow in instead of growing out.
2. It's a whole culture, a whole set of mechanisms that teach women to act like this. Some are hidden, some are not, but fact is there is still informal inequality of gender.
3. Information is the key to power and change in today's society, it's by communicating that we can advance on such issues.
Did you at least listen to that speech? Because calling your arguments moronic would be insulting the morons themselves.
oh she mad!...
Hahahah you'd love me to share your anger, isn't it? 😁 Well sorry to disappoint you, but this post is simply meant to set the truth right for any other comment reader. Pseudo-intellectual mistruths are only dangerous when they are believed.
But go on, let me behold the intensity of that anger you hold towards people that can send your "arguments" back in a corner with a fingerpitch. I'm in dire need of some entertainment. 🙂
oh yannis, don't you ever give up on making it so easy for me to troll you.
but I still love you, my dear. ❤
oh and you're wrong about this all being about anger for me. I rarely get angry. You should ask Olv, Jofroi or procuste, who more or less know me well enough IRL to tell you that I see all this as one big joke and treat everything in this game as such. Everything is for the lulz or tactical gain (with the end point of lulz). The day I take this game serious or at the very least play with my RL emotions in this game, is the day you'll see me quit.
"Oh no she's beating mah ass, let's call my doings just some random trolling and discretely move on" pffff, cowardice 😛
Meh, your blinded if you think you do not involve your RL. That frustration that you try so much to express, that domination you try to have on Konrad, pure RL related.
I'm insecure about the amount of gold I posses...
Wauw, quite impressing piece of written prose.
Fake and gay propaganda.
And I was there hoping for a constructive and thought-out answer. Silly me.
who are you, the russian police??
Konrad is a PTO'er pas it on.
evidences?
his comments have just confirmed Konrad's article.
True xD
To my observation, your point about confidence in your own identity is key. There is lots of healthy competition between players who respect one another and remain friends, but these same players are there to support and help one another when needed, and they never put another player down on the basis of an irrelevant quality like gender or orientation. These are the real man in the game in may opinion, no matter what they have or have not achieved.
btw, as you mentioned, there are quite a few women who have achieved in those "masculine" spheres of politics, economy and the military in this game. I am going to publish an article, that names some of them, and I hope some of you will be able to add more to my list.
And while I would love to have added something as wonderful as Chihiroh's poetic link, this is what I thought of: http://i.imgur.com/WpQEUIT.png
Examples of real women exhibiting "masculine" traits in game: http://www.erepublik.com/en/article/influential-women-of-erepublik-2365042/1/20
\o Konrad
O-ho-ho; what am I hearing; somebody has mentioned my name. It is only Konrad; writing his usual philosophical stuff. He didn't criticize me lot this time; that's why I'll give him vote.
v 45
Your Kant quotation isn't really supportive of your argument, as he meant the good will is the only thing to assess the moral value of an action. Taking the moral high road as means to imply moral superiority over others is thus, according to Kant, immoral.
And hell, if you talk about masculinity, you don't need to look any further than me to know everyone else in erep is a bit of a girl. I can lift your mom over my head while I beat your dad at arm wrestling.
Oh and about morals, Kant's understanding of morals does indeed mean that in practice almost everyone is an immoral fucker.
What book exactly have you read about Kant?
Grundlegung zur Metaphysik der Sitten, Prolegomena and parts of other works.
I don't see where in Kant's philosophy you see that "seeking moral superiority" is a bad intention. Moreover it contradicts with the principle of Categorical Imperatives.
Seeking moral superiority is bad as a maxim because it is an action that coincides with duty, but is not motivated by duty. Therefor it has no moral worth.
I don't see how it can contradict the C.I., which is specified towards actions with moral value and states you should act through a maxim that should be universally followed. The maxim is to do act X in situation Y to achieve Z. Z being moral superiority is not something you'd want to see universally followed.