I think this is a serious issue. A lack of a good image of what manliness is, leads idiots to think that things like "I don't floss", "I don't eat my vegetables" or "i cant rite gud" are manly. And it leads to too many of portrayals of men in the media as stupid, useless boors and/or drunken idiots.
This post got me thinking, thanks.
What do you think caused the initial deterioration of gender roles? To me it seams like the problem can be traced to three things: modern technology, women's rights (and the political correctness than must follow), and television/magazine media.
It used to be that men did the jobs that women were not capable of doing. Obviously this was because men were built stronger and faster than women (most likely because strong men/weak women means increased reproduction). However, modern technology has evened the playing field, and with a few exceptions, women are now capable of performing the same tasks as men.
Enter the 1940's and World War 2. With the men fighting the war, many women had to join the ranks of the working force. Propaganda like this served to purposely blur the gender line and encourage women to help do their part:
When the men came back, however, the women kept working. And as technology progressed, more and more jobs were either created, or augmented, that women were physically capable of performing as well. And, at the same time, more and more "manly" occupations were becoming automated. We forced both genders into neutral roles of managing machines that do the jobs that once belonged to particular genders.
It wasn't the generation that fought and worked that was affected, though; it was their children. They were the ones who only knew a world of mixed gender roles. I don't think it's a coincidence that at the same time that generation was maturing, we were graced with the stereotypical "dumb oaf husband" on television, which didn't really come along until the 80's and 90's (I'm thinking Homer Simpson, Al Bundy).
Now the media simply perpetuates the problem. This is where I think cognitive dissonance comes into play. I believe that naturally people will take the path of least resistance unless given a compelling reason to do otherwise. Naturally people will not want to brush their teeth, eat their vegetables, hunt their own food or build their own house. We've managed to create a society now that doesn't require intelligence to survive. I think the images on TV just serve to reinforce the path of least resistance.
I should end by saying it's clearly a cultural problem, and not a humanity problem. Less developed countries still have firmly defined gender roles. It really isn't a "problem" as long as technology lasts. However, if we were to run out of oil tomorrow, I think the more primitive countries would certainly have the upper hand.
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