Tea at Trianon: Feminism and the War on Masculinity

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Monday, May 30, 2016

Feminism and the War on Masculinity

From The Maccabee Society:

After the onslaught of multiple feminist movements, the sexual revolution of 60s onward, and the gender bending movements of today, men find themselves in an oddly precarious position in society. Not only have these trends undermined men’s role as protector and provider; they have demonized manhood itself and hope to force a revolution in thinking. First, feminists simply requested equal political status with men through voting, then equal economic status through employment, then equal sexual status through contraception and abortion. Now, radical feminists and the LGBT community hope to erase divisions of sex altogether and demand equal natures, either through mass indoctrination (political correctness and “gender acceptance”) or subsidized sex-change operations.

Instead of addressing this reality by reconsidering their rejection of traditional roles, feminists today now demand that men change their very natures. This comes as a result of feminism’s past successes: the workplace has become feminized; the Church has become feminized; politics has become feminized; art and literature have become feminized; and morality and education have become feminized. Unfortunately, rather than having the intended effect of making women happier (which it hasn’t), this has only made men sadder.

Boys today grow up in a confusing world that has marginalized them completely. Often fatherless, they grow up with no actual role models except perhaps superheroes and hip hop performers. Their education only reinforces this denial of masculinity. Rather than reading about courageous virtuous men, they now read revised histories characterizing great men as cruel sexist pigs; rather than reading exciting stories about men going on adventures, they read boring stories about young women of color overcoming adversity; instead of seeing intellectual pursuits as a desirable component to a complete life for men, they only see sports as the only outlet for their manhood. Not surprisingly, many will end their education at high school at a loss with what to do with themselves while the girls go on to college, wondering where all the boys went. (Read more.)

julygirl said...: Yes, it is a confusing world for them because the generation of men who understood what is required of a man, and were able to pass this on to the younger generation, are dying off, as is the generation who were under their influence. My Grandfather knew how to teach his sons what was required of a man, but his generation and his son's generation are gone. Many men today fluctuate between weakness and aggression with no information on how to balance either state. They are baffled over what society expects of them because society itself has no order.; May 30, 2016 at 4:09:00 PM EDT