Gender?

[sleigh]

Somewhat sideways to the topic of gun violence, netmouse pointed me to an interesting article on gender and violence. Here it is: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jackson-katz/men-gender-gun-violence_b_2308522.html -- go read it, think about it, and you can come back and tell us what you think about the gendering of violent tendencies.

EDITED TO ADD:  Apropos to this topic: Bushmaster's "Man Card" campaign for the rifle used at Newton. The campaign has since been taken down from their website (which does show some compassion on their part), but buzzfeed has captures from it: http://www.buzzfeed.com/scott/bushmasters-shockingly-awful-man-card-campaign

Comments

[penpusher.livejournal.com]

One of the biggest problems, as I see it, is that the discussion is tabled immediately, "out of respect for those that died," which means that any talk of what to do is typically left alone until it gets cold.

I think that also has to do with how emotional it gets, as those that favor fewer guns in our society step up to make those points, those that simply say it's a mental health problem make their points and nothing is typically done about anything.

It's good to finally examine the aspects of the male brain and masculinity here, as it does seem to be at the crossroads of everything to do with the issue. I have even suggested in my LJ that perhaps male and female brains are different in either their wiring or their physicality, just as we have those differences below! And wouldn't that have a bearing on the process of living?

"Big boys don't cry" and "be tough" were two MANtras that helped define what this male dominated society expected. And surely the suppression of natural emotions must have something to do with this process as well. Women and girls are permitted to express the full range of emotions they feel. And even though I don't think the phrases here get said much anymore, in popular culture and among friends and classmates, men and boys are still pretty much ridiculed for expressing sadness and crying.

This isn't sideways to the disussion at all; it's germane.

[sleigh.livejournal.com]

To the last point: agreed.