I wrote a text for the Mädchenmannschaft on current popular masculinity debates here in Germany. I especially took a look at Ralf Bönt’s book Das entehrte Geschlecht (The Dishonored Gender) which is … odd. He expresses his respect for the achievements of feminism, but his feminism apparently ended with the Second Wave/Alice Schwarzer. Basically he argues that women have achieved everything and now the ordinary male is at the bottom, stuck between gender roles, a hazy ‘men-as-perpetrators’ clichée and the pressure to work hard. He makes quite a few good observations, yet his analysis always stays at the surface, binary and with a simplistic view on societal structures/processes. His text – and the discussion in general – could benefit from talking about masculinities in plural – toxic, modern, macho, progressive, etc.
Speaking of masculinities: I’m finally at that point in my studies where I can tackle the big (M.A.) thesis. The Thesis! I’m thinking about doing something on (critical) masculinities. My idea is to look at the masculinities that drive hateful, trolling etc comments, especially by men* on feminist/progressive blogs. I’m not sure how to approach that yet, but that’s the basic idea. Stay tuned.
Thoughts?