Theroux Masculinity

While men benefit from male privilege in today's’ society they suffer from the ideals of masculinity. Society is more or less catered to men, whether it’s their salary or when simply looking at how men and women are raised. Despite the privileges men have in a society it’s also created this concept of masculinity that cause men to suffer. Men often suffer emotionally from these standards pushed upon them because masculinity has become a toxic narrow concept trapping men between it’s meaning and being themselves. In the story “Being A Man” by Paul Theroux he describes masculinity as “...a hideous crippling lie; it not only insists on indifference and connives at superiority, it is also by it’s nature destructive- emotionally damaging and socially harmful.” Men today must suffer in silence because masculinity as Theroux said does not allow for emotional release.
Since it does not fit the image of strength and dominance projected onto men many feel that to open up about these abusive situations would make them “less of a man.” Men suffer from being boxed into this idea that man equals masculinity, when in truth this idea is doing them more harm than good.Theroux also states that being a man means “...be stupid, be unfeeling, obedient, soldierly and insulting and abusive.” These aspects of masculinity intertwine with being a man and make it seem like if a man does not do these things there is something wrong with him. His manhood is attacked and he is ridiculed and further pushed into becoming a callous unfeeling