the violence of the patriarchy

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The first act of violence that patriarchy demands of males is not violence toward women. Instead patriarchy demands of all males that they engage in acts of psychic self-mutilation, that they kill off the emotional parts of themselves. If an individual is not successful in emotionally crippling himself, he can count on patriarchal men to enact rituals of power that will assault his self-esteem.

— bell hooks

Source: feminishblog

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This is so amazing and so amazingly, blindingly true that it strikes one as something already known, as something obvious.

But of course it isn't, it is something we rarely if ever think about. We (as males) just feel a disquieting sense of something gone wrong when we are presented with the dominant culture's portrayal of all things 'men,' and 'manly' as puerile, immature, uber-macho, and idiotic.

We are more than that, we enlightened men, and we should always remember that and strive to be more than that in everyday life.