Are todays men less masculine?

Yes I definitely think so. On Memorial day today I was reflecting on our military heroes, tough determined men who went after what they wanted. The men of my father's generation were all like that- almost toxic masculinity.
Not so today. On a recent date with a much younger man, he could not resist fumbling with his cell phone. On a dinner date with a woman! Todays men have been emasculated by their cell. Has anybody else noticed that?

 

If you aren't adverse to Men of your Father's Generation, there are still some of us out here

 

What?

 

No. Men are not emasculated by their cell phones.

 

I wouldn't say they're emasculated but there seems to be something wrong. Both boys and girls seem to be on their phone instead of interacting with humans. And I 'worry' for girls because a lot of boys in their generation seem to think that porn is like some sort of sex tutorial. And reading that which some write/ask in forums makes it seem as though everything is tickbox.

Like they've a list of things to do but very little understanding that it's not about 'them' and the girl isn't an object.

 

These are some pretty basic generalizations. Can you give more specific examples? I have a teenage son and I don’t see him and his friends as any less masculine.
They definitely are on their devices too much but when I was a teenager my parents said the same thing about tv, video games and my Walkman

 

There seems to be far more toxic masculinity today than I remember. It's those very cellphones and social networks to blame.

Most men used to be polite, especially to strangers unless racist of course. Now even women have gone nuts. Remember KAREN!

 

How are they to blame?

 

If you're not already aware, then best not to publicize anything. You should've been around this site say 10-20 yrs ago. We were way ahead of FB, Twitter, etc. in terms of toxic trolls. We learned how to deal with it.

Simple moderation is all it takes. Now consider all the toxic sites today with virtually no moderation, or it's virtual moderation by algorithms.

Either way, you can see that Free Speech has lost its meaning and now anything goes online and in the real world

 

When I was young guys generally bragged about how cheap their clobber was and didnt spend a lot of money on haircuts or fussy grooming products. That was for the catwalk, pop stardom, over pampered rich guys etc. Now a guy cries if their fucking trainers get scuffed and spends more than a half hour in the bathroom primping even if they are just going to work in a warehouse. They spend as much on hair and perfume products as women do. I guess that is what the women want and the men have decided to be more like them. Plumage instead of rough and ready. I am too old for this modern dance. I have never been a fan of the fashionista thing ( I like my women with personal style that doesnt come from a catwalk as well.)
It is a brave new world and a generational thing. I have never liked 'male flummery' from any era from ancient to modern. I do not mean this diatribe as a direct spitefulness of the modern man but definitely not my ting. A man can be a man regardless of what clothes they wear or how long they spend in the bathroom preening. I do find it sad that so many people no matter what their economic level are spending money they dont really have, aspire to have or have way too much of on essentially narcissistic comercialism.

 

Remember the "ME" generation?
Combine that with the social pressure from friends and online videos where everyone thinks they're an influencer and you can understand why men want to wear makeup and look good. It's for their followers as well as their egos.

If you want a prime example, look no further than our dear leader who spends hours primping himself in front of mirrors. Evidently he does most of it himself.

MAGA FOLLOW THE LEADER just like in the children's game.

But that doesn't mean they're any less toxic/masculine, if anything more so. Then again you have extremely sick people like George Santos who despite being gay was toxic for many reasons, but tried to look good, lol.

 

In the words of The Who "It's a teenage wasteland, they're all wasted!" I dont think the post internet generation knows shit from shine-ola. The information superhighway is jammed up with a lot of dis-information. We live in the age of politics of Confusion running hand in hand with the Politics of Fear. We are beyond smoke and mirrors because the smoke and mirrors are redundant. Straight in your face lies and manipulation sold by sound bites and attention deficit disorder by the masses. The reality and perception of everything is more Kafkaesque than enlightenment and wisdom. Very little focus buried in a lot of distraction and immersion in virtual unreality.

 

I'm sorry, but none of this explains how cell phones are responsible for a supposed increase in toxic masculinity.

 

Speaking of the Who, listen to Roger Daltery’s voice, masculine along with Jim Morrison and just about every band from that era. The male singers I hear today on shows like American Idol sound like little girls, no masculinity. Okay not that of a good example but something I’ve thought for years. Maybe men are becoming more emasculated or feminine or both. There’s been some major cultural shifts in the last 50 years.
Not all younger guys act feminine but it’s a way higher percentage than when I grew up.
We’re losing masculine identity and rock & roll.

 

So, is it toxic masculinity, or is it emasculated ? They are not the same?

 

I am one of those .1%. Yes, it is wat too small of a portion of America. Also, I know many women braver than most men today. I believe there are many influences that are degrading what is means to be masculine

 

I grew up doing more masculin things.I was taught by my grandfather to fix cars and i was doing local races by 16 in los angelas.The men like my father and grandfather were tough guys with loads of tats and no time to comb their hair.When i do go on dates i do see a pretty noticable diffrence in thoes men then my father.to be fair on boths sides it does matter where you grew up.I grew up in a rual town so men normally were tougher so they could survive.part of the reason i havent settled down yet is im looking for someone masculin.At the end of the day yes i defintly think there have been some shifts.

 

It means both guys and girls feel they can get away with treating others badly, because they hide behind a degree of internet anonymity. They can say and do as they please on some websites. It's not just blatant sexism, it's amplifying assholish behavior in general by giving everyone a bullhorn, and it's bleeding over into people's off site interactions.

 

There have been plenty of high pitched singers too. Robert Plant, Ronnie James Dio, and Axel Rose that still had plenty of swagger.


To @Rhonda1234
Everyone has traits that are considered feminine and masculine. We're all yin/yang. It can be harmonizing or damaging, depending on how each individual chooses to act. It's actually just called being human.

 

Hahahaha. I agree with you but using Axel Rose as an example of masculinity made me laugh.