A premise of my work on male gender identity and politics is that there is already some significant minority of males who reject (consciously or in their being in the world) the dominant male gender identity and role. I ask: around which characteristics and what behaviors might these males eventually discover each other and then combine into a new gender identity?
First, they would understand how hard it is for a male in this patriarchal society to express love and be in loving relationships of mutuality. They would consciously be in pursuit of healing this wound in themselves and of sharing the rewards of love with other men and women (thanks to bell hooks for articulating this.)
Men who reject Real Manhood would desire the joys and challenges of nurturing the young, the sick, the old, and their much-of-the-time healthy friends. They would want access to as much of their emotional and spiritual life as possible and they would be ready to struggle against cultures that seek to stifle it in the name of efficiency and order.
These men would reject violence for the deep hurt it does to the community and they would prepare themselves to struggle fiercely and with respect for others to protect that which is precious in their families, community and world.
They would work to accept the existential vulnerability of their corporal life in a world of uncertainty. By accepting vulnerability they would give up the illusion of control which drives so much of the will to dominate.
C.D.Knight
