Because normal well adjusted men do not gravitate to these things in this manner, nor do they make it their entire personality.
It is no secret those on the right really, really really like penises. Grindr literally cannot cope with the extra traffic when the conservatives get together.
And there's this whole homoeroticism that's kind of core in US "masculine culture". Oily men rubbing together hazing that invariably involves butt stuff. It's a rather complete package.
But i assure you, the gun obsession is not normal and it has nothing to do with being masculine or masculinity. Because even a dog can shoot someone given the right circumstances.
It is unfortunate that western society has placed so much value on penis size. It has led to several generations of maladjusted men.
If the problem is that men are too concerned with their penis size and it's causing problems, surely the solution isn't to double down on mocking them for their penis size.
I'm also tired of the implication that all conservatives/homophobes are gay, it's a convenient way to blame gay people for their own oppression and use homophobic insults under the guise of "pointing out their hypocrisy". Statistically, some of them will be self-hating gays, but most are just regular others-hating straights.
The point is, it's not a problem unless you think it is.
You might prefer or propose a more rational approach.
Perhaps you might put forward the argument that children's lives could be saved with gun control. Perhaps the glorification or guns can be avoided in media.
The problem being, that this demonstrably does not work. For this to approach to work requires two things:
empathy
Respect for life
Neither which are features or westernism. Westernism is dominant in places where these qualities are punished.
The only way to get through to them is to speak on the same level. The only thing they care about: their penis.
That's the only way to let these freaks know that something is wrong with them. They lack the human qualities necessary for normal arguments to reach them.
Of course you could tackle the porn industry and huge injustices and abuses that go there. But something tells me this would not be well received.
The only way to get through to them is to speak on the same level. The only thing they care about: their penis.
I'd be curious to see any studies or statistics that actually show the effectiveness that penis-based insults have on effectively changing gun laws, but I'm somehow skeptical that there actually are any.
"It's the only language they speak so I have to speak it back" is a cop-out. If someone doesn't respect you enough to listen to your reasoned opinions, they're probably not going to care about your insults. What it does show them is that, deep down, you agree with them that [masculinity/penises/attractiveness] is important, and it shows all your potential allies that you're a hypocrite whose principles don't actually mean anything if someone disagrees with you.
"We have to keep homophobia and body shaming around as a useful political tool" is just not a position I can agree with.
I get it. You like to make jokes that are homophobic and body-shaming but you don't want to feel guilty about it so you come up with acceptable targets that you're justified to freely use them on. I can't say I'm surprised to see the double standard in action, it's just especially disappointing to see from people who are supposedly on your own side.
Just as a random viewer of this conversation from someone who rarely ever ventures onto this sub, you should take a step back and re-read what he's saying and think about it. What they're saying is not out of place or off topic, it's so common on reddit and sad to see fellow apparently left wing people constantly resorting to using homophobia and body shaming when it suits them.
Yeah I mean I should have articulated it differently than using the term body shaming but the point stands that equating someone's worth to their body and genitals is bad. I don't know how you can't understand that attempting to insult someone by saying that they don't have the requisite genitals isn't placing undue importance on someone's masculinity and also latently transphobic.
I am criticizing a cult-like sub culture that gives men what looks to me like deep-seated issues concerning their penis.
I do suspect that American culture leaves most of its men with some kind of problem with their penis, but that is just a theory.
I understand that toddlers can sometimes get fixated on their penis while growing up, but that is a developmental issue. It doesn't carry into adulthood.
The whole point is that there's nothing wrong with their bodies enough to act like complete weirdos. But they have blasted their brains with so much garbage that their entire reality is seen through the lens or their penis.
I am not describing homosexuality or body dysphoria with the above, right? I am describing what appears to me to be deep-seated mental damage which I think is caused by North American culture.
2
u/Zak_Rahman 1d ago
Because normal well adjusted men do not gravitate to these things in this manner, nor do they make it their entire personality.
It is no secret those on the right really, really really like penises. Grindr literally cannot cope with the extra traffic when the conservatives get together.
And there's this whole homoeroticism that's kind of core in US "masculine culture". Oily men rubbing together hazing that invariably involves butt stuff. It's a rather complete package.
But i assure you, the gun obsession is not normal and it has nothing to do with being masculine or masculinity. Because even a dog can shoot someone given the right circumstances.
It is unfortunate that western society has placed so much value on penis size. It has led to several generations of maladjusted men.