Editorial January 1, 1996 Issue

Machismo—or real manhood?

Mary Metzner Trammell

Men have faced hard adjustments over the last few decades. And some people would say that's an understatement! Activist Andrew Kimbrell, for instance, takes this rather dark view in his best-selling book, The Masculine Mystique: "Over the years I have learned that there is something terribly wrong in the lives of most men. ... They feel bewildered, out of control, numbed, angered, and under attack. Numerous social forces, including the increasingly difficult task of breadwinning and the financial and personal devastation of divorce, have eroded their lives to the breaking point." The basic difficulty, Kimbrell says, is that men don't understand who they are. They don't understand "their own masculinity" (New York: Ballantine Books, 1995, pp. xii–13).

Now, maybe you're wondering how someone could say this. Especially when, to all appearances, it's still pretty much of "a man's world"—with men predominating in most corporate boardrooms, legislative bodies, the news media, academics, the arts, religious institutions. And with women still playing, in many cases, supporting roles.

Yet Kimbrell points out that these appearances are deceptive. Actually, he says, the number of men who reach the top management level is minuscule. This privileged sector contrasts starkly, he says, with the overwhelming majority of men who suffer from poor career prospects, poor family relationships, poor health (often thought to be connected with stress), low self-esteem, drug and alcohol abuse.

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