Article April 16, 2012 ISSUE

Free from the monster view of manhood

Heather Frederick Brown

A few years ago, I was plagued by a “monster” in my life. It took different shapes, but it was always there: a type of unsettling male behavior that began to plague me.

At times this behavior seemed unbelievably selfish. For example, I was asked out on a date by someone who, it turned out, was married. Other times this behavior was a bit frightening. Here is one example: I was driving on the freeway one day when a truck hedged me in toward the center divider. When I sped up, the driver did; when I slowed down, he did too—and there were some obscene gestures. I wasn’t afraid; I just ignored him and I eventually got away. A few weeks later, however, a similar freeway incident happened with a different man! They had both been driving “monster” trucks.