What is Manliness?
What is manliness? Well, according to Harvard Professor Harvey Mansfield, it's evidenced by not doing housework.
Calling All Hombres
Take housework. Mr. Mansfield cites surveys that show that despite their now equal capacity to be hired for jobs outside the home, American women still do two-thirds of the housework. He argues that this is not simply a hangover from our former oppressive patriarchy. Rather, he writes, it is evidence of manliness. "Men look down on women's work . . . not because they think it is dirty or boring or insignificant, which is often true of men's work; they look down on it because it is women's work."Hang on! I like doing housework. There's something theraputic about organizing my home and ridding it of dirt, grime, crumbs, and streaks. But most of all, I like the countenance on my wife's face when I not only pitch in but take over completely while she sits down to read after a long day with the kids. Does this make me "girly man"? No way baby!
That said, I want to applaud Professor Mansfield for provoking feminists for "more than a half-century at the university." Bravo.
posted by Motte @ 8:38 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
I did appreciate Mr. Mansfield's observations that women humor men's manliness on many occasions (maybe using manly eccentricities for their own purposes?), and his argument that men are superior to women at being men, while women are superior to men at being women. And, it's so true that most women do not want to be treated like a man! Yuck.
Interesting article. I see his point in how it may be beneficial to both men and women if women applaud and respect "manliness" in men. However, I agree that doing housework does not make a man less "manly." I love when my husband vacuums and cooks dinner.
I also thought it was interesting that Mansfield hopes to "convince skeptical readers--above all, educated women" of his arguement. I understand how educated women may be more aware and accepting of feminism as a whole, but I'm not so sure that a woman's education is the primary factor in whether or not she'll buy his argument. Perhaps instead it's their experiences that convince her of what "manliness" should be defined as and that housework isn't merely "woman's work." I have a master's degree, but that's not what makes me scoff at his arguement about housework. Instead, it's that I grew up seeing my grandpa and my dad cook, clean, do laundry. I saw men -- who I considered to be "manly" gladly sharing the responsibilities of housework.
Thanks for bringing attention to this article and pointing out that a man who does housework is not a "girly man."
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