Title: Why men should care about gender stereotypes - The F-Word
Headings: Why men should care about gender stereotypes
Why men should care about gender stereotypes
Alex Gibson considers the harm done by stereotypes of men as beer-swilling, emotionally-stunted brutes

Content: I’m by no means the only one who rejects the idea of a ‘real man’ embodying all these things, but – and here’s the crucial point – despite the fact that there are many of us who grew up resenting the dominance of this (to borrow a phrase) idiocracy, we are content to let it continue. The people labelled nerds or geeks for not wanting the worthless life that traditional masculinity offers them, allow themselves to be ostracised for it. Yes, it is gratifying to look back at those people who, during your teenage years, were the epitome of the classic ideas of manhood. They mostly now live dead-end lives, but don’t forget that their culture is still the dominant one among men. Intelligent men who don’t subscribe to this ideal of a ‘real man’ as a rugged emotionally-stunted womaniser probably outnumber those who do, and yet it’s still not quite alright for a man to be interested in poetry, be a feminist, or know how to darn socks (hey, I’m a student, it’s all about saving money!). A lot of men don’t realise that instead of feeling troubled because they fail to fit this mould, they should be rejoicing in breaking free of it. Let’s start converting some more men to feminism: considering the problems caused by gender for women is a fantastic way to make them think about how gender also holds them back. It worked for me
Feminism has taught women who are prepared to listen that their traditional gender roles needn’t be upheld as a good thing, that to branch out from the way women are ‘supposed to be’ is a way of marking yourself out as independent and intelligent. Men simply haven’t got anything to raise their consciousness about this issue: