Friday, July 19, 2019

Redefining Manhood in America - a guest blog by James Hornor

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Does the word "Theme" make you throw up your hands and run away? Does it conjure images of your junior English teacher droning on about Moby Dick or Nathaniel Hawthorne? Fear not, for I'm here to tell you "theme" is just something a writer wants to explore in his or her work. 

Debut novelist (and college professor) James Hornor started with a story of adventure, love and crime, set in Zimbabwe, Kenya and Bombay (now Mumbai.) But as he wrote VICTORIA FALLS, he discovered what he really wanted to explore was a particular strain of American masculinity - what forms it, what are its strengths and weaknesses, and how can a man change himself? In a time when "toxic masculinity" is popping up in news stories everywhere, Jim has some interesting things to say.

My sixteen year old daughter and my thirteen year old son go to a progressive, independent school in Portland, Maine, where they routinely discuss issues around diversity, gender fluidity, and respect for women—including #metoo and violence against women. I applaud their school for nurturing an egalitarian culture where all voices are heard and all points of view are considered.


As a college professor and a lifetime educator, I often remind my students that the model for our democracy and our democratic values emanate from Greek culture, specifically Athens. Athenians valued family and community, prized the intellect and related rhetorical skills, and were cognizant of an afterlife where their core values would live on. The concept of courage for a young male Athenian included physical prowess as well as an intrinsic appreciation for human justice and the rights of an individual. The arts thrived in ancient Athens as individual self-expression and an aesthetic awareness were both encouraged and rewarded.

  Young men in Athens were inculcated with those values, and the concept of manhood included assuming responsibility for family and for a just society. Becoming a skillful rhetorician (from the Greek word rhetorikos) was associated with becoming a complete human being. Rhetorical acumen in government discourse or a court of law was more highly prized than even military conquest. Mastering the art of rhetoric was a confirmation of an individual’s place in the body politic which included ongoing discussions on social justice and the moral responsibility of government. These markers of Athenian manhood were well defined and unlike Spartan culture, they were multi-dimensional eclipsing the monolithic Spartan ideal of bravery in battle as the primary affirmation of gender identity.




Our present cultural milieu defines gender identity as a spectrum, and indeed it recognizes that as human beings we are a mixture of both masculine and feminine qualities. As a society, we have labored to acknowledge the equality of individuals regardless of their gender identity. As factions of our American culture spiral towards a simplistic, monolithic understanding of what constitutes a successful human existence, the identity markers of what distinguishes adults as role models for a democratic society are now under siege.


For both my daughter and my son the absence of those societal markers that were integral to the fabric of ancient Athens have been replaced by the incessant distraction of social media. Our children are bombarded by the imagery and pablum of a societal model that dismisses intellectual inquiry as “fake news,” and where the underlying theme of “might makes right” has become synonymous with the mission statement of America. Civil and political discourse has been devalued, and teenagers begin to assume that gaining the expedient advantage is the way successful adults navigate the world.

In my recently published novel, Victoria Falls (Green Writers Press, January, 2019), I explore American male identity issues via the middle-aged crisis of an outwardly successful World Bank official. Mired in unsuccessful relationships with women, the male protagonist transitions from an egocentric womanizer to a human being capable of empathy and unconditional love. While it takes a prison sentence for the transformation to occur, the novel suggests that American men possess the innate capacity to redefine their own manhood in ways that reaffirm all of the highest ideals of humanity.


In our current political climate the idea of defining “true manhood” as including kindness and empathy suddenly seems countercultural. To champion those values is regarded by some as even un-American. What it means to be a man or a woman— what it means to be human—have been the touchstones of democratic societies since the fifth century B.C. Like the Athenians, we can choose to be role models of a personhood that values inclusion, social justice, and a respect for social and political discourse, or we can acquiesce to a distortion of that model where moral relativity and political expediency become the acceptable markers of our national character. 

JULIA: Dear readers, are there traits you associate with 'manhood', for good or ill? How would you define masculinity in the US? How would you like to see it changed? Join us in the comments, and you'll have a chance to win a copy of  VICTORIA FALLS!


James Hornor teaches English at Southern Maine Community College where he also directs the Mid-Coast SMCC Writing Center. His novel, Victoria Falls, (Green Writers Press) was published in January, 2019. You can read more on Jim and his work at his website, VictoriaFalls.com    

40 comments:

  1. This is very thought-provoking . . . .
    I’m reasonably certain that the traits of men and women are more alike than different: respectful, having and following a moral code, self-reliant, having empathy and helping others. Sad to say, social medial doesn't seem to champion any of them these days . . . .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree, Joan, and I suspect where we go wrong is in corralling certain attributes and assigning them to individuals based on their sex at birth.

      Delete
  2. James, hurray for you and for your kids' school. My gosh it's discouraging these days to see what's passing for reasonable adult behavior! I'm very interested in hearing how students these days are understanding the current trends?

    Looking forward to reading your book!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My kids' school encourages dialogue and discussion. Regardless of the viewpoint being considered, students learn to "listen with empathy" and to respond with compassion.

      Delete
    2. Wouldn't it be great if, along with reading comprehension and maths, schools also required classwork in listening with empathy and responding with compassion? We could solve 50% of our civic ills in a generation.

      Delete
  3. The book sounds great, James. The Boy will be old enough to vote in next year's election...but the tenor of political discourse has him turned off politics and learning anything about the candidates. I hope to get over that hurdle before November 2020.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Liz, have you tried suggesting he look at the various candidates websites and read the position statements there? Much more comprehensive than any debate, and he can ignore the news cycle.

      Delete
  4. Manhood has always included empathy and kindness. Still does. This piece smells of politics to me.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Congratulations on your release! Interesting premise. My son has two sisters, who made sure he was kind and empathetic to women. Did he have a choice?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That was our ace in the hole as well, Margaret. The Sailor is the middle child, with a sister on each side. He learned the lesson that women are people, too, early on.

      Delete

  6. Interesting post - This gave me pause ... I realize that the concept of defining “manhood” feels like it’s going out of date... and you got me wondering, what we’re Athenians standards for “womanhood”?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Even though female deities were worshipped and glorified, women's lives in ancient Athens were carefully proscribed. There are isolated narratives of women participating in civic life and civic discourse, but unfortunately they did not have the same rights and privileges as men. Ironic since female deities were often consulted (by men) to get direction on important decisions!

      Delete
  7. Congratulations on your new book, James. This is perfect timing for your theme.

    My idea of manhood was shaped by my childhood love of John Wayne and teenage love of Harrison Ford. I still love them, but for me Captain America is the epitome of manhood: strong and brave, sure, but also smart, kind, and loyal. The theme of his comics and movies really resonates with me: who you are on the inside is what counts. In the comics, Steve loses his super soldier powers more than once, but his core personality is the same: he is determined and believes in justice for all no matter what.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 100% agree, Cathy. My husband always pointed to Cap as the ultimate example of a good man (Ross was a HUGE Marvel comics fan.) Now the Smithie is planning to get a small Captain America shield tattooed on her wrist in honor of her dad. (If we had emojis, I'd be inserting heart-eyes here.)

      Delete
    2. Oh, what a lovely gesture for your daughter, Julia. And I agree about Cap.

      Delete
    3. Julia, what a perfect tribute to Ross.

      Delete
  8. I will start by echoing Joan, what a piece of writing to wake up to, and yes I am provoked. I want to read your book as the theme is fascinating. Define manhood today. I was raised in a very colonial home. My father, who lost his father, a victim of the First World War when he was eleven, was Victorian in his raising of children. Courtesy, consideration, doing the right thing were his mantras. Good rules to follow. Coming to the USA at the age of 25 gave me a chance to expand my understanding of how the world, and people work. To see another culture with my language but with a very different twist. Manners - not so much, courtesy - maybe. In building our life here I found that above the every day people did believe in the Golden Rule, but in their daily race it could get forgotten. As for defining masculinity today, I’m not sure I can with so much shifting. You are correct as to “the absence of those societal markers” in todays life by which I was raised. I fear for todays children where the absence of typical past family life is missing. Single parent, long work hours, life squeezed into a smart phone, as well as being battered by the twenty four seven flow of news, fake news and information. Perhaps we are moving from defining masculine and feminine to becoming fully human?

    ReplyDelete
  9. "Becoming fully human"...in the novel the protagonist is a man but his daughter is a character who demonstrates the fullness of humanity by her generosity, her sense of humor (and perspective) and her non-judgmental attitude. But it is her courage under duress that impresses us in the end. She sets a high bar for the other characters --both men and women

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I have seen many examples of male friends who change their well honed opinions about the ‘rights of man’, as their daughters grow into adolescence and adulthood. As they realize the hurdles from high school sports which is much improved since my daughter graduated. Women’s pay gap, still fighting there. And the all too prevalent #metoo culture. I want to see more, but I am happy that much has been illuminated and changed in my lifetime.

      Delete
  10. Manhood means have strength of character, integrity, backbone and principles. I do not see that much anymore. When I was young it was evident everywhere and my father had to shoulder the burden for his entire family as young as 14 years old when his father died at the age of 38 and his mother was left with 6 young children.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your father's story sounds fascinating- and inspiring. My oldest child was commenting to me a few days ago that people seemed to grow up so much more quickly in the past. I suppose some of that was rising to societies expectations, but obviously some of it was responding to hardship.

      Delete
  11. It is disappointing and disheartening to see the changes which have occurred in respect to manners, respectability and men being men. When men were men was a time with values that were important and now no longer are apparent.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I feel part of the issue is that in the not-too-distant past, there was a great sense of being a member of a community. Church, bowling league, Shriners, Bridge club - all these activities that knit people together and made them aware of their interconnectedness. Now, we can reach anyone, anytime on the internet, but it's all "me, me, me" instead of "us."

      Delete
  12. Curious to know other works of fiction bloggers may have read that address this "definition of manhood" question. It is always on the back burner in Hemingway's novels and short stories but he was approaching it from a more traditional stance. Graham Greene had a lot of male protagonists who were tragic because of an identity crisis often stemming from illicit extramarital affairs. Is it fair to say that women handle these internal emotional crises better than men? Seems like a story arc that we have seen before

    ReplyDelete
  13. James Hornor, welcome to Jungle Reds! I want to read your novel. Since I am a lady, I do not know what it is like to be a man, though I would like to think that men have feelings too. I read a wonderful memoir by Sidney Poitier called "Measure of a Man" and he talks about being kind.

    In general, I prefer novels that do not have graphic violence. I have attended several mystery conferences, One conference had many women. Another conference had many men, to my surprise. Many of these men often wrote Hunter Thompson type of novels.

    Most of the novels that I have are by women, though there are several books by men that I love like the novels by Alexander McCall Smith, who created Scotland Street, Isabel Dalhousie and Precious Ramostowe mystery series.

    Diana

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Diana, thanks so much for this. There is some violence in Victoria Falls but none of it is gratuitous. In the case of my protagonist, he needed an abrupt change from his former life to wake him up! Some of the prison scenes are rather graphic but these are balanced by many tender moments earlier in the novel when he reveals his vulnerability and his desire for intimacy.

      Delete
  14. Reading your post this morning made me think of some of John Le Carre’s men, and an author whose protagonists were always different in each book but did what needed to be done despite pain, which portray masculine in its many forms, is the late Dick Francis. Seem to be finding English authors, so who else? Hero’s - Jack Reacher, Gabriel Allon, Peter Decker, I do read and love good spy novels too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I remember a conversation with a group of authors as to what the number one trait ought to be for a hero/protagonist. I said "competence."

      Delete
    2. Celia, I am (and have been for many years) a huge Dick Francis fan. But it hadn't occurred to me that some of my ideas of manhood may be based on those Dick Francis characters. Competent, brave under duress, but also unfailingly honest, just, and compassionate.

      Delete
  15. What an interesting piece today. Thanks, James, for such a relevant look at masculinity, which ironically means going back to the past to put it all in perspective. It seems to me that so much of how a boy becomes a man is based on who is guiding him into that transition, as well as societal expectations or pressures. I've too often heard a parent, usually the father, admonish a boy for crying or not being tough enough by saying, "be a man." We, and I mean mainly I, raised our son to be interested in art and reading and learning. We didn't neglect sports. He tried a few, but he wasn't so inclined, and we didn't force him. In fact, I guess that was the key, not "forcing" an identity upon him. When I referenced that it was I who raised him to be interested in a variety of subjects, I meant that I often had to keep my husband's rearing of what a man should be at bay. It was rather rigid, and my husband has come a long way. I remember my son loving the song Oklahoma from the musical when he was little, and he had put on his sister's skirt and twirled to the song in it. My mother-in-law found out and was horrified, advising me to hide that skirt. Wow! I didn't hide the skirt. Hahaha! So many fears are attached to what a man is from those rearing him. Of course, my son did grow up to like swing dancing. Oh, my.

    Congratulations on your book, James. It sounds like a wonderful read and I wish you much success with it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I grew up in a neighborhood that was all girls. When we moved away,I was age seven. The next few years were difficult, but I discovered hidden reserves of strength and adaptability that helped to frame my personality. You will see in the book that my protagonist is not effeminate but he acknowledges that there is gender fluidity especially in his relationships with women.

      Delete
  16. If one were to define "men" exclusively by reading/listenting to the news, then one would conclude most men are sex-hungry slimeballs who will do just about anything to take advantage of women of all ages (especially young ones). Baring that, the conclusion would be that men are egotistical bullies (such as a certain White House resident) or just plain mean. It's not true, of course, but the media and social media seem to slant things that way. Sometimes I'm just plain embarrassed by it. Add fluid sexual identification and who knows what "manhood" will mean in a decade or three. *Sigh*

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm afraid too many in the media prefer a good "story" to reality, Rick.

      Delete
  17. Masculinity in the US is changing. Men are much more aware of women’s rights around consent and how women and other minorities have been held back. Despite the news cycle, I have optimism about the relationships between the various genders.

    ReplyDelete
  18. James, what an interesting piece today. I'd love to know more about the plot of your book!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The protagonist is a middle aged World Bank official in Sub-Saharan Africa in the early 1990's. He makes one bad choice and ends up in prison in Bombay (Mumbai), India. The subplot takes place thirty years later in Alberta, Canada. It is available on both Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

      Delete
  19. Oh boy. I just asked my 70 year old husband how he defines American manhood today. Sorry. Wimped out. California-ized. His words. I have a feeling my 41 year old son would say something similar. I'm going to throw out there that it isn't that grim. Responsibility, courtesy, self-discipline, respect. I think men are still taught that. Perhaps some of the younger ones just need reminding.

    ReplyDelete
  20. What a terrific post - thank you, Jim! I will look for this book, and in the meantime forward a link to this post to my niece, who is a classicist who writes and teaches about the importance of rhetoric (in ancient Greece and today.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much. We have much to learn from the Classical world! We have this wrongheaded idea that a society without technology could not possibly be as advanced as our own. In reality their holistic approach to the mind and the spirit is one that we sorely need in 2019.

      Delete
  21. Very interesting post and I'm looking forward to reading your novel, it sounds fascinating. I'm not sure how to define being a man these days, but surely honor and kindness must come into it. It should be something that looks beyond just the self and what the individual wants. I suppose the same should apply equally well to women.
    -Melanie

    ReplyDelete