Saturday, Jul 19, 2008
Gorgeous masculinity
BY DAMION MATTHEWS
(04/29/00)
Damion Matthews, in his recent article about male bodybuilding magazines, comes to the conclusion that in their "glorification of masculinity," they "make men feel good about being men." However, the concept of masculinity that is literally embodied by the models in these magazines is completely one-dimensional and stereotypical. No, Mr. Matthews, these pages do not tell me that I, too, "can look like a god." They tell me that I will never be able to achieve a supposed ideal of what the male body is supposed to look like, not that I have the slightest interest in being a bulked-up Hercules -- I am quite content as a lithe, slender, toned Apollo.
Just as there are many types of feminine beauty (although our culture seems to be fixated on certain types), there are many different types of masculine beauty (though again, our culture seems to place one above all others). If the models in these magazines turn you, or anyone else, on, then fine -- just do not try to intellectualize your fascination with overdeveloped musculature and "prominent bulges," because you do not succeed in doing so.
-- Matthew Hatch
This kind of narcissistic investment in the body is the same fascination you would find in very young children. This is not so much an obsession as it is a developmental fixation. Being watched and seen allows these men a sense of self that is temporal, frenetic and vicarious. It's not a horrible thing but no one knows or cares what happens to these men when their "powers" diminish from age or disease. I believe the worst scenario for them is not to be noticed or seen. What is even sadder is how this dovetails with the borderline craze of "pro wrestling."
-- Ron Anguiano
Today's Elian sound bite
BY DARYL LINDSEY
(04/27/00)
What has happened to Peggy Noonan? She was one of the most brilliant speechwriters ever and now she's degenerated into this whispery Republican woman of the airwaves. Her comment that Reagan would have recognized the dolphins as God's creatures saving Elian, one of God's children, reminds me of all that was truly weird in that administration. Like James Watt, the Secretary of the Interior, who didn't believe his position mattered because Jesus was coming soon and would make all the environmental stuff moot. Wow, I miss those days.
-- David Terrenoire
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