Men

Tuesday

Melanie McDonagh

Down with exclamation points!

Punctuation is a gendered thing. I’ve been trying to stop myself overusing exclamation points and it’s been difficult. Exclamation points are girly because they’re a way of taking the sting out of what you say; they make any pronouncement seem more tentative, less serious. They’re the equivalent of a disarming smile, a marker that says: “No offense!” You add them to the end of a sentence to prevent anyone thinking you’re being bossy or critical. They’re an economical form of non-confrontation. Women use them far more than men. Almost 20 years ago, a study in the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication found that women used nearly three-quarters of the exclamation marks in electronic messages, but it identified the tic as “markers of friendly interaction.

Punctuation

Tuesday

Kara Kennedy

Why ladies really should leave their man at home

A handsome male is now an accessory. Even the not-so-handsome ones: women dress them up, choose their haircuts, and put them in silly little outfits that compliment ours for the silly little events we fill our evenings with. Like a gender reveal party. Honestly, whose idea was that? They should be held accountable. Some time over the last twenty years, we have decided that a man is no longer someone we choose to have around. He's an extension of ourselves. He doesn’t agree with you on literally everything? Sounds like a narcissist. He forgot your half-a-year-aversary? Honey, he’s gaslighting you. Or maybe his mercury is in retrograde or he has a different love language. At least you know he’s not screwing the neighbor. Men don’t do that anymore.

man

Wednesday

Ben Domenech

Prince Harry and Andrew Tate are two sides of the same coin

On the face of things, there is little in common between Prince Harry and Andrew Tate. Yet look closer and you see two sides of the same coin: a narcissistic version of modern masculinity that warps what's actually important about manhood for the demands of an addicted audience. Tate is a juvenile accused sex trafficker, who believes his right as an HGH-fueled muscle man entitles him to a Conan the Barbarian Romanian fantasy of Bugattis, baby oil and bitches. Harry is a pussy-whipped blue blood who wields his grief gestalt as a weapon against all comers — be they media or monarchy. Tate's narcissism is more aggressive.

andrew tate prince harry

Tuesday

Amy Rose Everett

A Christmas gift guide for him

This year, I decided to get organized. I started compiling a list of cool gadgets and gizmos I’ve spotted my male friends using, or that I’ve seen in shop windows, back in summer. All ready for this glorious moment. That is, the moment where I have to turn my head to what Christmas gifts I’m going to buy my father, brother and grandfather. Little did I know that The Spectator World would ask me to write a gift guide, too. Cheers, past me! And cheers to you. Here are the ideas I squirreled away (many of which have crept onto my own Christmas list). Aeropress Original & Go Coffee Maker Bundle For the coffee lover who’ll never settle for a bad brew.

gift

Saturday

Francesca Peacock

Why don’t men read novels?

It’s hard to move on the literary internet — or that nest of inky vipers, literary Twitter — without coming across a piece that expresses one of two opinions: the first, that men don’t read literary fiction and that this limits their understanding and experience of the world; and the second, that the figure of the heterosexual white man has been crudely and cruelly excluded from the literary debate. “Bring back our Roth, our Amis, our Updike,” these commentators cry, as if they hadn’t received enough acclaim and attention in the past few decades, and if reading them had become illegal rather than just moderately unfashionable.

Sunday

Casey Chalk

What conservatives get right about masculinity

Conservatives are taking a lot of heat these days regarding masculinity. David French in a recent piece at The Atlantic criticized Josh Hammer, David Azerrad, and Donald Trump, among others, for promoting what French labels a false view of manliness — namely, one that is unafraid to speak unpopular truths regardless of the consequences. It is a farcical “Trumpist toughness” that “treat[s] Twitter as their Omaha Beach.” Washington Post columnist Christine Emba, meanwhile, recently mocked Republican Senator Josh Hawley for being a “champion of masculine virtue” but failing “to engage more deeply on the level of policy and ideas.

trump

Sunday

Neetu Arnold and Chance Layton

Into the lioness’s den: why higher education is skewed against men

Are you ready to 'challenge man box culture?' asks the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh’s Women’s Center. Or maybe that special man in your life suffers from 'privilege' and needs rehab through Brown University’s Masculinity Peer Education program. But what about young men looking for meaningful, non-confrontational connections on campus? That scene is awfully dry. While groups like Women in STEM and Women in Business boost female students’ confidence by treating them as capable and competent professionals, college-aged men are often left with little to give their lives direction. Don’t expect these trends to change anytime soon either. According to the Wall Street Journal, women now make up nearly 60 percent of the college population, an all-time high.

men