The M Word

How Men Masculinize Everything

Kristen Stewart said something in an interview recently that has sat at the forefront of my mind for weeks. It was about method actors, specifically the lack of female method actors. I did the research and can confirm that you’d be hard pressed to find one. Committing to playing a character requires submission. Surrender. Men have a proclivity to be self-preserving; for this, they are rewarded. A few punches to the chest before stepping into a role to offset the invasive nature of acting can be a cheat code to domination. And historically? Be a fucking asshole. Make your job everyone else’s inconvenience.

Watch Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond via Netflix and you’ll understand what I mean.

Rather than stand beside something and make its acquaintance, men have a habit of pissing on and penetrating it instead. An unfortunate symptom of their innate nature? Maybe. But I don’t find it shocking that society bends and rejoices to this notion. That our opinions and language bend with an almost tender reverence for men who conquer.

Looksmaxxing is a great example. While women have submitted to patriarchal standards of beauty and accepted the social capital associated with them for the last millennium, men have now discovered something different. Biohacking. Bone Smashing. A new science has emerged, and it has its own metrics and scale. It is optimization, not your pussy middle school push-up bra. Through makeup and clothing and skin treatments and special shampoos, we [women] know what is required of us to be of value. And yet, in the thick of a male loneliness epidemic and the rise of incel culture, we have been so obviously outdone.

From a socioecological lens, this may be the gateway to our understanding and acceptance of gender-affirming care. It was surely never going to come from women affirming their own femininity. A woman affirming her gender (in a manner that the patriarchy accepts) is simply business as usual. Expected. GQ published an article entitled “Let Trans People and Looksmaxxers Change Their Bodies.” Do I love that the fact that GQ’s first piece in support of trans rights was roped in with 4chan philosophy? No. But at the very least, it opens up a conversation.

Do yourself a favor and scroll through LinkedIn, and I don’t mean in a way of self-harm. Jobs in marketing and advertising are going through a major rebrand. If How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days was made today, Benjamin Barry would not have worked as an Advertising Associate, but as a Growth Engineer. Market Researchers are now Qualitative Analysts. Sorry ladies. That B.A. in Marketing from Syracuse University won’t be cutting it any longer. Women made up roughly 70% of the marketing industry until the 2020s, but that dominance is rapidly shifting. Men are pivoting from finance and tech jobs into the industry, bringing with them an emphasis on systems and optimization rather than buyer behavior and psychology.

One could argue the need to diverge from emotion and feeling is a protective measure on their [men’s] part. Deeper than the submission they avoid, it is a fear of falling to the fate of women entirely. There is a sense of defeat in empathy and understanding, is there not? Understanding another’s torment makes it difficult to continue it. Simultaneously, the very thing they avoid often provides relief from the bitter cold of needing to subdue the masses. Many conservative white male politicians have been exposed for cross-dressing. Does this expose some hidden desire to identify as trans or transfemme? Perhaps. I personally believe this is more of an integral practice for the sanity of men in power. Femininity, by their perception, is to be free of concern. As we all know, that could not be further from the truth. But the truth does not matter. They find and extract capital wherever they can and indulge in perverse vices as they see fit.

Capitalize. Optimize. Masculinize. Rinse and repeat. Are we headed toward opulence or deeper into oppression? Can we find any benefits from the methodical world men keep building and building upon before us? One devoid of feeling, sensuality, and an understanding of Source and Balance. Who will maintain?

As a full-time Data Analyst, I often grapple with the internal crisis of contributing to climate change via data centers and technical waste. Upholding systems put in place by the likes of Peter Thiel and Sam Altman puts my stomach in a twist. My educational background is in Public Health, and my pursuit of data science was to expose and represent marginalized populations in distress. Rather than wallow in another existential crisis, I’ve chosen #HopeCore like a good Gen Z kid should.

Data Ecofeminism has been a hyperfixation of mine since Mindy Seu featured the concept in her book A Sexual History of the Internet. A complex philosophy, but the general belief is that, just like women and the environment, nothing—not even the internet—should be treated like an abundant resource. Reverence and gratitude for Source can and do exist on all planes to some degree, even when it feels as though the masses do not. It has completely restored my hope and assurance that I, as well as others, can continue my work in tech with minimal harm and exploitation of others and the environment.

Modern mainstream masculinity exudes domination and deletion. I have only found peace by observing dilution. Muddy water only runs clean under a clear stream, never by trying to rip the shit out of it bit by bit. Open the dams, ladies.