Manly Men

Another day, another moment to ponder the world.

Yesterday, I was required to read this speech delivered by a Dartmouth Alum named Leonard L. Glass called the "Dartmouth Animal and the Hypermasculine Myth." He basically talked about the days of Dartmouth in the 60s when he was a student. This was a time when Dartmouth was still single sex and held fastly true to the image of life portrayed in the classic college movie Animal House. He described a time when the men of Dartmouth would go above and beyond to upkeep their masculine images. Anything contrary was regarded with skepticism. The worst thing you could have done to yourself back then was be caught acting "effeminately" or "homosexually." As a man of Dartmouth you had to constantly prove you manhood and virility, acting in an extreme fashion which Glass terms "hypermasculinity." He stated, "At Dartmouth the guys are tough, virile, and unbelieveably horny, barely contained until their infrequent orgiastic encounters with women...yet had very little opportunity for heterosexual interaction."

I found Leonard Glass's speech to ring forth much of the truth about society today as was true of society 40 years ago. The Dartmouth animal is alive. He may have decreased in size, but he exists. This Dartmouth animal is merely the child of an animal roaming the entire world, not just the hills of New Hampshire.

I attended an all male private high school in Baltimore, MD where I suppose the "Gilman" (my school) animal roamed campus. Homophobia and subtle subscription to stereotypes were rampant. Anything against the norm of virility was deemed "gay." For example, if there was a speech or lecture which wasn't particularly interesting or important, a student may call the speech gay. I would often ask, point blank, if they indeed meant that the speech or lecture preferred sexual intercourse with speeches or lectures of the same gender. I would usually get a weird look or an awkward laugh, but inside i would smile at my personal triumph, at least in my own mind. Too often I have seen men suppress their "feminine" emotions and inclinations for fear of being stigmatized.

Thankfully, at Dartmouth, this beast is relatively subdued. I have not witnessed any firsthand discrimination against "feminine" men or homosexuals. That is not to say it doesn't exist. I hear the football teammates of my own roommate often refer to non-reproductive objects and concepts as "gay." I often wonder what is so terrifying to men to embrace their "feminine" and "masculine" qualities together. Why is there such shame and disgrace associated with being gay? I admire the courageous individuals who, gay or straight, are not afraid to express themselves despite the urgings toward the "norms" of society. So many hide themselves out of fear or shame projected onto them. They are angry at the way they are. As Glass stated, it's "far more acceptable to be 'pissed off' than tearful or confused."

I only pray that we may all find the courage to be ourselves, even if that defies the traditional conventions of gender or any other other so-called "defining" quality. May the beast of hypermasculinity die out with a generation of courageous peoples prepared to fight againt the cost of being shamed, abused, or ostracized.

Attempting to tame the Dartmouth Animal, Unitedly yours kiddies!