Masculinity Isn’t Toxic, Our Erasure Of It Is

Sam Smith is not healthy.

Last week, conservative journalist Andy Ngo published screenshots of the singer’s Instagram page. Smith can be seen sitting with his Oscar. The photos that follow show Smith trying to transform into someone who is. “non-binary,” Or a person who believes he was conceived as a third or higher sex than the other sexes. This logic is contrary to all we know about human biology, including the binary nature our chromosomes.

It seems that no one knows what a woman is these day, but who can remember what a male is? Smith’s progression in Ngo’s photos underscores the erasure of cultural masculinity declared “toxic” By millennials. When you lose sight of what it means to be a man — what it means to look like a man, act like a man, and live like a man — you de facto lose the values that form the foundation of healthy masculinity. But our culture doesn’t even know what a man is.

John Daniel Davidson, a Federalist colleague gave a definition about this time last years.

“If we’re going to defend manliness as good and virtuous and necessary for a healthy republic, then we need to be clear about what it is and what it is not,” He wrote, continuing:

Yes, men should have physical strength. Men should be strong in all aspects of masculinity, including courage, independence, and assertiveness. But why? But they do it not so that they can sh-tpost how ripped and good-looking their bodies are compared with libs but so that they can defend and protect those who are weak.

This is the organizing principle of the whole concept of manliness. It’s a way of living, a way to live according to the principle of responsibility for others and that you should sacrifice your own welfare.

What does this mean in practice? It means stepping in to help those in need, whether it’s a woman being harassed or a stranger whose car has broken down. You have to put your safety at risk in order to defend someone being attacked.

It involves marrying the woman you love and being faithful to her all of your life. This means that you will work whatever hours and at any job to support your family. You must go to church every Sunday to share your faith with your children, regardless of whether or not you feel like it. It is about getting up in the middle at night to feed a baby who is crying. It means taking your two-year-old daughter to swim class and singing all the songs — your own sense of dignity be damned.

I’m not sure I could write a better definition, amplifying the stoic virtues of physical strength, mental fortitude, and sacrificial living driven by a desire to strengthen the weak and protect the vulnerable.

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