A few weeks ago, I commented about a book I was reading that a co-worker had been reading that looked intriguing. It was written by a woman journalist who successfully passed herself off as a man for 18 months to discover, as much as is possible by a woman, what it is like to be a man. She joined a bowling league, got a job, lived for a while in a monastery, joined a self-help group, and even dated a few women. (In the end, she always came clean to the people she befriended.) Her observations and conclusions were quite perceptive and insightful as she grappled with the physical, emotional and relational aspects of manhood in North American culture.
I would like to share with you a sentence from her conclusion that is interesting in light of our discussion on insecurity. From the male perspective, "There is always someone hanging over my shoulder taking notes... and hearing encouragement was always better than being demeaned, but it was insulting just the same, because it told me that just being me wasn't good enough."
Just being me wasn't good enough.
Seems that insecurity is a common human condition. While I already knew this, and can definitely relate as a woman, it made me sad to read about the pain men are living with because of it. It would seem that there is nothing to be done. Even encouragement is insulting. Makes me want to cry... and it makes me mad.
But that is not the end of the matter. There is God. There is something to be done. Halleluiah.
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