Does "Mad Men" Foretell the Future of Men?

What is the future of men Followers of AMC39s Mad Men will be asking that question as the final episodes unfold over the next few weeks The concluding sevenepisode arc of Mad Men clearly personifies the pain caused both to men and those we love by antiquated and selfdestructive conceptions of manhoodamp160 The overriding theme of the already classic series is men39s selfdestruction as seen appropriately through the prism of the advertising business Is the future of men selfdestruction or redemption The conclusion will inevitably confirm what many men already understand and accept it39s no longer a man39s world For most of recorded history brute strength and archaic social paradigms have supported a maledominated Western societyamp160 But the arc of the last 30 years as impressively captured in Mad Men is one of the erosion of this male dominanceThe steady rise of women in particular in highskill sectors of the economy has led to a plethora of thought pieces books and apocalyptic declarations perhaps most famously including Hanna Rosin39s The End of Menamp160 Rather than writeoff fifty percent of the planet in my new book The Future of Men Masculinity in the TwentyFirst Century I ask what is the future of menamp160 What do we ask ourselves when we look in the mirroramp160 What do we teach our sons and grandsons about who they can be and our daughters and granddaughters about what to seek in men as friends and romantic companions amp160After being told all our lives to quotbe a manquot and quotman upquot now we39re asked to reject the macho stereotype and told we39re too disconnected from our emotionsamp160 The steely withholding Don Draper leading man of Mad Men39s first few seasons has given way to a highly conflicted and more emotive Don Draper coming to terms with his true Dick Whitman selfamp160 Ed O39Neill39s portrayal of fatherhood on Modern Family is highdefinition emotional connectedness by comparison to the Al Bundy character that brought him fame on Married with Children a quarter century agoamp160 Too many of us men have been trained by parenting culture and peer pressure that sensitive equals weak that weak equals feminine and that being feminine is somehow wrongamp160 Now correctly we39re being instructed to be more empathetic more in touch with our emotions and more sensitive in our relationshipsamp160amp160 To borrow from another American classic The Big Lebowski quotstrong men also cryquot amp160Much of who we are as men perhaps most is stuff that we were taught by our parents including by our mothers and reinforced by the media and pop cultureamp160 But we can teach whatever we want both to ourselves and to today39s youthamp160 The question is quotwhat do we teachquot For one we need to stop objectifying women we need to teach men of all ages that prostitution and strip clubs represent an acceptance of female objectification in its most dangerous formamp160 Beyond prostitution and strip clubs we must acknowledge the danger posed to male minds of all ages but in particular to formative young minds of the copious amounts of highly degrading hardcore pornography available on the Internetamp160 We need to teach our young men that intimacy and honesty are the foundation of healthy relationships and that lies and deceit are destructive not only to others but to themselvesamp160 We must rethink and assign positive context to the mantras that quotboys will be boysquot and quothe39s a man what do you expectquot We must encourage boys and men of all ages to rise to a new standard of respect for ourselves and all those around us We need to teach and learn the qualities of collaboration emotional intelligence and effective communications We should find paths to integrate gaming sports and physical activities into educationamp160amp160amp160 amp160I39m not a professor of sociology or gender theoryamp160 I started writing my new book as a journey of selfexplorationamp160 Who am Iamp160 How did I get hereamp160 Why did I engage in patterns of destructive behavior and act disrespectfully in relationships while believing I was being loyal and honest amp160The world is changing and gender issues have moved to the forefront of social and political consciousness The women39s movement will continue to inspire change and thankfully will ensure greater opportunity and parity But the implications issues and opportunities for men have not yet become part of the conversation and my simple goal for this article is to begin the dialogue to acknowledge the reality of the challenges men are facing and will need to confront challenges being confronted by Matthew Weiner39s characters in Mad Men I know my story is relevant I39m excited to invite you to join me in advancing the belief that it39s not the end of men nor is it the end of the Mad Men story it39s the beginning of a new era for men I for one am excited

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Does "Mad Men" Foretell the Future of Men?

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Jack Myers

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