So my wife refuses to watch any Rocky movies, despite my telling her how vitally important they were to my development from boy to man. She says she would rather see people kill each other than hit each other. The boxing movie and the dog movie (i.e. the ability of an Old Yeller or Where the Red Fern Grows to make a grown man cry who never gets choked up at typical romantic fare) seem to be male phenomena. That’s why this commercial caught my eye:
I don’t know about you, but that really grabbed me by the gut.
This is the type of story you never see in the media anymore, but was a staple of John Wayne movies: the triumph of the strong, silent Westerner over the show-off braggart. And it was made by a German beer company: don’t they know Germans aren’t supposed to do stuff like that anymore?
And have you noticed that the media ignores heavyweight boxing now that big dudes from Eastern Europe dominate the would-be Mike Tysons? Here are the current belt-holders:
| WBA | WBC | IBF | WBO |
| (a)Nikolai Valuev | Vitali Klitschko | Wladimir Klitschko | Wladimir Klitschko |
In any case, a decent dose of boxing or other types of fighting sports (UFC, etc) is an important part of bringing up boys in my opinion. They’ll be feminized enough by the culture, if not the church.
So you’re saying that, as a mom, I should NOT forbid my boys to watch boxing, or play football, or do anything else that might possibly in some way cause them to think fighting is okay and might also result in…well…pain? Hmmmmmmm….
Pain management is a key part of male development, and is one of the main benefits of sports activities. Boys need to fight and bleed and such. They shouldn’t start them, but should be taught to finish them. There are too many soft, somewhat effeminate teenage males walking around from what I can see.
My boys wrestle for Phil Hemmings at West Brook. You’d like the diet discipline too Tom. District meet is tomorrow. The younger one has also participated in ameteaur boxing. Brutal.
“…They’ll be feminized enough by the culture, if not the church…”
__Tom
Reply: Exactly ! And I say that has a Christian who has respect for the Church but little respect for the policies of feminization within the Church.
There was a book published in 2005 titled Why Men Hate Going To Church,
by David Murrow, Nelson Books: A Division of Thomas Nelson Publishers,
232 pages. You can imagine what some of the major points were. Hint: Women and women’s interests have “taken over the churches” to an extent that many men have lost interest in playing that game and they just stay home…or go fishing etc.
There was another book published about that. I’ll have to go on memory on this one, but as I recall it was titled The Church Impotent: The Feminization of Christianity by Leon Podles.
Neither was all that well written or thought out, but there were many valid points made in both books.
Just wondering if you see strength and masculinity as being separate from being emotional and artistic? Do you think more of an emphasis should be put into physical activity or creative thinking in growing males? Should there be a place for a creative and nurturing side, or is this aspect best left for the fairer gender?
It’s not an either-or proposition, but the proportion that defines male and female. I can nurture my newborn as a father, but I’m glad she has a mother because if fathers were in charge of newborns I’m not sure how many would survive the first year. Women are more nurturing, men more competitive, and attempts by our feminized society to socialize these tendencies away are harmful.