‘The main work of life,” wrote C. S. Lewis, “is to come out of ourselves, out of the little, dark prison we are all born in.” If there is a crisis of masculinity, it is in large part because, disconnected from their biological purpose, young men are trapped in an interior prison, grasping at whatever gratification they can. The result is embitterment and frustration.
A healthy masculinity acknowledges three things. First, men are distinct from women. Second, men have something essential to contribute, both to females and to society at large. And third, men can make this contribution effectively only through the cultivation of character. Unfortunately, modern culture undermines all three. As a result, there has been a rise in the popularity of a reactionary or “macho” masculinity, which fills the vacuum of hollowed-out masculinity with something harmful.
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