Member-only story
Protector, Counselor, Steward, Scribe: Finding Positive Roles for the Masculine
It’s about time we let go of the “lone hero myth,” dudes
There’s a lot of talk in communities I participate in about “dismantling pedestals” and “getting rid of rock star culture.” I tend to be skeptical of such talk, because those people are talking less about systemic change and more about simply replacing the current rock stars with their rock stars.
Since I believe that relative power, more than gender, age, or even class, is the corrupting force that leads to abusive and unethical behavior, I’m not very interested in sustaining the status quo, rather than trying to find a solution, replacement, or at least an improvement.
At one performing arts community event in Columbus, OH, I proposed a session where we would brainstorm and discuss “positive roles for the masculine within our community.” I hoped to address the fact that , within that community and most like it around North America, there were really only two roles that were looked on as “successful” for masc-identifying people: Hotshot Presenter or Community Leader.
“Teacher” or “Leader”
It could be argued that there are other roles — performer, artist, etc — but in my experience those roles tend to…
