Ask English Expert

Excerpt of Escape, entitlement, and empowerment: young men and the "four Ps"

By Michael Kimmel

Sometimes, it seems to me that an entire generation of young men (16-26) are lost to what might be called the siren song of the "Three Ps": Pot, Pornography, and Playstation (video games). For an increasing number of young men, a fourth "P" is enjoying a renaissance: Poker, this time often played on-line. ..... Much of the recent writing about the "boy crisis" has focused on the influence of pornography and video games in particular on young men. By no means has all that focus been negative, though most thoughtful observers of contemporary society are deeply troubled by the tremendous amount of time that so many young men spend absorbed in the dubious "pleasures of the Ps."

Kimmel points out something every adult knows: young men tend to become hostile and defensive when queried about the amount of time they devote to online gaming.

Why are these guys so angry and defensive? In part because they feel a little guilty that they are spending so much time doing something they know is purposeless...

But it goes deeper than that. Guys' defensiveness also has to do with the rage that's both covert and overt in much of what passes for entertainment in Guyland. Because, as it turns out, the fantasy world of media is both an escape from reality and an escape to reality - the reality that many of these guys would secretly like to inhabit. Video games, in particular, provide a way for guys to feel empowered. In their daily lives guys often feel that they don't measure up to the standards of the Guy Code - always be in control, never show weakness, neediness, vulnerability - and so they create ideal versions of themselves in fantasy. The thinking is simple: if somebody messes with your avatar, you blow him away. It's a fantasy world of Manichean good and evil, a world in which violence is restorative and actions have no consequences whatsoever.

The more young men feel alienated from "real life" and its myriad attendant responsibilities, the more they long to soothe themselves with fantasies of revenge and restoration. The more time they spend in that fantasy world, however, the more strange and bleak and unfair reality may seem - and this drives still more video game use, often accompanied by pot or porn or other anesthetizing tools.

Men's Rights Activists, I've noted, tend to fall into two groups: older, usually divorced heterosexual men who feel victimized by family courts, and younger men still in the Guyland phase, convinced, as Kimmel writes, that they have been disenfranchised and exploited by the women who have all the power. The older men offer the younger men cautionary tales about grasping wives, ungrateful children, and biased judges; the younger men grow even angrier and more cynical as they realize the stunning disconnect between what porn and video games promise and the world the way it really is.

"Guyland mystique" is this: The mistaken sense of having been disenfranchised (by women who now insist on being seen as equals) breeds a longing for revenge, a longing that is made manifest in video games and porn movies which feature narratives in which men are restored to their proper, dominant role. In video games and pornography, young men get a vision of what it might be like to exercise raw, unrestrained, restorative power. And in a world where so many young men feel so uncertain about their role, a world in which they are so confined by the contradictory and impossible demands of the Guy Code, video games and porn offer an alternative moral and sexual universe infinitely easier to understand than the one which these lads actually inhabit.

English, Academics

  • Category:- English
  • Reference No.:- M91365033
  • Price:- $40

Guranteed 36 Hours Delivery, In Price:- $40

Have any Question?


Related Questions in English

Using the following four resource documents prepare a case

Using the following four resource documents, prepare a case analysis regarding the premise "Airline Deregulation - 40 years Later - Pro or Con?" Airlines Move to Meet Regulatory Shifts (1978)/Aviation Week A Law That Cha ...

Question evaluate the cultural competence of the healthcare

Question: Evaluate the cultural competence of the healthcare organization presented in the Integrated Safety-Net Health Care System case study using a population health approach. Please also read the supplemental Interpr ...

Question commitment is very important in every work we do

Question: Commitment is very important in every work we do. If we commit to something that we will do, we must fulfill that commitment. Usually, we make commitment to the tasks to let others know that we will complete th ...

What is lust what is the difference between lust and love

What is lust? What is the difference between lust and love? Why is lust bad? Cite passages from bothOkholm and De Young. Describe what it means to think of love in terms of "gift", and explore how we might change aspects ...

Write a one-page not including cover and reference pages

Write a one-page (not including cover and reference pages) APA-formatted report on two of the following four topics: Topic 1: Open Skies - Explain what is meant by "Open Skies," and discuss the evolution of these interna ...

Read the two supporting documents focusing on airline

Read the two supporting documents focusing on airline globalization in 2018: Aviation Benefits: Contributing To Global Economic Prosperity/Uniting Aviation Aviation Benefits - 2017/ICAO (middle of page) Using the section ...

Read the following articles addressing the two space

Read the following articles addressing the two space treaties: "Outer Space Treaty of 1967" and "The Moon Treaty of 1979": The Outer Space Treaty Has Been Remarkably Successful - but Is It Fit for the Modern Age?/The Con ...

You have read the lottery by jackson and a good man is hard

You have read "The Lottery" by Jackson and "A Good Man is Hard to Find" by O''Connor. Now it is time to argue who does conflict better. In at least two well-structure paragraphs, please respond to the following prompt: W ...

Question your final draft must be added to the dropbox on

Question: Your final draft must be added to the dropbox on CourseDen (labeled "Essay One") by 8PM on the due date. Your final draft should be between 500-1000 words and should adhere to MLA format. Purpose: In this assig ...

Question part i the first part of this assignment will help

Question: Part I: The first part of this assignment will help you "flesh out" your topic. Take 10-15 minutes to free write about your topic. Chapters 4 and 5 in your textbook can help you decide what kind of free writing ...

  • 4,153,160 Questions Asked
  • 13,132 Experts
  • 2,558,936 Questions Answered

Ask Experts for help!!

Looking for Assignment Help?

Start excelling in your Courses, Get help with Assignment

Write us your full requirement for evaluation and you will receive response within 20 minutes turnaround time.

Ask Now Help with Problems, Get a Best Answer

Why might a bank avoid the use of interest rate swaps even

Why might a bank avoid the use of interest rate swaps, even when the institution is exposed to significant interest rate

Describe the difference between zero coupon bonds and

Describe the difference between zero coupon bonds and coupon bonds. Under what conditions will a coupon bond sell at a p

Compute the present value of an annuity of 880 per year

Compute the present value of an annuity of $ 880 per year for 16 years, given a discount rate of 6 percent per annum. As

Compute the present value of an 1150 payment made in ten

Compute the present value of an $1,150 payment made in ten years when the discount rate is 12 percent. (Do not round int

Compute the present value of an annuity of 699 per year

Compute the present value of an annuity of $ 699 per year for 19 years, given a discount rate of 6 percent per annum. As