Crisis of Masculinity? [essay]

           Most modern societies (especially European and North American, but also those in Africa) have been established and continued by maintaining a patriarchal system of values and power. The structure, however, seems to have been undermined in recent times, most notably after the second half of the 20th century (the period known as the beginning of the sexual revolution and the birth of third wave feminism). The term “crisis of masculinity” was conceived to describe the process – the following paragraphs discuss the term, as well as the validity of the claim, as it has been depicted by Ronald F. Levant in his 1977 research. It is important to mention that in his analysis, the author focuses on racial, sexual, and other minorities.
One of the first reasons for the crisis (note that in all described cases, the negative output is believed to be the consequence of the minorities aiming at the majority’s ideals and goals), according to Levant, is men failing to fulfil the image of a bread-winner. Interestingly, the same males consciously reject the archetype of a provider or give up on it due to various excuses connected to or steaming from their current situation.
Another argument brought up in favour of the deepening crisis are divorce settlements. Despite the prevalence of no-fault divorces, most marriages end with the wife being granted almost all of the valuable material assets by the judge, as well as the custody of the mutual children. Such outcome might make a man believe to be a failure (which corresponds with the bread-winner model), but, besides the minority/majority clash, the rise of the aforementioned third wave feminism is usually also a deciding factor in favouring ex-wives rather than ex-husbands.
Finally, the media portrayal of men in the era of ubiquitous and easily attainable news providers strengthens what once was a (unfortunate, but still) joke, causing a legitimate concern about the subject, thanks to the media’s persuasive power. In case of men, it is the image of a “dead-beat dad”, defining an unemployed and unreliable father, whose children suffer the consequences of his laziness and lack of skills.
In conclusion, striving to and failing at becoming what the majority perceives as the perfect man, causes the minority men to lose the sense of their own masculinity. Together with the female-oriented culture, sometimes, as mentioned before, also backed by the legal system, the men in question believe that they ultimately lack the qualities to ever become a man, instead of just a male.