Concordia TheoBLOGical Seminary

Here is another insightful post from Anthony Esolen over at Touchstone’s blog Mere Comments. Esolen is one of the great defenders and saviors of masculinity in our culture. He constantly maintains the premise that men and women are different and this is good, as our God has told us in his creation of the world. His singular purpose seems to be that manliness isn’t just living outside, riding a horse, having leathery chunks of meat for hands, and smoking a cigarette. Masculinity is not defined by Hollywood but in many respects by the great literature of the past. The heroes aren’t so much just brute men, but strong men who have emotions of anger, sympathy, empathy, and faith. The heroes wish they weren’t heroes at all but wish they were like every other normal guy out there-they have humility. These traits aren’t seen as manly, and because they aren’t you either end up with brutish beasts or impish wimps. Neither of these capture what true manliness is.

True manliness is complicated, not simple. What I mean is that it isn’t boiled down to one trait, one virtue. It is a combination of virtues that make a man a man. Courage is one to be sure, but courage is not a lack of fear, but rather moving forward in faith despite fear. Empathy and sympathy rank high. A man, if indeed he is a man, needs to be able to suffer with people and suffer for them. A man, if he is a man, gets the job done. He doesn’t look to others why it isn’t done and complain, but does something about it. He strives not to let the changes and chances of this world dictate his actions-he is proactive, forward-thinking, and innovative. Yet he is mindful of the past, of where he’s been and what he’s done: he is not historically ignorant. That means he reads, and he reads not only the books that give him joy but also the books that give joy to others. This is wisdom for he thereby has made himself knowledgeable and interested in others, not just himself. In other words, a man, if indeed he is a man, is not selfish, but he loves and he demonstrates this not simply in words but in deeds. He shows it by taking an interest in those around and outside of him.

Jesus Christ our Lord is this man, true man indeed. He is model and we are the image of him. May we be transformed so that our lives may reflect the model more clearly in reality.

In the same vein, then what does femininity look like if she, too, is the image of God? To pose the opposites of masculinity doesn’t quite cut it because man and woman are not strictly opposites but complementary. So we mayn’t say that since men are strong, then women are weak. You might say submissive because it does take strength and dedication to submit your will to that of another. So here’s what I posit. My ideal woman, or the one whom I picture as embodying the ideal of femininity is the Italian woman. She is extremely feminine. She’s domestic and family-oriented but also business-minded. She’s strong but submissive. She’s beautiful and intelligent. She loves to be taken care of and yet completely able to take care of herself. These are just some of my thoughts and observations. How would you describe masculinity and femininity so as to reclaim them from our culture?