What are "men" like? Can one even begin to come up with normative definitions that don’t give themselves away as projections of the person creating the categories? For example, were one to ask what typifies male behaviour, one person might say that being "a real man" involves being responsible, courageous, loyal, strong and so forth. On the other hand, somebody else might say that men are characterised by exactly the opposite; that they are irresponsible and reckless and lack the strength to face their own emotions. Still, I’m pretty sure that most people would agree that the violence that many men exercise over women and each other is shocking. There are many different statistics, but it’s indisputable that prisons and psychiatric wards the world over are awash with men. Men are far more likely to become addicts or to commit suicide, and they die sooner than women in every country in the world. So there does seem to be something about "being a man" that’s outright dangerous and dam...
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