O Pinions!

Response to Stik

A response to Stik I found interesting but overwhelming in one reading. (January 2nd)

1. Men's Groups? As in heterosexual men's groups? Because I don't feel safe in Men's groups or in any restricted group.

2. Self-introspection has limits. Suicide comes to mind if there's no support group and even counselors need to be careful if they are dealing with trauma.

3. Much of what is written in English seems to come from British and British colonial points-of-view. In the U.S. that is also greatly informed by Western Christianity. I doubt that South-East Asians, Far-East Asians, South Asians, pre- or non- Christian Americans or Africans would agree on 'masculinity' as defined by British Christian Colonial norms.

4. You are responding to a narrative and narrator that is culture-bound. I doubt that much of what the article/study suggests will be helpful when I visit multi-cultural but Buddhist-informed Thailand.

5. Watching Thai TV series is helping me understand a culture I know little about. The series "55:15 Never Too Late" is specifically exploring generational issues that cover language usage, sex, relationships and attitudes.

Much can be learned by exploring outside mono-lingual mono-cultural echo-chambers (which is what I suspect). I'd suggest a sabbatical for the author in multi-cultural crossroads such as Dakar, Dubai, Houston, Istanbul, or Marseille among many others, learning from common people and not just the elite.

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