Who watches the Watchmen, and who constructs the constructions? Superheroes, ideology and masculinity. — The Centre for Male Psychology

Rare-Discipline3774 · 2025-08-31T22:52:43+00:00

I don't think psychologists should have a say in what is or is not masculine, or how it began.

That is the job of philosophers and sociologists.sociologist.

I have found it is both biological, or at least seems so given the behavior and that the reason we even call it masculinity is because it's mostly male stuff, and socially reactive.

The common behaviors of the masculine can be boiled down to things that mostly men do, then everything forward in logos, the practical, and the physical. And specific cultural behaviors under those categories change depending on historical circumstances.

Which_Ad_3917 · 2025-09-01T08:17:56+00:00

Superheroes are for kids

dougpschyte · 2025-09-01T08:36:54+00:00

Fathers used to be the living, breathing, interactive superheroes for kids.

They got chased away by laws made by feminist politicians. Children are drip fed a diet of 'healthy' role model behaviours with all the risk, excitement and adventure removed, and mommy always wins.

Remember, kids - the pen is mightier than the sword.

It doesn't matter how strong, brave, muscular, fearless, well read, highly trained those superheroes once were. The superpowers at their disposal were nullified.

Mommy always wins.

PastDifficulty7 · 2025-09-01T00:36:25+00:00

Back in the 2000's, there was a craze among men in Christian Evangelical culture started by a book called "Wild at Heart" by John Eldredge. Basically, it said that men have 3 core needs: battle, adventure, and beauty. Men need to slay the dragon and feel like heroes; it is an innately masculine need. In tandem with his wife Staci's book "Captivating"; it was a call for evangelical marriages to return to traditional gender roles in their relationships.

So, I understand the frustration of when media says that my version of masculinity is not 'real' or 'prosocial'. Being an egalitarian Evangelical was basically to be looked at as a cuck.

Back to this word salad. There is probably a good idea in there somewhere, but I am struggling to find it. It could have been said much more simply:

Watchmen satirizes men in traditionally masculine roles;
masculine traits and identity are based at least partially in biology;
by not acknowledging the role of biology in his satire, Alan Moore is just illustrating the that he is also a un-self-aware authoritarian at heart.

I don't think that point #3 follows points #1 and #2.

Title	Who watches the Watchmen, and who constructs the constructions? Superheroes, ideology and masculinity. — The Centre for Male Psychology
Author	iainmf
Upvotes	37
Comments	4
Date	August 31, 2025 9:55 PM UTC (10 months ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/1n57a6b/who_watches_the_watchmen_and_who_constructs_the/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/who-watches-the-watchmen-and-who-constructs-the.1560988 https://theredarchive.com/post/1560988

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