As I believe discussions around masculinity and male issues in general do tend to focus a lot the negative (or even, in the worst cases, denial of these issues and masculinity entirely…), I wanted to discuss what is, in my opinion, one of the greatest depictions of masculinity I’ve seen in recent fiction: Arthur Morgan from Red Dead Redemption II.

Arthur Morgan is, for all intents and purposes, a bandit. His gang attacks and robs banks and trains, intimidating and bullying people into giving them money.

Arthur in particular is the enforcer of the gang and is therefore the one doing much of the physical work. He sounds like a standard, violent thug…but as the story unfolds, a lot of that comes into question.

The money Arthur collects goes straight to the gang: a gang for which a child, as well as men and women, rely on for support. Without Arthur, they would have starved or been forced into poverty long ago. And Arthur is shown to be extremely caring: he takes the child out for trips and is careful to keep him safe. So much of Arthur’s violence and physical intimidation, although still extremely immoral, is mostly in service of others who he views as family.

However, later on in the game, you have the option to have Arthur show remorse for this violence. As certain consequences for his behaviour come to light, Arthur can begin to realise that his views and decisions weren’t quite so justified. Yet, he doesn’t wish to show weakness in order to keep his family secure. As these consequences become even graver, he finally confides in a few people whom he trusts the most, who help him to straighten things out, and truly understand whether what he did was right or wrong, and what he can do about it.

One of the things I found I liked most about Arthur is that, even though he does re examine his views, he can still stay true to his core, to who he always was: a protector of those closest to him. Arthur is constantly faced with extreme pressure to leave and abandon members of his family, to sacrifice them and his principles, and yet he never caves into this pressure, never even considers it, even when everything and everyone else is against him.

I would argue that this is the fundamental core of masculinity, and what a lot of our culture is lacking: if you truly have a set of good principles, like helping your family, the poor, the oppressed, even animals, you defend those principles regardless of how much others hate you for it or attempt to force it out of you.

(That is of course not to say that women cannot embrace this form of masculinity any more than I am saying that men cannot embrace forms of femininity, in fact many of my favourite examples of masculinity come from women and female characters.)

But regardless, I believe Arthur provides an excellent framework for masculinity: while he does eventually open up and confide his feelings in certain people, he is also well aware of times when he needs to be strong in face of adversity as well as defend and care for himself AND those he cares about. This provides in my view a very nuanced and healthy take on masculinity, as opposed to the false dichotomy provided to us by the feminists of “ALL MASCULINITY MUST BE ERADICATED” vs. “MASCULINITY IS ABOUT VIOLENCE AND SEX AND SUPPRESSING YOUR FEELINGS AND NOTHING ELSE!!!”