So, I recently stumbled upon this video, which is a critique of a statement of Paul Elam where he defends traditional masculinity. Neither do I know the channel "Alex Cat", nor am I a personal fan of Paul Elam, so I think am relatively open-minded here.

I think both Alex Cat and Paul Elam have a point: On the one hand, a goal of the MRM should be to break traditional gender expectations. Men should not feel obliged to take disproportionate risks or work themselves to death. They should find self-worth in things other than money and status. If you watched The Red Pill, you know that Paul Elam thinks this way, too.

On the other hand, we, as a society, do depend on some men putting all their energy into their jobs, even risking their lives. Someone has to repair those power lines, and those who do that deserve our respect. Telling them they are living the wrong kind of masculinity generates new gender expectations, and that is counter-productive.

This topic reminds me a bit of some feminists propagating that women should stop wearing make-up and long hair. Of course, women should not have to follow traditional beauty expectations, but if they want to, it is their own personal choice and freedom. Nowadays, I think most feminists have recognized that, as I see many of them wearing long hair and make-up themselves. However, I see the danger of MRAs falling into the same trap where feminists have been.