Teaching Sociology: Minneapolis Just Ain't Manly

Gave my students a midterm this past week, and one of the questions they had the most difficulty answering was about what we sociologists call "oppositional masculinity." Simply put, it's the idea that being manly doesn't just mean acting in all the stereotypically manly ways (being aggressive, showing no emotions other than anger, needlessly harming your body to prove a point, etc.), but also means actively rejecting anything that can be seen as feminine. This is why, for example, many guys do not ever learn how to cook. Despite the fact that they probably need to eat just the same as anyone else, cooking is seen as feminine, and therefore not something you should do.

Well, here's a great example of that in action: Minneapolis was named the 18th manliest city in the U.S.

Ignoring the problematic criteria for what makes someone manly (it included the number of monster truck rallies, sports bars, licensed hunters, etc.), what was counted as feminine is especially revealing of how oppositional masculinity works. Points were subtracted for multiple "feminine" aspects, including the number of mini-van sales and home-furnishing stores.

Home-furnishing stores makes sense -- after all, truly manly men don't sit on things or sleep on beds. But minivan sales is the most telling. Of course manly men never take care of their children, for taking care of children is women's work. So even if you father children and love the children you have fathered, you're far less of a man if you buy a vehicle that makes sense for transporting the children you have sired.

Of course, maybe Minneapolis just lost so manly points because it's full of effete intellectual bloggers who complain about these type of things...