Crews and Theroux are part of the same conversation. In different ways they are both discussing what manhood was and is today, what it should become, and some implications of the mindset of masculinity. Crews and Theroux are responding to generally similar things - what it is to be a man, but from different perspectives, drawing in different personal experiences.
Crews reveals personal experiences growing up in which he was forced to prove masculinity through physical strength and his ability to exert power over others. He also shares that he has had to evolve his masculinity over time because what characteristics of manhood he values have changed. Crews responds to the pressure of being tough and stoic and superior to be considered a man by stating that it is okay to accept the emotions that you are feeling, such as fear. Crews views men and manhood as a necessity to society but does not believe in the current “mindset” of masculinity. He says that this mindset is what allows men to feel as if they are better than others. This is the mindset that leads to rape and abuse and this mindset must change.
Theroux’s view on manhood is much more cynical. He despises all things associated with manhood including apathy and sports. Although Theroux seems negative and Crews more embracing, they are both arguing against how society defines a man. Throughout Theroux’s childhood he was forced into sports that he did not enjoy, just so he could begin his journey into manhood. He believes that the culture of physical sports promotes rape culture.
The bigger picture that Crews and Theroux share is that men are being slated to become society’s expectation of what a man is. Men are expected to do things they may not want to do, for example playing sports instead of becoming an artist. Men are expected to be superior to women and that supporting equality somehow makes them less valuable. Men are expected to not feel, not care, and not fear. But most significantly men are expected to keep up with an oppressive façade rather to be who they are.
I agree with what the bigger picture between the two arguments are. Both authors are saying different versions of the same thing. They are trying to get the same point across but their personal experiences distort what the main idea is. Their main idea is that modern men are instructed and trained to act a certain way, but this way of acting is outdated to another time and society is struggling to keep pace and update their views. Men nowadays want to choose how they act not follow a certain mold that is chosen for them. Most men nowadays see women as equal but with modern culture men are almost trained to see them as lower than them as objects but there are those and not a few that dont feel that way and that puts them at odds with society. In the end every aspect of both authors conversation can be seen as a seperate side of the same coin.
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