Did the 90s destroy American manhood?

Susam L.M. Goldberg brings us ten ways 90s pop culture destroyed the American male. Remember Al Bundy? How about Homer Simpson? Goldberg adds:

Woody Allen made neuroses funny. Jerry Seinfeld made neuroses a way of life.

I have not seen the movie Clerks. Have you? Goldberg writes:

Jerry Seinfeld wasn’t the only guy who didn’t want to grow up. Kevin Smith garnered critical acclaim for his indie hit Clerks, which depicted two 20-something Gen-X bums doing nothing with their lives. Christopher Noxon may not have published Rejuvenile until 2006, but what he wrote about was a ’90s trend: grown boys who had no desire to become men. While the slightly metrosexual Jerry and George “reasoned” themselves out of relationships, grunge clerks Dante and Randal immersed themselves in a world of childish behaviors and impulses.

And rap?


Remember this?


White males as sexual predators? Goldberg writes:

The Fight Club myth also had a nasty co-theory that typified white males as sexual predators. The Lewinsky scandal solidified this notion, as the multiple sexual exploits of the white, male leader of the free world, also known as “The First Black President,” flooded the media. The fact that he perjured himself about the affair only added fuel to the anti-man fire.

By the end of the decade, American masculinity had been beaten into submission. With apathetic acceptance, men rejuveniled themselves into boyhood, shielding themselves with childish behaviors and neuroses in order to avoid commitment to adult responsibilities. Those who did choose to take on manhood did so at the threat of death or public shaming. The few who did choose to fight back only illustrated the academy’s myth that masculinity was ultimately the most destructive force in our culture.

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