Straw Men,Weak Men,and Hollow Men

Three forms of the straw man fallacy are posed: the straw, weak, and hollow man. Additionally, there can be non-fallacious cases of any of these species of straw man arguments.     

Men Helping Boys Become Men

SUMMARY

This paper explores the idea of men raising boys to be men as a potential site for abuse in the rearing of men and then creating abusive men. Looking at issues such as character building, the use of symbols to connote power and authority, and corporal punishment to create respect, the article, in a very personal way, explores the process of this segment of child rearing as a potential for creating abusive men in adulthood.     

The Occupational Attitudes of College Men

Abstract

The relationship between perceived overqualification and psychological well-being was explored within the framework of stress-illness models, using multiple regression analysis. Data were collected from 179 male and 109 female members of a local midwestern chapter of the American Postal Workers Union. As expected, there was a significant, positive relationship between perceived overqualification and psychological well-being: The greater the perceived overqualification, the greater the psychological distress. The interaction between perceived overqualification and gender was not significant.     

The Personality and Emotions of Men

Summary

The present study investigated the effect of required effort (moderate vs. low), level of expertise (“Dr.” vs. “Mr.”), and sex of the psychologist on compliance with the recommendations of school psychologists. One hundred forty-four elementary school teachers served as subjects. The psychologists evaluated a child from each teacher's class and recommended that she send for materials which would help the child's perceptual and reading development. Results indicate that compliance varied directly with required effort, but was unrelated to level of expertise and sex. It is argued that psychologists in schools may influence teachers as a function of legitimate power, whereas expert power is operative when dealing with the public.     

The Heterosexual Appeal of Socially Marginal Men

Surveyed women consistently specify preferences for egalitarian dates and/or mates. A common perception is that many of these same women often select consorts who are inscrutable, assertive, and controlling, ultimately bemoaning their choices. Dominance has been experimentally shown to provide initial attraction advantages. The Byronic Hero, a venerable literary model, embraces protagonists who possess extraordinary masculine traits that include dominance but also multiple personal flaws. Byronic Heroes, easily identified and plentiful in popular fiction, appear strongly to resonate with youthful audiences and provide alluring portrayals of heterosexual relations. In a classroom survey employing slide images of paired apparel models and a blind date scenario, collegiate women slightly but significantly preferred models independently judged to project Byronic traits over equally handsome men who appeared affable and conventional. Subject comments on Byronic models uniquely included allusions to sexual and mysterious/rebellious attributes. It was concluded that projections of Byronic masculinity provide initial advantages in the securing of heterosexual liaisons.     

Men Counseling Men: Redefining the Male Machine

The opportunity for men to give and receive counsel with other men is now a reality with the men's consciousness-raising movement. This article describes a men's CR program that encourages men to explore their ideas, feelings, and values in a noncompetitive and trusting atmosphere. Three important themes—self-disclosure, competition, and affection are identified. Barriers to developing close relationships and methodological problems are also identified. In addition, the article provides some examples of experiential and discussion activities that may enhance the level of group participation and trust.     

The Gendering of Men in Early Childhood Education

In-depth interviews with men who work with young children as well as other key personnel in early childhood education (ECE) were analyzed using Ackers (1990) theory of gendered organizations along with Connells (1987) typology of masculinities. The conclusion reached is that ECE is indeed gendered in terms of the symbols in frequent use, the differential structural location of women and men, the internal mental work of individuals, and the interactions among individuals. In addition, instead of performing a complicit masculinity and enjoying some of the perquisites and privileges of hegemonic men, as other researchers have suggested, this project demonstrates that the men are attempting to live subordinate masculinities that could challenge traditional gender relations. Their attempts are, however, thwarted by the gender regime embedded in the occupational structure.     

Straw Men,Iron Men,and Argumentative Virtue

The straw man fallacy consists in inappropriately constructing or selecting weak (or comparatively weaker) versions of the opposition’s arguments. We will survey the three forms of straw men recognized in the literature, the straw, weak, and hollow man. We will then make the case that there are examples of inappropriately reconstructing stronger versions of the opposition’s arguments. Such cases we will call iron man fallacies. The difference between appropriate and inappropriate iron manning clarifies the limits of the virtue of open-mindedness.     

The Two Worlds of Aggression for Men and Women

The purpose of this research was to assess differences in the nature of physical aggression experienced by men and women. Random digit dialing with Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing was used to obtain a sample of 1,753 Ontario adults aged 18–60 (response rate of 67%). This method of sampling obtains respondents who reflect the ethnic and social diversity of Ontario. Respondents were asked to describe the most recent incident of physical aggression in which they had been personally involved during the past year. Most incidents reported by females were with a male opponent, usually a spouse, partner, or friend, did not involve alcohol consumption, resulted in high negative emotional impact, and pertained to jealousy. Incidents reported by males tended to be with other males, friends or strangers, in bars or public places, and involved four or more participants who had been drinking. Incidents involving only men had lower emotional impact on respondents and included more punching, threatening, and insulting behavior compared to incidents involving other gender combinations. These results are discussed in terms of the implications for violence generally and the importance of addressing male-to-male aggression and factors that foster this form of aggression.     

The Adjective Check List Applied to Older Institutionalized Men

The assessment of the personality of the institutionalized aged presents many difficulties, since not all are capable of responding to the usual inventories. The Adjective Check List (ACL) has been considered a simple, flexible technique overcoming these difficulties. Seventy older men were evaluated on the ACL through self-reports and reports of their supervisors. Residents with disciplinary problems were described on a number of dimensions including aggression and need for change. Intelligence-personality relationships were found that were consistent with those found in children. The method appears capable of eliciting the negative self-perceptions of those who have early institutionalization.     

The Responsibility of Men for the Oppression of Women

ABSTRACT Feminist writers arguing that women are oppressed have pointed to men as the oppressors. They have, however, directed little attention to the question of the extent to which men are morally responsible for this oppression, a question which is of special concern for male feminists. Seven categories of men potentially responsible for the oppression of women are identified here; four are argued to be individually responsible for oppressing women and three not. The question of whether men are collectively responsible for the oppression of women is addressed, and three main difficulties are revealed in the endeavour to establish that they are. It is argued that one who is in no way responsible on an individual basis for oppressing women cannot be responsible by sole virtue of being a male. The result has implications for the status of men in the feminist movement.     

On Counseling Men

Counselors need to be aware of the characteristics of men, the qualities of men in counseling, and the pressures on the contemporary man. This article considers some of the expectations and qualities of men in general and in the counseling relationship in particular. The influence of these qualities and expectations on the interaction between client and counselor is examined. Suggestions are made to improve the effectiveness of the counseling process.