西部落：难觅真正的男子汉

So I believe it was Mae West to (have) said in 1932, "It's not the man in my life that counts, it's the life in my men." But it turns out that Mae West may have been under what is possibly a dying breed. No less an institution than Harvard has been wondering whether or not manly¹ men are in fact on the wane². And Bill Wales is here to look at it.

Oh, Diane, you know, manly men that can also mean er destructive men, self-absorbed, sometimes misogynistic³ men. And a feminist⁴ gender-neutral societies got a long way towards breaking up the He-Man Women Haters Club. But according to manliness⁵, say a thought provoking new polemic⁶, we should stop pretending men and women are equal, and brace⁷ the inner caveman and let guys be guys.

Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca, cool, independent, self sufficient.

"He is looking at you, kid"

No doubt, a very manly man. But what about the men of today?

Manly, definitely manly.

He is manly, but just in a different way. (He's like soft manly.)

Manly, yes, the Terminator thing.

Manly or not?

Manly, yes. (You can be honest.)

Not.

Not?

Absolutely not.

No.

No.

Not manly.

Not at all.

Not even a little bit.

Take heart, Tom Cruise, you are not alone. Because according to a controversial new book, America's on the verge⁸ of a manliness crisis.

Men are still free to be manly, but there is no justification⁹ for it. There is no welcome for it, no respect for it.

Harvard professor Harvey Mansfield wrote Manliness and he defines it as confidence in the face of risk. Think Gary Cooper in High Noon, President Bush, and on the dark side, even Sadam Hussein. Women like Margaret Thatcher¹⁰ can be manly, and even the cowboys of Brokeback Mountain. But manly men deserve to be cocky, Mansfield says, after all, they built the world.

We are losing the contribution that manly men can make, and we are er, confusing women and men who don't quite know what to do about manliness.

He says we should stop pretending women are equal in all tasks, and he says women should stop pretending they want something else in a man.

He is so sensitive. But what women wouldn't want a sensitive man?

Women may say they want a sensitive man but they don't always love one. They are sometimes much more attracted to a manly man, who maybe more oblivious¹¹ of their needs and their desires but impresses them more.

Whether or not they want macho? More modern women may be yearning¹² for old-fashioned roles, in a recent survey of 5000 couples, the happiest wives said their men support them financially and emotionally. A Bogart who cuddles.

I mean it takes a lot of energy to flex¹³ your muscles all the time, you know, it's nice just to relax.

Now convincing them to do the ironing, that's a whole other thing. Critics accuse the author here of trying to turn back the clock. But his basic premises¹⁴, "We should let women be women, guys be guys".

So he says it's men who build the world, huh?

Yes.

Yeah, tell that to Eve, Ok!?

Touche.

1 manly   

adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地

参考例句：

• The boy walked with a confident manly stride.这男孩以自信的男人步伐行走。
• He set himself manly tasks and expected others to follow his example.他给自己定下了男子汉的任务，并希望别人效之。

2 wane   

n.衰微，亏缺，变弱；v.变小，亏缺，呈下弦

参考例句：

• The moon is on the wane.月亮渐亏。
• Her enthusiasm for him was beginning to wane.她对他的热情在开始减退。

3 misogynistic   

参考例句：

• And it brings out everything that is most noxious and misogynistic about the right. 而且，这种情绪也流露出右派思想中最为保守有害，歧视女性的那一面。 来自互联网

4 feminist   

adj.主张男女平等的，女权主义的

参考例句：

• She followed the feminist movement.她支持女权运动。
• From then on,feminist studies on literature boomed.从那时起，男女平等受教育的现象开始迅速兴起。

5 manliness   

刚毅

参考例句：

• She was really fond of his strength, his wholesome looks, his manliness. 她真喜欢他的坚强，他那健康的容貌，他的男子气概。
• His confidence, his manliness and bravery, turn his wit into wisdom. 他的自信、男子气概和勇敢将他的风趣变为智慧。

6 polemic   

n.争论，论战

参考例句：

• He launched into a fierce polemic against the government's policies.他猛烈地抨击政府的政策。
• He wrote a splendid polemic in my favour.他写了一篇出色的文章为我辩护。

7 brace   

n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备

参考例句：

• My daughter has to wear a brace on her teeth. 我的女儿得戴牙套以矫正牙齿。
• You had better brace yourself for some bad news. 有些坏消息,你最好做好准备。

8 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

9 justification   

n.正当的理由；辩解的理由

参考例句：

• There's no justification for dividing the company into smaller units. 没有理由把公司划分成小单位。
• In the young there is a justification for this feeling. 在年轻人中有这种感觉是有理由的。

10 thatcher   

n.茅屋匠

参考例句：

• Tom Sawyer was in the skiff that bore Judge Thatcher. 汤姆 - 索亚和撒切尔法官同乘一条小艇。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
• Mrs. Thatcher was almost crazed; and Aunt Polly, also. 撒切尔夫人几乎神经失常，还有波莉姨妈也是。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

11 oblivious   

adj.易忘的，遗忘的，忘却的，健忘的

参考例句：

• Mother has become quite oblivious after the illness.这次病后，妈妈变得特别健忘。
• He was quite oblivious of the danger.他完全没有察觉到危险。

12 yearning   

a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的

参考例句：

• a yearning for a quiet life 对宁静生活的向往
• He felt a great yearning after his old job. 他对过去的工作有一种强烈的渴想。

13 flex   

n.皮线，花线；vt.弯曲或伸展

参考例句：

• We wound off a couple of yards of wire for a new lamp flex.我们解开几码电线作为新的电灯花线。
• He gave his biceps a flex to impress the ladies.他收缩他的肱二头肌以吸引那些女士们的目光。

14 premises   

n.建筑物，房屋

参考例句：

• According to the rules,no alcohol can be consumed on the premises.按照规定，场内不准饮酒。
• All repairs are done on the premises and not put out.全部修缮都在家里进行，不用送到外面去做。