We are meditating on the healthy masculinity—what I call the “sacred masculine”–because one of the clear lessons from the recent election was that young men voted for the declared winner by 56% to 44%. And the declared winner is by no means a model of a healthy masculinity.
Not only did he plunge the country into chaos and violence in an attempt to kill American democracy on January 6, 2021, but he called that day of carnage and insurrection “a day of love.” He lied over 33,000 times as president.
None of this is healthy masculinity. There is nothing healthy about ego aggrandization, about lying about losing an election, about not being able to admit defeat and creating a “big lie” that spread through the country.
In a chapter on “MAGA’s Precarious Manhood vs. Authentic Masculinity” in my book, A Handbook for the Election, I cite Harold Meyerson on how the MAGA movement is “reliant on the cult of toughness and hypermasculinity.”
Thom Hartmann spoke to this reality following the election telling us that the extreme hateful Trump supporters are out calling for ‘rape squads’ and violence…we all need to be careful. So we saw with Trump’s embrace of the violent ‘Jews will not replace us’ Nazis in Charlottesville during his first term, the former president has again given license to the most depraved, hateful, and disgusting impulses of America’s young men.
He cited a tweet by “open Nazi Nick Fuentes” (whom Trump invited over for dinner) telling girls and women, “your body, my choice. Forever.” (The tweet was viewed nearly 90 million times and reposted nearly 40 million times, followed by “Repeal the 19th (Amendment)” and “Get back to the kitchen.”) Another viral meme reads: “Release the Project 2025 Handmaids Tale rape squads.” (all in caps in the original).*
Yes, manhood and how we define it is now implanted into our politics and we must look for healthy versions of the same.
Hildegard of Bingen, in her painting of the “Antichrist,” makes it explicit that unhealthy manhood or patriarchy is the issue.
David French, in an article entitled “Hulk Hogan is Not the Only Way to Be a Man,” talks of a seductive quality to Trump’s masculinity. Grievance is a form of counterfeit purpose, and anger is a form of counterfeit courage. The reptilian brain comes out in spades and the mammal brain where compassion reigns is smothered by the dominant reptilian brain.
French celebrates a commencement speech delivered by Admiral William McRaven, former Navy Seal and designer of the team who killed Osama bin Laden. He recently told the college graduates: You must have compassion. You must ache for the poor and disenfranchised. You must feel for the vulnerable. You must weep for the ill and infirm. You must pray for those who are without hope. You must be kind to those less fortunate.
French adds, that’s the message American men need to hear. That’s a message the American people need to hear. This better way, for men—for all of us [is] rooted in honor, courage and love.
The real meaning of virility is virtue. Both words come from the Latin word for “man,” vir. Another way to translate the word virtus is strength. True strength and true manhood and true virility are about inner strength or virtue. Thomas Aquinas observes that it is a great thing to do miracles, but it is a greater thing to live virtuously.
Thus we are exploring in our current DM’s at this critical juncture in planetary survival and American democracy survival archetypes or metaphors for the Sacred Masculine. And how to practice them. The late Father Donald Reeves, whose story we told this week following his death, was such a man.
*Thom Hartmann, “Saturday Report 11/9/24 — Is this really who we are?” Hartmannreport.com.
See also: Michael Corkery, “Shouting Racial Slurs, Neo-Nazi Marchers Shock Ohio’s Capital,” New York Times, November 17, 2024.
Adapted from Matthew Fox, Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election, pp. 99-103, 81-84.
And Fox, The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine.
And Fox, The Tao of Thomas Aquinas: Fierce Wisdom for Hard Times, pp. 97-100.
And Fox, Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul & Society.
Banner Image: A male teacher wearing protective gear teaches women’s self defense as part of Army Community Service’s Family Advocacy/Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program, in conjunction with the military police, in Heidelberg, Germany. Photo by Kristen Marquez, Herald Post, on Flickr.
Queries for Contemplation
Do you sense that at this time virtue—including truth-telling and courage and the quest for justice and morality—are especially called for? And that true virility and manhood is found in such a quest?
Recommended Reading
Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election
Matthew Fox tells us that he had always shied away from using the term “Anti-Christ” because it was so often used to spread control and fear. However, given today’s rise of authoritarianism and forces of democracide, ecocide, and christofascism, he turns the tables in this book employing the archetype for the cause of justice, democracy, and a renewed Earth and humanity.
From the Foreword: If there was ever a time, a moment, for examining the archetype of the Antichrist, it is now…Read this book with an open mind. Good and evil are real forces in our world. ~~ Caroline Myss, author of Anatomy of the Spirit and Conversations with the Divine.
For immediate access to Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election, order the e-book with 10 full-color prints from Amazon HERE.
To get a print-on-demand paperback copy with black & white images, order from Amazon HERE or IUniverse HERE.
To receive a limited-edition, full-color paperback copy, order from MatthewFox.org HERE.
Order the audiobook HERE for immediate download.
The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine
To awaken what Fox calls “the sacred masculine,” he unearths ten metaphors, or archetypes, ranging from the Green Man, an ancient pagan symbol of our fundamental relationship with nature, to the Spiritual Warrior….These timeless archetypes can inspire men to pursue their higher calling to connect to their deepest selves and to reinvent the world.
“Every man on this planet should read this book — not to mention every woman who wants to understand the struggles, often unconscious, that shape the men they know.” — Rabbi Michael Lerner, author of The Left Hand of God
The Tao of Thomas Aquinas: Fierce Wisdom for Hard Times
A stunning spiritual handbook drawn from the substantive teachings of Aquinas’ mystical/prophetic genius, offering a sublime roadmap for spirituality and action.
Foreword by Ilia Delio.
“What a wonderful book! Only Matt Fox could bring to life the wisdom and brilliance of Aquinas with so much creativity. The Tao of Thomas Aquinas is a masterpiece.”
–Caroline Myss, author of Anatomy of the Spirit
Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society
Visionary theologian and best-selling author Matthew Fox offers a new theology of evil that fundamentally changes the traditional perception of good and evil and points the way to a more enlightened treatment of ourselves, one another, and all of nature. In comparing the Eastern tradition of the 7 chakras to the Western tradition of the 7 capital sins, Fox allows us to think creatively about our capacity for personal and institutional evil and what we can do about them.
“A scholarly masterpiece embodying a better vision and depth of perception far beyond the grasp of any one single science. A breath-taking analysis.” — Diarmuid O’Murchu, author of Quantum Theology: Spiritual Implications of the New Physics
5 thoughts on “A Sign of the Times: Moving from Unhealthy to Healthy Masculinity”
Yes, and yes when combined with the Divine Feminine. We as men, need the comfort and embrace of the ‘Sacred Mother’ so that we too can understand how the ‘Sacred Mother’ not only cares for some like us, but for all. — BB.
I grieve for the loss of the American moral soul. Thank you for keep us focus. The journey before will not be easy .
Yes! Yes! Thanks again Matthew for your many books on Creation Spirituality that is very wholistic/holistic in honoring all LOVING healthy forms and expressions of the Sacred Marriage of the Divine Feminine and Divine Masculine Spiritual Creative Energies from Our MOTHER~FATHER SOURCE CREATOR’S LOVING Creative Evolving SPIRIT within, through, among Us and All Living Beings in Our Beautiful Sacred Mother Earth and within Our Evolving LOVING DIVERSE COSMOS in the Sacred Process of the ETERNAL PRESENT MOMENT….
Meine Erfahrung ist, dass mein Sohn durch das Vorbild des partnerschaftlichen gegenseitigen Umsorgens seiner Eltern und ihrer Kinder, der Grund war, weshalb er heute seinen eigenen Sohn mit mütterlicher Wärme umsorgt. Darum frage ich, wann und durch wen erlernen die Söhne eine gesunde Männlichkeit? Sind nicht Mutter und Vater in gleichem Maß daran beteiligt? Dazu gehört dann aber auch, dass die Söhne und Töchter bei ALLEN im Haushalt anfallenden Arbeiten kreativ und gleichberechtigt eingebunden werden, um so, auf schlichte alltägliche Weise „In ein selbstverständliches umsorgendes WIR“ hinein zu wachsen.
There are women and girls all over this planet suffering the extremes of male violence against women and girls – Afghanistan, Iran, Sudan, places like Haiti where rape squads and violence are the norm……….
Canadian Margaret Atwood predicted this global ‘Handmaids Tale’ dystopian tragedy…..
As did Canadian musician Leonard Cohen in his prophetic song THE FUTURE…. “you will see the woman hanging upside down, her features hidden by her fallen gown….” And as for the torturing of Mother Nature…Cohen’s comment is “take the only tree that’s left and stuff it up the hole in your culture….” and “there’ll be phantoms and fires on the road and the white man dancing………”
All of these violent misogynists have a mother………………. What the f++k……….