I very much agree with Matthew Fox’s recent suggestion to apply to the attitude and behavior of people such as Hegseth a new phrase, namely “hysterical masculinity” (see DM July 27).
The notion of “hysteria” — the word itself is derived from the Latin word for uterus — as a tool for the submission of women was created in the 19th century and then widely adopted. Even so, it is relevant to notice that the deranged and unrestrained behavior that the patriarchal men of the 19th and 20th centuries have ascribed to free women is now enacted in reality by their heirs, the patriarchal men of the 21st century, who present very differently than the composed, severe, yet benevolent and condescending medical class of Victorian society.
There is something deep about such a shift. Perhaps patriarchy is aware that it is losing control over society? Is that why its present-day interpreters lose control over themselves? These are people who who are hell-bent on proving their masculinity to the public at all costs. Obviously, then, they are quite insecure about it. Fox defines “hysterical masculinity” as a refuge for men who are afraid of the feminine side of their own souls, including their own powers for empathy and compassion. Hysterical masculinity is busy projecting its fears on the rest of us. Yes!
A quite interesting, even though convoluted, book by Greg Mogenson* makes the point that psychiatrists and psychoanalysts have converged in defining “hysteria” as the unruly spiritual aspect of the human, which Jung instead called “anima” or “soul.” These modern men did not want to have anything to do with what they could not explain with their scientific method. Thus, they marginalized the cries of the soul of their (mostly female) patients, pathologized them, and proceeded in their infinite condescendence to cure their patients’ symptoms — i.e., silence them.
Psychoanalysis, knowingly or unknowingly, says Mogenson, is madly in love with the soul, which it defines as hysteria. Jung stepped out of this morass by acknowledging the soul and her right to disturb the moral certainties of the individual. In his memoirs, he tells the story of discovering a “female voice” within himself, which after his break with Freud was telling him (to his dismay) that his work was not science, but rather art. Jung called this experience “the woman in me.”
One of the most relevant experiences that I had during the recent retreat I led in Sardinia was encountering some men who had already worked at listening to “the woman in them” and took the retreat as a chance to deepen the integration of their female core of empathy and compassion with their external but no less real masculine identity. When some realizations emerged, that is, the anima of the man started speaking freely, one could witness, for example, uncontrollable sobbing or incoherent speech.
Behaviors that 19th-century psychiatrists would have dubbed as hysterical, are in fact the language of the soul. The men who came out of that retreat were capable of deep hugs, unafraid of the gender/sexual identities of the people they hugged. Feelings could flow easily. Yes, feeling did interrupt rationality, but interruption is not negation. The fear of total loss of control because one can feel — what? the pain of another, or one’s own pain, or the joy present in the cosmos — is precisely only a fear, not a reality.
Reconciled men are the polar opposite of hysterical men. The two groups, in fact, share the same core softness, the same need to break out of the rigid roles assigned to them since birth, the same desire to be caressed and caress and hug other humans, and pets, and trees. Yet those who staunchly refuse to listen to their core voice end up exhibiting uncontrolled behaviors not for a moment, but long term. And their uncontrolled behavior is all the more destructive as they — as men in a patriarchal society — are very difficult to stop.
Hegseth, Trump, Musk, and their likes, they all need a good mental breakdown. Unfortunately, they are so “hell-bent” to repress and despise their soft inner core, that when that happens it is likely to be severe and potentially untreatable. If I suffered from a God complex I would invite them to my next retreat in Italy, which will be focused precisely on these matters (June 2027). I am happy, instead, to realize that I am able to work at the intersection of politics and spirituality, catching not just the fashion of the time, but the core issues of our era.
Greg Mogenson, The Dove in the Consulting Room
- Banner image: The toxic masculinity of Hegseth and Trump. “Zombies: They are good at destroying things, but not much else.” PhotoArt by Folsom Natural on Flickr
Queries for Contemplation
What is your own relationship with hysteria?
Related Reading by Matthew Fox
The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine
Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ
Charles Burack, ed., Matthew Fox: Essential Writings on Creation Spirituality
Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society
