Is Masculinity Spiritual?
BY GERMAN VILLEGAS
In a previous episodes of Modern Manhood we discussed the 1900s to set the scene for men’s involvement in the suffragette movement, and the powerful yet short-lived Men's Liberation movement. Now now we’re moving on to the more recent wave of the Men's Rights Movement.
Is masculinity innately spiritual?
If you’ve scrolled on Tik Tok, you will find no shortage of very aesthetic-looking videos outlining how to ‘tap into your divine masculine and divine feminine’ or what it means to be a ‘high-value male.’ The idea of fostering your ‘divine gendered energy’ to heal yourself may be going viral now, but it has roots back to the 80s.
At moments of rapid change or stifling plateaus in their life, many men find themselves seeking out guidance to reconnect with themselves or their ‘manhood’. Seeing it for the opportunity it is, a new subcategory of men’s groups emerged, ready to guide men into some sort of gender consciousness-raising through a series of spiritual trials. More prominent organizations like EVRYMAN, Sacred Sons, or the Mankind Project tout the transformative process of reclaiming masculine power through a series of rites of passage, usually through going to the woods or nature and hanging out with a bunch of other guys that have spent upwards of thousands of dollars to go to these retreats.
Along the way, it has been reported that questionable therapeutic practices may be used to bring some ‘wildness’ back to men. A big selling point for these retreats and programs is the claim that they are derived from some spiritual practice dating back to ancient times — or they talk a lot about alchemy or archetypes.
“We are committed to building alchemical spaces for men to be witnessed, heard, and accepted in their deepest truth so they ignite their inner fire and show up fully present to life.”
These groups are everywhere, and they all stem from a specific practice. From people called the mythopoets.
The mythopoets, a compound word of the myths and poetry they shared, started in the 80s and 90s. Their biggest inspiration came from a poet named Robert Bly, who wrote the best-selling book titled “Iron John.” The premise of the story of Iron John is that there is a young prince in a land who has imprisoned a so-called “wild man.” This prince is enamoured by this wild man and wants to release him; to do that, he must steal the key from his mother. Once he does that, the wild man, Iron John, steals the prince away and teaches him to be wild, just like him, before he returns to reclaim his land and territory. The idea is that young men cannot learn from their mothers, they must learn from other men, and those other men must be in touch with their inner “wildness.” The book tells this myth and connects it with other societal issues affecting men of that time, including the issue of “absent fathers.”
“The creation of a “new man,” one worthy to carry on the tradition of patriarchy, inevitably calls forth old myths. With “Iron John” Bly invokes a long, venerable tradition of stories and rites surrounding male deliverance.”
However, many other books are in this category, like The Way of the Superior Man and King Warrior Magician Lover. From these books, and the works of people like Carl Jung, mythopoets created their own “solution” for the male malaise. All pushing towards a return to the wilderness that has shaped today’s men’s movement of becoming spiritual warriors.
Despite speaking to many men who were moved and felt a significant presence because they were a part of these groups, I can’t buy into the mythopoetic movement. I have always looked at the spiritual warriors with a sense of caution because the terms they used, such as divine and spiritual masculinity, did not jive with what I thought about masculinity. These were also all male groups with little discussion about societal and systemic oppression caused by toxic masculinity (a phrase that the mythopoets invented – you’re welcome).
The more research I did, I found that I wasn’t the only one. There were the same critiques as when Iron John was released. The main critique was that even though the spiritual warrior is a person who cares deeply about the status of masculinity, they want to see men do well, their methods are antiquated and questionable. The spiritual warrior cares little about the patriarchy, they believe that the work stems the internal and interpersonal, and through that, broader change comes. This is a naive view of the issues of masculinity of domination.
In episode four, we’ll go through the story of Robert Bly, and look at three of the main spiritual warrior organizations: EVRYMAN, Mankind Project, and Sacred Sons.
Together, we’ll take a closer critical look at one of the longer-lasting men’s movements: The Mythopoets.