The Ordeal Of The 21st Century Man

Sir: I was prompted to ask myself the question ‘what are men turning into?’. Looking back at the days of our fore-fathers when men loved to be men, when it was honourable and a great privilege to be called a man – to dress with dignity, to walk with pride, to talk with boldness, and to move with every sense of responsibility like a man, when boys could go to work in steel factories with their proud fathers,

when daughters could wait patiently at the front door and run with sheer excitement into the arms of their loving fathers, wives could sing joyfully in the kitchen as they prepare their husband’s favourite meal, and of course expect a pleasurable reward later in bed from their husbands. Indeed, I ask, who has stolen this blissful trend from men this century? Nowadays, some men aren’t proud to be men.

Some dress almost disgracefully to look like a woman. Some pierce ears, wear earrings, plait hair and even wear make-up in order to look appealing (ask Charly B). All that for who?

Argh! Yet to think we were dealing with this awful trend, some have now taken this shameful masculine act to another level: a complete transformation from being a strong, respected man to a woman (ask the former Bruce Jenner, now referred to as Caitlyn Jenner). Sighs. I’m not in any way saying women are inferior to men, but to change ‘everything’ your Creator gave so a man can be called a woman is an utter insult to the creator.

Why can’t contemporary men work hard to be like Gideon – the mighty man of battle, or David, the man after God’s own heart, or Joshua the mighty man of valour, or even Daniel the courageous? Why can’t men work hard legally to provide for their family as it used to be previous centuries?

Why can’t men be proud to be called men and retain their gender? Why can’t men honestly love their women and crave genuinely for them instead of shamefully craving for another hard, muscle-filled man? Time will tell where all the noble virtues of men have disappeared. • Emmanuel Ebimoh, Lagos.