Masculinity Gone Sour Part 2

Moreover, testosterone levels after rapid production increased reaching its peak around the age of 20, then also significantly declined. Changes in libido, aggressiveness, sexual desire, muscle building, bone and urinary issues came into play. In essence, prescriptions for prostate related issues and sexual function becomes a pharmaceutical delight for that industry. Men became cognizant of the fact that they had shorter lifespans than women. That translated into more female centenarians as well as more feminine in nature assisted-living facilities. And of course, aging men’s top fears seemed to be and rightly so with physical weakness, loss of purpose, impotence, dependence on others, and developing dementia as brain atrophy becomes more pronounced in men. Men also experienced more heart attacks earlier than women as well. Many men became what Alfred Adler called the masculine protest. According to Adler, man was motivated more by his expectations of the future than he is by the experiences of his past. These strivings are ideals that affected and influenced present behavior. Masculine protest becomes the desire for superiority or competence, which arises out of feeling a sense of inferiority and/or incompetence. This makes sense when we take a look at the typical older, overweight, muscle less, fragile, impotent and lack of purpose and control freak male. It’s not surprising that these aged men overcompensated when they felt inadequate and inferior. One clear example is related to their verbal expression. Words and language becomes more aggressive with sadistic putdowns, coupled with other mental games, doubletalk and mixed messages. Another example of a sense of weakness is when they attempted to control and dominate others with passive aggressive interactions. According to Adler, the final goal of man was to be aggressive, to be powerful and to be superior. He called this a striving for superiority. However, biology might be saying something otherwise. Biology equals destiny.