Itxu Diaz's Advice to Men

Here is the article I am analyzing today:

“The World Needs Masculine Men in Their Rightful Place.” Itxu Diaz. Translated by Joel Dalmau. The American Spectator. Spectator.org. September 12, 2023.

This article comes not from the Feminist Media, but from a conservative political publication – The American Spectator. Itxu Diaz writes in the first paragraph his topic is the “crisis of masculinity”. From that and the article's title, you might think that he is going to offer some good advice to men. Nope.

Diaz starts his article undermining men with a few cheeky quips. For example, “New masculinity is neither new nor – clearly – masculinity unless you think Justin Bieber and John Wayne belong to the same species. I don't.” It should be noted that Diaz describes himself as a political satirist, among other things, and it's possible this is what he considers funny.

Now think about what might happen if someone so casually said he doesn't think Hillary Clinton, Rosie O'Donnell, and Joy Reid, belong to the same species as Olivia Rodrigo and Zendaya. Do you think feminists would complain about sexism, racism, or homophobia? Of course they would, feminist women complain about everything. (Guideline 18a: Omni-complaining.)

Diaz moves on to make banal observations such as, “If you read the news, women seem to be calling for a new kind of masculinity that is more like… them. However, it's all a sham,... Most women still want what they've always wanted: for you to be able to defrost the pipes in winter when they want to take a shower, to take them for a ride in the biggest and most polluting car possible, to have thick muscles and good pecs so they can show you off when friends visit, and to be able to kill the bad guy with your teeth and marry her at the end of the movie.” Ha-ha?

There are two points I want to make here. The first is, how does this man, Diaz, know what women want? Or, is it because he lists such high expectations of men that women can just tacitly nod in agreement rather than vocalize their almost impossible demands and reveal their shallowness?

The second is, review the list of things he thinks women want: for men to be able to fix any random problem for their comfort, to chauffeur them around in the biggest (expensive) car possible, to be handsome and muscular of course, so they can show them off when their friends visit. (Then relegate them back to the man cave, basement, or garage, after their friends leave.) And, to be a tough enough bad boy to kill the bad guy and marry the damsel in the fairy tale movie. (Shortly thereafter, she will testify against you in court that while she wanted you to provide the perfect amount of protection from the bad guy, killing him was going too far.)

The American Spectator is a semi-intelligent publication. It isn't a legal or hard-science journal, it covers politics, but I at least expect it to be middlebrow. However, in this article, Diaz even includes a quote from lowbrow writer Dave Barry. In his defense, Diaz has written some serious-minded articles. I wish he would take this topic seriously.

Here is another example of just how trite his observations are, “There is a secret female complacency with certain male vices, especially when they involve a ball.” Secret? You mean the type of secret that the author and only the author knows about? Complacency? You mean the type of complacency where women passive-aggressively and sometimes actively and vocally resent their husbands sitting on the couch watching a game? Could Diaz maybe spend some time satirizing female vices such as complaining about everything which seems to be their favorite pastime?

Something I want you to think about is the difference in the way women and men are written about and talked about in our society. Diaz thinks nothing of writing about men in this way, but probably wouldn't dare write a satirical article about women. (Guidelines 5b-5c: Tear down boys and men at all costs and Build up girls and women at all costs.)

For fun, let's try it the other way. Most men still want what they've always wanted. For women to be able to defrost the food and cook it, to be supportive companions, to be thin and have good breasts so we can show them off when friends visit, and to be better looking than every woman in the movie. When written in this way, do you think feminists would complain about it as “sexist”? Of course they would, feminist women complain about everything.

When women and society have expectations and standards for men, everyone is supposed to just accept it. Yes, men have some expectations and standards for women, but the key difference is women, feminist society, and the Feminist Media, refuse to accept them, condemn them as “sexist,” and try to abolish all standards for women. The difference isn't in the shallowness of both sexes, the difference is in the response to the shallowness. The difference in the response to the shallowness is the double-standard that goes against men.

Then, Diaz barfs up this whopper:

“Possibly, what most differentiates real men from real women is the way they deal with fear and pain. While women seem to be more afraid than men for the first half a second, the truth is that they are much more resistant to pain than men, and they can also do something that seems superhuman to us, even in extreme circumstances: not complain.”

That is what he thinks most differentiates real men from real women? This is how he is trying to help solve the crisis of masculinity?

Again, could we take such a blithe attitude going the other way? Force feminist women to fight on the front lines in the next war(s). At least they could step on a landmine and maybe save someone of a better species. And, if they survive the blast, we won't have to worry about them at all. As women, they will fearlessly march through any minefield and endure any pain without complaint, if they feel any pain at all. Immediately draft all feminists and lesbians into the army!

“In fact, a woman might take a trip to the operating theater several times a year without anyone knowing about it, and she will never make a drama out of it.” Without anyone knowing about it? Is Diaz insane? Everyone will know about it. Her family, her extended family, friends, everybody at church because it will be in the prayer requests, her co-workers, and everybody else she tells. If it's breast cancer, the entire month of October is used to raise awareness for that type of cancer and tough NFL football players will wear something pink to support the cause. Diaz's understanding of women and men is exactly wrong.

Diaz then indulges in a soliloquy from an imaginary man complaining about a scheduled surgery complete with cockney phrases such as, “… fancy a beer?” You should thank me for not quoting the entire speech. So, Diaz creates a fictional man to support his point that men complain about pain more than women do. Diaz describes himself as a satirist, but his work here is just doggerel.

Diaz has high expectations of men, high praise for women's pain tolerance and stoic attitude, and then piles on some old-fashioned chivalry, “The gentleman, the traditional man, has his own code of values, and he would rather lose a testicle than hurt a lady, be rude to her, or boast about that stupid thing that only radical feminists believe in, which is the supposed male superiority.”

Supposed male superiority? Remember the article's title? How does this help to put men in their rightful place? Expect everything from men all the way up to sacrificial chivalry, heap undeserved praise on women, but also equality, always equality.

For fun, let's try it the other way. The lady, the traditional woman, is virtuous, and she would rather fearlessly and stoically undergo vaginal mutilation than lie to a man, be disrespectful to him, or complain about all the false and stupid things that feminist women believe in, that women are “victims” of oppression, sexism, discrimination, or inequality.

“The crisis of masculinity would be over in a matter of weeks if men were to stop reading the woke mainstream media to find out what girls supposedly think about them.” Okay, but then he adds this vomitous thought, “The crisis would simply be over if men went back to really knowing what women and society expect of them. We have had too many years of males not showing up, and as a consequence, the true victims of this situation are not guys but real women.”

If men went back to really knowing what women and society expect of them? So, men, stop reading the woke media and feminist girls and start knowing what feminist women in our feminist society expect of you instead. And, of course, the true “victims” are real women. Diaz's article is from 2023 and he uncorks, “Meteor Destroys Earth: Women Hardest Hit, Not Guys.” Are you kidding me?! I can't believe the editors at The American Spectator allowed this to be printed in their magazine. Jessica Valenti could have written this article.

Let me be clear, to me the problem isn't with expectations for men, the problem is the lack of delineated expectations for women and the condemnation toward those who do have expectations for women. I don't care which way they want it, but they can't have it both ways. They can't have high expectations for men and low expectations for women. What expectations do women, men, and society, have for women? See, also, Challenge #2 on "The Challenges" page: Name one aspect of life (or expectation of women) feminists don't complain about.

The crisis of masculinity is certainly an issue that needs to be addressed, but an even bigger problem is the crisis with femininity. We need a complete overhaul of what it means to be an adult woman in our society.

The very last line of Diaz's article is, “Dude: Stand up, beat your chest, roar a little, and let awaken that dormant masculinity.” And, I bet you thought he wasn't going to offer any good advice, dude.