Vox has a steaming hot take just in time for Saturday’s #MarchForOurLives gun control rallies; assistant professor of sociology at the University of Arizona Jennifer Carlson argues that the gun debate ought to center around men and what has inspired them to carry.
Because many men are no longer the definitive breadwinners of the family, gun-carrying allows them to feel strong and needed, writes @jdawncarlson, a sociologist at the University of Arizona. https://t.co/nXzkEsyL0s
— Vox (@voxdotcom) March 24, 2018
Vox’s tweet is a grossly oversimplified take on the piece as a whole, but it’s not so far off. Carlson says she conducted research on gun carriers in Michigan and found that “the loss of manufacturing signaled not just a loss of jobs but also a loss of meaning, relevance, and dignity attached to these jobs.”
She adds, “Guns may be a poor substitute, but they will remain appealing as long as these deeper structures — and the demands they place on men — remain unaddressed.”
"…the loss of manufacturing signaled not just a loss of jobs but also a loss of meaning, relevance, & dignity attached to these jobs. Guns may be a poor substitute, but they will remain appealing as long as these deeper structures…remain unaddressed." https://t.co/n2HvShDBVa
— Stephen Saperstein Frug (@StephenFrug) March 24, 2018
So, what are these deeper structures?
Gun carry culture helped men from diverse backgrounds imagine themselves as protectors, counteracting gender vertigo. In metro Detroit, I learned there was some truth to the claim that gun carriers were indeed “clinging” to their guns — but not out of fearful ignorance (as Obama’s “clinging to their guns” quip implied) but because their carried guns said something important about who they were and what they wanted to become.
Neither aggressive criminals (the “wolves” in gun culture parlance) nor meek victims (the “sheep”), gun carriers see themselves as valiantly straddling a moral space of heroic violence. They are sheepdogs. This citizen-protector ethic redefines men’s social utility to their families.
…
With guns, men both rework their personal codes about what it means to be a good man and transform lethal force from a taboo act of violence to an act of good citizenship.
But … how does this address women?
https://twitter.com/Mellecon/status/977680697635860481
How sexist and misogynistic. Women carry too. https://t.co/JknsBeZ6aM
— Beth Wellington (@beth_wellington) March 24, 2018
Explain me, then. https://t.co/iy8NaueRDN
— The eyes of Fred are upon you (@fredontwittur) March 24, 2018
Tell me why my wife carries. https://t.co/AdhpgpbNLX
— Beard and Circus (@Shooter_ptpx01) March 24, 2018
Cute. Now tell me #WhyICarry. ? #2ADefenders #2A https://t.co/FWJpJF3a9P
— Princess of Whales (@corrcomm) March 24, 2018
https://twitter.com/TarheelKrystle/status/977694678614069249
Yeah, I carry because it makes me feel like I have bigger junk.
This is so damn dumb. https://t.co/OgZfDJTP5V
— The?FOO (@PolitiBunny) March 24, 2018
But what about Tomi's gun yoga pants. https://t.co/rZ1ukuXwzD
— Taylor (@TaylorPatrickC) March 24, 2018
In case you missed them, here are Tomi Lahren’s gun yoga pants:
Freudian horseshit https://t.co/cuaZGVX3R1
— Jason Conley (@skeptic74) March 24, 2018
What a joke of a take. Vox is trash. Flip the genders around and this is implying that women who aren’t the breadwinners are weak and useless #fail https://t.co/IOttIotXl5
— David Crennan ? (@oaty_3) March 24, 2018
Can you imagine the reaction if Vox ran a piece saying that since women are no longer the definitive child nurturers in the home that having houseplants makes them feel more useful and needed? https://t.co/HozVvaKjx8
— Jeryl Bier (@JerylBier) March 24, 2018
"Men carry guns because they feel emasculated".
"Lets emasculate men because of patriarchy and stuff".
Same people ? https://t.co/8Pfpk9iF3F
— scottyp (@vvangopher) March 24, 2018
?????
Someone submitted their Gender Studies thesis to Vox. https://t.co/JcF9wGP7uH
— Raymond (@RaymondWPS) March 24, 2018
This can only make sense to people who know nothing about guns or the people who value 2nd Amendment freedoms. https://t.co/jX9oCDGaVy
— Matt Snavely (@mattsnavely) March 24, 2018
We're about three think pieces away from them claiming that men like women because they're super gay. https://t.co/yXN7Q1yEqv
— prop op (@ProperOpinion) March 24, 2018
Related:
Vox says allowing women to carry 'implicitly devalues' sexual assaults http://t.co/RjZ2VNGFNe
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) February 19, 2015
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