«The Art of Manliness» er en amerikansk blog dedikert til «uncovering the lost art of being a man» drevet av Brett McKay fra Tulsa, Oklahoma. Den er full av tips og triks og råd og artikler om alt det en mann bør kunne for å takle livet og verden. Det hele er pakket inn i en slags 50-60-tallestetikk (den gang menn var menn), med retrodesign, gamle bilder osv. Innholdet er nok bygget på en slags amerikansk kristenfundamentalisme, uten at det gjør noe for helhetsopplevelsen. Så Menn – legg The Art of Manliness i bokmerkelisten, og bli en enda bedre Mann.
Brett skriver følgende om bloggen sin:
The historian and sociologist Lewis Mumford said, “Every generation revolts against its fathers and makes friends with its grandfathers.”
Growing up I always truly admired my own grandfather — William D. Hurst. A member of the “Greatest Generation,” a veteran of WWII, and a federal forester, he loved to tinker, be out in the wild, could fix almost anything, and was a straight-shooting, thoroughly upright guy. He was manly.
A lot of my peers idealized their grandfathers too, and wanted to be more like them. But the gap between their generation and ours seemed huge.
Many men today feel adrift and have lost the confidence, focus, skills, and virtues that men of the past embodied. In an increasingly androgynous society, modern men are confused about their role and what it means to be an honorable, well-rounded man.
The causes of this male malaise are many — from the cultural to the technological. One factor is simply the lack of direction offered men in the popular culture. Men’s magazines today are largely about sex, sports cars, and getting six-pack abs.
The Art of Manliness seeks to fill this void and offer an alternative to those who believe there’s more to being a man than expensive clothes and the hot babe of the month.
AoM is a blog about growing up well, aimed at men and their unique challenges and interests. We explore all things manly — from the serious and philosophical to the practical and fun. We seek to uncover how to live with grandpa’s swagger, virtue, and know-how in the present age by wedding the best of the past to the best of the present. The end goal is to create a synergy of tradition and modernity that offers men a way forward and signposts on how to live an excellent, flourishing life.
Ultimately, the Art of Manliness aims to encourage our readers to be better husbands, fathers, brothers, citizens — a new generation of great men.
