Stifled
HAWAII, MAR 9 - What does ‘stifled’ mean? His natural emotions and behaviors are held in check with difficulty, his animal desires are smothered and suppressed, his confidence and masculinity is suffocated... His entire being is stifled; his breathing, speaking, walking, relationships and life habits have been nearly suffocated by the fear of judgment and the false lessons and ideas that have unknowingly been with him all his life. Muscles are tensed up throughout his day and he is ever-contemplative of his behavior and how others will react to it. He is analytical about his interactions with other men; this is where the boyish disease of homophobia takes hold of most insecure men, wondering (worrying) if the other guy is more 'alpha' than he is and trying to forcibly establish his role amongst other men. This modern uprise of homophobia in young men has caused men to stop looking to fellow men for help and deep-level, authentic friendship.
Women have been left to assume the roles as men's confidants and therapists; making women the SINGLE source of intimacy, spiritual growth, and most importantly, validation. Like children, being called a faggot or a sissy has more offending power than ever before and is a tremendous blow to the psyche of a stifled man. These un-masculine fears we have of social ridicule or character insult by other men causes men to keep only women in their intimate confidence. It drives men away from other men. Men keep all of their conversational topics on the top surface level of life; my boat, my car, my adventure, my girlfriend and my house…never anything deeply meaningful, soulful or emotional; a true life of quiet and hidden desperation and loneliness.
And when men feel this way and look around at their friends, everyone else seems to be doing alright, so they don't talk about it, leave it alone, stuff it down and keep the 'act like a man' face on. ...
Women have been left to assume the roles as men's confidants and therapists; making women the SINGLE source of intimacy, spiritual growth, and most importantly, validation. Like children, being called a faggot or a sissy has more offending power than ever before and is a tremendous blow to the psyche of a stifled man. These un-masculine fears we have of social ridicule or character insult by other men causes men to keep only women in their intimate confidence. It drives men away from other men. Men keep all of their conversational topics on the top surface level of life; my boat, my car, my adventure, my girlfriend and my house…never anything deeply meaningful, soulful or emotional; a true life of quiet and hidden desperation and loneliness.
And when men feel this way and look around at their friends, everyone else seems to be doing alright, so they don't talk about it, leave it alone, stuff it down and keep the 'act like a man' face on. ...
Source: “The Stifled Man” by Chase Hughes, PRIME. Honolulu, Hawaii.
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