What Does Masculinity Have to do With Mass Shootings?

There has been a lot of discussion about gun violence lately and most of that discussion is geared towards stricter gun control laws. But what about all the people who have access to guns and DON’T go around shooting people? There must be factors involved other than the access to guns. We need to be investigating what else is going on when looking at the rise in mass shootings in America. Author, comedian, and actor Michael Ian Black had one of the most interesting takes on this issue, in my opinion. He talks about gun violence in relation to our society’s understanding of what it means to be masculine. Black points out that mass shootings in America are not conducted by women. This is primarily a male-specific issue. As he puts it, “America’s boys are broken.” 

His article is really more a statement of his own theory than it is a factual argument. The writing appeals to our emotions and sense of identity more than our logical, analytical sides. In our country, we have a focus on promoting progress in women’s issues, redefining the definition of womanhood, and stepping into this new definition of what it means to be a woman. We have not put that same progressive thinking towards what it means to be a man. As a result, our country’s boys are left in this confusing state of uncertainty. Who are they? Who should they be? Black does not discuss any kind of authority he has to speak on this particular subject, except to appeal to his audience as the parent of a teenage son. His writing does not include facts or statistics to support his theory. However, I don’t feel his intention is necessarily to prove a point. He wants to start a discussion. A discussion in our country about what it means to be masculine and how we can support our boys in discovering that. This article seems to be written for all Americans. He wants this discussion to happen between adults, parents, our future generations, our nation as a whole. 

Personally, I think he did a beautiful job in providing the platform for this conversation. Stricter gun control laws is not the only issue here. We need to be having more discussions like this in our country.