I wonder what the ladies have to say about this. Were St Thomas around today, perhaps he’d say “boyish” rather than “effeminate.” That said, society provides protection to children and to women (though less so), which is unavailable men. Women must sacrifice for children, but men must sacrifice for children and for women. If a man can’t protect himself, then he’s of no use to anyone and doesn’t deserve protection, in this view. Comforts thus pose a greater risk to a man’s responsibilities. Comforts being available to women, but not to men, however, isn’t a criticism of women because the context of being a woman is different. Still, Thomas’s word choice is bound to be misinterpreted today.
A man’s role is to be both self-reliant & self-sacrificing. In some sense that’s the image of the everlasting man—Christ. Who is more powerful than the God-man? You need to be self-reliant to become self sacrificing because that is a notion of standing alone. And what do we see? Jesus defends, alone, the woman caught in adultery, Jesus , alone invites the children, says those who lead children astray might as well be given the milestone & cast into the sea. When the temple is be desecrated, Jesus, alone, challenges the religious leaders with a whip in hand.
All of which leads to the ultimate sacrifice—the cross to save us all.
I think in this context "boyish" and "effeminate" are almost interchangeable. Effeminacy doesn't mean feminine, but incapable or unwilling to endure hardship due to being too attached to comfort and pleasure (I'm paraphrasing ofc). That is a behavior that is acceptable and understandable for boys, not for men. And the problem is precisely that many men are remaining boys at heart, which makes them effeminate.
Completely agree with Phillip's point, and we need to remember that the rules of the game are simply different for men and women, so as Dave says, attachment to comfort poses a greater risk for men.
I would argue that "effeminate" is still the best choice, its misinterpretation today notwithstanding. For a man to be feminine is wrong and unnatural, just as for a woman to be masculine is wrong and unnatural. I think this is why St. Thomas, and tradition in general, used this terminology, whereas feminism has accustomed us to think that women can be masculine without contradicting their womanhood; this has inevitably led to the conclusion that men can be effeminate without being unmanly, thus inspiring homosexuality, transgenderism, etc.
But I definitely agree with your point Dave that comfort poses a greater risk to men. Perhaps "immature" could substitute for "boyish." Similarly, many young girls are called "tomboys" because they haven't learned the proper femininity of mature womanhood yet, though today this is often seen as a sign of lesbianism or transgenderism.
“The only man you should try to emulate, imitate, and worship, is Jesus Christ.”
I understand your point but imitation and emulation are very different from worship.
I believe there are many saints and likely men we may know of or know personally, who act more virtuously than we know ourselves to be, are least in certain areas/aspects of life. I see no problem in acknowledging and aspiring to any true virtue exemplified by another man.
To worship or to idolize others is much different than recognizing and striving to emulate a virtue or talent that we recognize as good and praiseworthy in someone else.
Christ is the perfect man. As He is also The Divine Second Person of The One Triune God, He is worthy of Worship, which is to be granted to no other but God.
Again, I understand and agree with what you say in regard to not being swayed by today’s worldly standards or striving for temporal accolades.
But The Church canonizes saints not only so that we can ask their intercession, but also so we can be confident that even though others have lived in many different ways, they ultimately came by God’s Grace to live (or die) in a manner we can look up to and strive to emulate.
Saint Paul knew he could do no good but through God’s Grace; yet could also say:
“Be ye followers of me, as I also am of Christ [1 Corinthians 11:1]
I wonder what the ladies have to say about this. Were St Thomas around today, perhaps he’d say “boyish” rather than “effeminate.” That said, society provides protection to children and to women (though less so), which is unavailable men. Women must sacrifice for children, but men must sacrifice for children and for women. If a man can’t protect himself, then he’s of no use to anyone and doesn’t deserve protection, in this view. Comforts thus pose a greater risk to a man’s responsibilities. Comforts being available to women, but not to men, however, isn’t a criticism of women because the context of being a woman is different. Still, Thomas’s word choice is bound to be misinterpreted today.
A man’s role is to be both self-reliant & self-sacrificing. In some sense that’s the image of the everlasting man—Christ. Who is more powerful than the God-man? You need to be self-reliant to become self sacrificing because that is a notion of standing alone. And what do we see? Jesus defends, alone, the woman caught in adultery, Jesus , alone invites the children, says those who lead children astray might as well be given the milestone & cast into the sea. When the temple is be desecrated, Jesus, alone, challenges the religious leaders with a whip in hand.
All of which leads to the ultimate sacrifice—the cross to save us all.
I think in this context "boyish" and "effeminate" are almost interchangeable. Effeminacy doesn't mean feminine, but incapable or unwilling to endure hardship due to being too attached to comfort and pleasure (I'm paraphrasing ofc). That is a behavior that is acceptable and understandable for boys, not for men. And the problem is precisely that many men are remaining boys at heart, which makes them effeminate.
Completely agree with Phillip's point, and we need to remember that the rules of the game are simply different for men and women, so as Dave says, attachment to comfort poses a greater risk for men.
Thank you both for reading! God bless
I would argue that "effeminate" is still the best choice, its misinterpretation today notwithstanding. For a man to be feminine is wrong and unnatural, just as for a woman to be masculine is wrong and unnatural. I think this is why St. Thomas, and tradition in general, used this terminology, whereas feminism has accustomed us to think that women can be masculine without contradicting their womanhood; this has inevitably led to the conclusion that men can be effeminate without being unmanly, thus inspiring homosexuality, transgenderism, etc.
But I definitely agree with your point Dave that comfort poses a greater risk to men. Perhaps "immature" could substitute for "boyish." Similarly, many young girls are called "tomboys" because they haven't learned the proper femininity of mature womanhood yet, though today this is often seen as a sign of lesbianism or transgenderism.
Agreed! Also, it's important to note that as I said in the article, "effeminacy" is NOT the same as "feminine".
“The only man you should try to emulate, imitate, and worship, is Jesus Christ.”
I understand your point but imitation and emulation are very different from worship.
I believe there are many saints and likely men we may know of or know personally, who act more virtuously than we know ourselves to be, are least in certain areas/aspects of life. I see no problem in acknowledging and aspiring to any true virtue exemplified by another man.
To worship or to idolize others is much different than recognizing and striving to emulate a virtue or talent that we recognize as good and praiseworthy in someone else.
Christ is the perfect man. As He is also The Divine Second Person of The One Triune God, He is worthy of Worship, which is to be granted to no other but God.
Again, I understand and agree with what you say in regard to not being swayed by today’s worldly standards or striving for temporal accolades.
But The Church canonizes saints not only so that we can ask their intercession, but also so we can be confident that even though others have lived in many different ways, they ultimately came by God’s Grace to live (or die) in a manner we can look up to and strive to emulate.
Saint Paul knew he could do no good but through God’s Grace; yet could also say:
“Be ye followers of me, as I also am of Christ [1 Corinthians 11:1]
Also translated:
“Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.”