On Creativity and Masculinity.

Although there’s more tolerance for men who are artists these days, the stereotype has always more or less been the same: Most guys do really “manly” things, like being fast enough to reach a smallish piece of rubber before any other man does, and then safely transport it to an allotted space without loosing it. (I believe I just summed up every sport there is, except boxing) Meanwhile, there are a handful of guys who are involved in the arts, and they are a little bit more… well, fancy.

The intensity of this stereotype varies, depending on the art form. Us writers have it fairly good, because we stay out of the way pretty well, with the exception of poets. Musicians can be accepted as pretty manly, as long as they’re not too sensitive, and especially if they don’t write their own songs. Then there are the thespians, the painters, the dancers, ect. who live on the bottom of the high school food chain.

I think we’ve gotten it all wrong.

Creativity has always been linked with Femininity. (probably because of it’s association with beauty, which is a very feminine thing.) Most of us now-a-days, and especially if we’ve matured a little bit since puberty, would say that being an artist isn’t any less manly than being a football player. But, most people tend to say that with a certain tone. Oftentimes, what they’re really saying is, “My bro, Jim, is really cool. I mean, he paints and everything, but he’s totally secure in his masculinity, so it’s cool.” But that’s basically saying that you can be masculine despite being creative, and not because of it.

But what’s the first thing we are told about God in the Bible? “In the beginning, God created…” And this was God the Father. Creation is the fundamental act of Fatherhood. To create is to father. Even my old poetry prof at Baylor used to say that writing a poem is like raising a child. You work so hard on a poem and then there comes a time when you send it off to the publishers and you have to kind of “let go,” and hope it makes it alright by itself in the world. After all, it is impossible to be a father without first creating a son or daughter.

Now, how fatherhood informs Masculinity should be kind of obvious. You’ve got to be male to be a father. But, I think most people would agree that fathers are typically the most influential person in a young man’s life. For better or worse. The guy may be a horrible person, but if he’s your father, what he says matters. At the end of the day, Masculinity is defined by the father.

So, what could be more masculine than Creativity?

We cannot create something from nothing, as God can, but we mimic that by creating something greater out of something lesser. We “sub-create,” as Tolkien would say. Furthermore, it costs us something to create. Just as God rested on the seventh day, the act of creating should cause in us the need to rest. We were made to sacrifice in order to create. Lastly, we see in Genesis that God created only what “was good.” So, Masculinity is bringing into existence something of life, truth, beauty… anything and everything the word “good” entails.

Compare this to some other acts that are more traditionally known as masculine… Work, for example. Most people tend to think that men were made for the plow. Work is simply sacrificing your time and energy in order to achieve something. And that something is usually for the good purpose of providing for yourself and your loved ones. How about Athletics? Here, men are able to compete, by sacrificing every last ounce of their strength. And most of the time, they are competing for something good… Think of the World Cup, when people play for the honor of their homelands, or the camaraderie of their team mates. Lastly, War. Pretty similar to Athletics, only the stakes are higher. Men are willing to sacrifice their very lives for something good, like the safety of their loved ones. Starting to see a theme here?

Sacrificing yourself to bring about something that is noble and good… True Masculinity isn’t defined really by what you do, but your attitude in it. The people who are lousy men aren’t the people who are in the Arts. They are anybody who does something out of un-Masculine motives. Do they write music for their own glory? Do they enlist in the military just for the thrill of being able to legally harm another human-being? (it sounds farfetched, but you’d be surprised) Do they climb the corporate ladder for the sake of hoarding money for themselves? Do they abuse their children and bully their wives? These people are the cowards.

The problem is, people tend to swing to ridiculous extremes. If they are in the Arts and are told they are un-Masculine, then soon enough, you have people  think Masculinity is just a bunch of idiots hitting each other on a soccer field. They swing away from everything that is typically thought of as masculine, because their craft is what is real and life-giving to them and, if it is not manly, then they need to become the least manly they can be in order to get more out of their art and become a better artist. But in actuality, being a true man will make them a better artist.

Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that the Arts in our society are getting more and more perverse, in conjunction with the complete breakdown of any understanding that men and women are even different, much less have specific strengths and weaknesses. Or perhaps it has something to do with the fact that churches across America are packed with women, but few men, all the while it is the artists who the Church has always struggled to identify with and serve with.

But I don’t look at this as depressing. I see it as a clear runway for a hopeful future. We know who to focus on. The example of King David stands in the old testament like a shining example to what could be… A passionate, courageous poet/warrior, who led the people f God into a golden age.