In a time of fracture, in which people are searching for meaning and belonging, it is no wonder that men are re-exploring what manhood means. Yet the sense-making project around manhood has veered from the mythic journey it rightly could and should be into decidedly different territory. The last several years have seen the rise of the alt-right manosphere, whose narratives journey into outright misogyny, eugenics racism, and advocated violence. To weave these stories, the manosphere reaches for everything from fascist philosophers to Nordic animism to Bronze Age mythology, spinning tales of heroes who shone in individualist glory in order to reinforce a vision of the true man as one who dominates and triumphs and to reclaim an ancient vitality that they say is sapped by everything from immigration to feminism. But the vitalist manosphere ultimately misunderstands its own mythologies. Those Bronze Age stories, more often than not, are not celebrations of heroism but stern warnings about overstep, invitations into humility, and reminders of relationality. So the manosphere misses the mythic point, which is that, in tradition after tradition, there is an understanding that vital energy must be tempered, and rogue men who seek only domination must be brought back into the relational web. Cultures across the world have understood that warrior energy is a real thing, and that it needs initiation and initiatory systems to temper it and transform it from an adolescent vision of domination to a mature vision of kinship and service. To transform this vital energy — this predilection towards intensity — requires more than just discourse that dismisses it entirely. Rather, it requires recognizing the longing that lives at the heart of it, just as it requires a commitment to community, to accountability, to eldership, to initiation, and to accompaniment — every burning step of the way. Featuring interviews with authors Tyson Yunkaporta, Jamie Wheal, and mythopoetic guide Ian McKenzie, and original music from Travis Puntarelli, Rainer Baumorr, and Victor Sakshin, this episode takes us on a journey through the blazing depths of the sour-belly-power in its darkest and most glorious expressions. Play it for your nephews and brothers and sons. And for those bros with enough attention span to make it to the last 30 minutes, there may just be a gift waiting. Support the show
