X-Post: Donald Douglas' Fear of "Feminization"

American Nihilist X-Post
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In a recent post, our favorite neocon professor chooses to question whether men's fears of being feminized include worries over the social acceptability of knitting.:
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For example, check out Cynthia Enloe's Globalization and Militarism: Feminists Make the Link. As the book blurb book indicates, at Professor Enloe's homepage:

Written by one of the world's leading feminist scholars, this masterful and provocative book takes seriously women's desires to be patriotic yet feminine and men's fears of being feminized as a strategy to explain how militarism is being globalized and thus what it will take to roll back militarized societies and assumptions.

Hmm, 'men's fears of being feminized'? Does that include worries over the social acceptability of knitting? I'm going to leave that one to Repsac3: 'The Real Scurge of Gay Marriage...'
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First off, it'd probably be a good idea to include the whole of Professor Enloe's book blurb, for better context:

"Written by one of the world's leading feminist scholars, this masterful and provocative book takes seriously women's desires to be patriotic yet feminine and men's fears of being feminized as a strategy to explain how militarism is being globalized and thus what it will take to roll back militarized societies and assumptions. Through explorations of how governments think so narrowly about national security, of how post-war reconstruction efforts have marginalized women, of how ideas about feminization were used to humiliate male prisoners in Abu Ghraib, and of why camo has become a fashion statement, Cynthia H. Enloe unravels militarism's both blatant and subtle workings. Focusing her lens on the Big Picture of international politics and on the small picture of women's and men's complex everyday lives, Enloe challenges us to recognize militarism in all its forms."

Now, in answer to Donald's question. Yes, it does appear that fundamentalists and conservatives in a variety of cultures believe that the more a man takes on "feminine" characteristics or engages in activities that their society does (or "once did") consider the province of women, the less of a "man" they are. And yes, Donald, some men are even threatened by the idea that people might see them as less of a man, were they to knit (or sew, or cook, or do housework, or work in a traditionally "female" occupation, like teaching...), and some poor, sad, conservative men and boys are even threatened by seeing other men knit (or, one can assume, doing one of those other activities they believe to be "unmanly")

For my money, this notion that "knitting is for girls (or fags)" is very similar to the one that allowed some of the interrogators at Abu Ghraib to humiliate prisoners. To be sure, there are real threats to manhood, both at an individual level and in societies, including our own. But having panties placed on one's head, or being seen or photographed knitting, are not among them.

Links included in this post:
American Power: Courtney Friel, Political Scientist
American Power: Picture of the Day, 3-6-09
Amazon.com: Globalization and Militarism: Feminists Make the Link: Cynthia Enloe: Books
Clark IDCE
American Nihilist: The Real Scurge of Gay Marriage...