The leaders of the mythopoetic men’s movement believe that modernization has led to the feminization of men. Mythopoets believe that the rise of the urban industrial society “trapped men into straitjackets of rationality, thus blunting the powerful emotional communion and collective spiritual transcendence that they believe men in tribal societies typically enjoyed”. Most importantly, the movement seeks to restore the “deep masculine” to men who have lost it in their more modern lifestyles. Other causes for the loss of the “deep masculine” include: Men no longer being comrades who celebrated their masculinity together. Rather, they had become competitors within their workplaces; Men spending more time in their houses with women than they did with men (in non-competitive terms outside of work). Excessive interaction with women generally kept men from realizing their internal masculinity; Feminism is bringing attention to the “feminine voice”. Through this, the mythopoetic men felt that their voices had been muted (though Bly and others are careful in not blaming feminism for this); The separation of men from their fathers kept them from being truly initiated into manhood, and was a source of emotional damage. Men were suffering further emotional damage due to feminist accusations about sexism. Men should celebrate their differences from women, rather than feeling guilty about them. Men is being discouraged from expressing their emotions. Male inexpressivity is an epidemic and does not correspond to their “deep masculine” natures. Groups of primarily white, middle-aged, heterosexual men from the professional class retreated from their female loved ones in order to join in spiritual rituals that emphasized homosociality, with the central goal of reclaiming the parts of their masculinity that they had lost called the “deep masculine”. Because most men no longer perform masculine rituals, mythopoets assert that men have mutated into destructive, hypermasculine chauvinists, or, in the opposite direction, have become too feminized. The mythopoetic men performed rituals at these gatherings, which were meant to imitate those performed by tribal societies when men initiated boys into a deeply essential natural manhood. The movement emphasized the importance of including multiple generations of men in the rituals, so that the men could learn about masculinity from those who were older and wiser. Characteristic of the early mythopoetic movement was a tendency to retell myths, legends and folktales, and engage in their exegesis as a tool for personal insight. Using frequent references to archetypes as drawn from Jungian analytical psychology, the movement focused on issues of gender role, gender identity and wellness for the modern man (and woman). Advocates would often engage in storytelling with music, these acts being seen as a modern extension to a form of “new age shamanism” popularized by Michael Harner at approximately the same time. The movement sought to empower men by means of equating archetypal characters with their own emotions and abilities. For instance, Michael Messner describes the concept of “Zeus energy” as emphasizing “male authority accepted for the good of the community”. Beliefs about the emotional system based in archetypes of great men, mythopoets sought to channel these characters in themselves, so that they could unleash their “animal-males”. This group primarily analyzed the archetypes of King, Warrior, Magician, Lover and Wildman.
As a self-help movement the mythopoetic movement tends not to take explicit stances on political issues such as feminism, gay rights or family law (such as the issues of divorce, domestic violence or child custody), preferring instead to stay focused on emotional and psychological well-being. Because of this neutrality, the movement became a site of social criticism by feminists, and was often characterized as anti-intellectual as well as apolitical. Michael Messner once gave a speech at a gathering, in which he addressed the dangers of celebrating the warrior, as instances of rape are higher in countries that glorify war. The mythopoets responded that they were not interested in intellectual or political pursuits, but were primarily concerned with conducting spiritual and emotional work. Additional feminist critique revolved around the movement’s absence of women’s perspectives, as well as the essentialism in the movement’s teachings.
1.The mythopoetic men's movement can best be understood as （ ）.
2.The mythopoetic men's movement consists of groups of men who retreated from their female loved ones in order to strive for （ ）.
3.The idea that modernization has led to the feminization of men means that （ ）.
4.The root issue is （ ）.
5.According to the text, the causes for rape must be sought in（ ）.
