Masculinity and Mass Murder

See the following link (and full-text) of this article "Dark Knights Falling" by Rob Okun from Voice Male Magazine. This is SUCH an important perspective that needs to be addressed more directly across media sources. The common denominator in most (if not all) mass killings and shooting sprees is that the perpetrator is male. We need to talk about the implications of constructs of masculinity in our culture. (If you are a UCF student, sign up for my Fall online Theories of Masculinity course for more conversations like these:)

(link) Dark Knights Falling

(full-text)
Even though it was–once again–a man who went on a shooting spree, the national conversation following the mass murders on July 20 has so far failed to focus on the root causes of this latest lethal outburst: men’s mental health and how men are socialized.

Until we acknowledge those issues, we can only expect more tragic bloodlettings.

The massacre at the Century movie theater complex during a showing of “The Dark Knight Rises” in Aurora, Colo., ended with 12 dead and 58 wounded. The shooter, James E. Holmes, was arrested and remains in police custody. The multiple murders are the latest example of an expression of masculinity that society continues to ignore at its own peril.