gender Archives - The ClearOut

Can Women Love Monsters? Guillermo del Toro says ‘YES’! – Episode 228

After watching Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, Dara finds himself wondering about the director’s world view, and specifically his perspective on beautiful, sincere women and their superficially unattractive love interests. The Mexican director has an established sympathy with those considered ugly and monstrous by society – could a Freudian reading be applicable?

Can Women Love Monsters? Guillermo del Toro says ‘YES’! – Episode 228 Read More »

You Silly Girl! Gender Roles from 1940s Hollywood – Episode 227

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A week under the weather had Dara running for the comfort of old Hollywood classics. In this episode, he reports his findings.

Influenced by the spooky season, he reached for a couple of Hitchcock staples of the older variety – 1940’s Rebecca and 1941’s Suspicion. Two very different but no less complicated love stories, one featuring espionage and seduction, the other – gulp! – murder!

You Silly Girl! Gender Roles from 1940s Hollywood – Episode 227 Read More »

The Assumption of Imperfection, or Where Are the Serious Men? – Episode 213

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This week’s episode is all about men and their flawed humanity. Reflecting on his childhood and adolescence, Dara is struck by the fact that he cannot identify a single serious, or substantial man. He wonders if this is a reflection of his unrealistic idealism or whether it is an indication that men embrace a certain model of infantilisation that is tantamount to self-sabotage.

The Assumption of Imperfection, or Where Are the Serious Men? – Episode 213 Read More »

All the Damaged Boys – Where’s the Love At? – Episode 197

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In this episode, Dara is trying to get his head around the obnoxious appearance of Conor McGregor at the White House over St. Patrick’s Weekend. Trump’s presidency seems to function as a magnet for a particular type of male performance, greenlighting as it does a validated version of masculinity that revels in belittling others, trash talking enemies, and leering, swaggering braggadocio. It is definitely connected to a particular understanding of straight maleness as being under attack and needing to reassert itself as aggressively as possible. But is it also a product of the tech age when the perception of consequences has been skewed by the amount of time spent in online spaces?

All the Damaged Boys – Where’s the Love At? – Episode 197 Read More »

Men Need Not Apply – Women Who Leave Men Behind – Episode 183

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In this episode, Dara looks at the idea of psychological defeat and the metaphorical hills we are determined to die on. Fundamentally an issue of faith in one’s own psyche and worldview, what happens when our confidence in that vision begins to crumble? Can faith be restored?

Men Need Not Apply – Women Who Leave Men Behind – Episode 183 Read More »

Scene from a Garden – Tall Trees, High Kicks, and Low, Low Wages – Episode 163

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In this episode, Dara is taking time to express thanks to a place that has served him well over the last few years, and he’s so determined to do so in a special way that he moves the podcast to the location he’s honouring! At the end, when a certain flying creature appears, it’s time to bring things to a close. No, it’s not a dragon…

Scene from a Garden – Tall Trees, High Kicks, and Low, Low Wages – Episode 163 Read More »

You’re a Man – Do You Care About Women? – Episode 162

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In this episode, Dara looks at the Natasha O’Brien case which saw a young woman beaten unconscious in the street by a young man who wasn’t known to her, and that same young man been given a suspended sentence so as not to jeopardise his career as an Irish soldier. There is nothing that isn’t problematic about these events, but as ever, there are larger social questions to be asked beyond the ugly specifics of the case in question.

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What Is a Man, Anyway? Part 5 – Episode 159

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In this final part of his series on masculinity, Dara tries to bring things to a reasonable end. He talks about his lifelong attempt to embody a particular type of masculinity that was a direct response to sexist and reductive attitudes to men that he was exposed to in youth and early adulthood.

What Is a Man, Anyway? Part 5 – Episode 159 Read More »

What Is a Man, Anyway? Part 3 – Episode 157

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In this lachrymose episode and further exploration of masculinity, Dara is talking about the benefits of crying. He confesses to being a crier anyway, easily shedding tears over any number of things, but goes on to share an extremely recent loss that knocked him sideways with the tears it provoked. He argues that there is a ranking system that qualifies the when and how much of crying.

What Is a Man, Anyway? Part 3 – Episode 157 Read More »

What Is a Man, Anyway? Part 2 – Episode 156

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Continuing his exploration of masculinity and maleness, Dara turns his gaze to movies and how men’s stories, especially but not exclusively, straight men’s stories have played out on screen. He looks at three totems of masculinity as the main discussion points – potency, violence, and morality.

What Is a Man, Anyway? Part 2 – Episode 156 Read More »

gender

Can Women Love Monsters? Guillermo del Toro says ‘YES’! – Episode 228

You Silly Girl! Gender Roles from 1940s Hollywood – Episode 227

The Assumption of Imperfection, or Where Are the Serious Men? – Episode 213

All the Damaged Boys – Where’s the Love At? – Episode 197

Men Need Not Apply – Women Who Leave Men Behind – Episode 183

Scene from a Garden – Tall Trees, High Kicks, and Low, Low Wages – Episode 163

What Is a Man, Anyway? Part 3 – Episode 157

What Is a Man, Anyway? Part 2 – Episode 156

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