They crawl slowly up a hill on their stomachs, covered in grime. One man moans after an instructor yanks him by the ankles back down the hill. Still, he keeps crawling.
One man lies on his back while an instructor sprays hose water in his face. Another, wearing big chains across his torso, shivers during an expletive-laden rant from a bearded man, who calls him a disappointment.
These men aren’t prepping for an elite military mission.
They’re trying to become better men, they say.
“Man camps,” or all-male experiences designed for men’s self-improvement, have gained attention on social media, where more extreme versions of these programs, such as the Modern Day Knight Project in Southern California, share videos of the treatment participants endure, often to the tune of hundreds of thousands of views.
Though men’s psychology experts are skeptical of the extreme iterations of man camps, they say the growing awareness of them points to a loneliness and need for community men face in modern society.
“Men are seeking out difficult experiences,” says Erik Anderson, a licensed marriage and […]
Thanks for bringing this to my attention Stephan! I never heard of this. What I’d prefer is for more men to get in touch with their tender side. One book I can recommend, to this end, is by Dr. Loren Pedersen. Dark Hearts, The Unconscious Forces That Shape Men’s Lives. More tragic, in my view, is the long endured pain of so many souls suffering from Complex PTSD. I recommend Pete Walker’s book: Complex PTSD, From Surviving to Thriving as an excellent step in the right direction. The loneliness epidemic in our world due to too many hours of screen time, COVID, and the breakdown of the family needs to turn around with conscious effort. Your work is a wonderful clearing space to help support those goals. Many are finding help with 12-step meetings on Zoom. One valuable resource is Adult Children of Alcoholics/Dysfunctional Families. Meetings are free and run 24/7.
The February 2024 edition of Harper’s Magazine has an article ” Getting there Pump: On the Resurrection of the Body” which deals with Pumping Iron or lifting weights at the gym. It’s a similar topic with a different slant on what one might gain from these kinds of activities. While the psychological issues that it covers are quite similar, it’s focus is on the effects of strenuous activity has on one’s perceptions not only of oneself but reality in general. And how the body and mind working in harmony can bring about clear seeing and clarify the belief structures behind inferiority, childhood trauma and PTSD. Though it was not explicitly stated, it seemed like a Buddhist approach to body building and extreme sports and applies it to all genders. When the mind and body are in harmony, true compassion will arise.
I believe this a result of the women rising movement. I don’t think it’s a bad thing. I believe it would be more beneficial if there was a part of men’s movement that also addressed other issues that are problematic. ie. better communication. Learning how to frame and ask better questions between the genders. Whether it’s in relation to sex, to communication.. game playing to increase laughter, joy, ease…exercises that offer ways to become friends. To develop trust.
I also agree with your assessment that part of this a push back against parts of the current culture that view masculinity as a negative thing. I think this is a culmination of other factors as well, like dropping testosterone levels due to widespread use of endocrine disrupting chemical and living in a society that makes it difficult to live a fulfilling life.
Typical slanting of the issues involved toward internal deficits vs cultural deficits. As the article states: “Though psychologists aren’t sold on boot camps as a solution, they say the prevalence of man camps in general points to a real problem men are facing: loneliness.” Typical for psychologists to locate the problem inside of individuals. This frame represents the failure of the entire profession. We are dying as a culture because the anchors we have used to root the trajectories of life have fallen apart. There will be significant chaos until a new set of anchors, rooted in the context of the natural world, are put in place.