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Reimagining Masculinity: Power, Responsibility, and the Sacred Masculine

Updated: Mar 14

In a world where headlines regularly feature powerful men abusing their positions, we need an honest conversation about masculinity, power, and responsibility. How did we arrive at a culture where exploitation—of both women and the natural world—has become normalized? And more importantly, how do we chart a path toward something better?





The Problem: Power and Its Distortions


When men attain positions of power, something often changes in their behaviour. This isn't merely anecdotal; research supports this observation. In their ground breaking 1977 study A Sexual Profile of Men in Power, researchers Sam Janus, Barbara Bess, and Carole Saltus interviewed 200 American men in positions of influence. Their findings revealed troubling patterns: increased sexual activity, higher rates of infidelity, risk-taking sexual behaviour, and perhaps most tellingly, a sense of entitlement regarding sexual access.


More recent research continues to support these connections. A 2016 study published in Psychological Science found that power fundamentally alters how we perceive others' interest in us, with powerful individuals more likely to overestimate sexual interest from subordinates (Kunstman & Maner, 2016). Similarly, research from the Journal of Sex Research has established correlations between men's perception of their own power and their likelihood to engage in infidelity (Mark et al., 2018).


We see these dynamics play out repeatedly in public scandals involving political figures, entertainment executives, and business leaders. The infamous 2016 Access Hollywood tape, in which then-presidential candidate Donald Trump boasted, "When you're a star, they let you do it," offers a particularly stark example of how power becomes entangled with sexual entitlement.


The Parallel Exploitation of Women and the Earth


Perhaps it's no coincidence that societies dominated by this type of masculine power also tend to exploit the natural world with similar disregard. The same mindset that views women as conquests often treats the Earth as a resource to be dominated and depleted.


Ecofeminist scholars like Vandana Shiva have long noted this connection, arguing that the patriarchal worldview underlying much of modern capitalism sees both women and nature as objects to be controlled rather than partners to be respected (Shiva, 2020). This perspective helps explain why economic systems focused exclusively on short-term profit consistently undervalue both care work (traditionally performed by women) and environmental stewardship.


Recent data from the World Health Organization reveals that nearly 1 in 3 women worldwide have experienced physical or sexual violence in their lifetime (WHO, 2021). Meanwhile, we face unprecedented environmental crises, from climate change to mass extinction, driven largely by extractive economic models. These twin crises share common roots in a distorted value system that prioritizes domination over relationship.


The Missing Psychological Dimension of Leadership


Unlike airline pilots, who undergo rigorous psychological screening, those who seek the highest positions of power often face no such requirements. This oversight allows individuals with significant psychological issues—narcissism, sociopathy, unresolved trauma—to attain tremendous influence over others.


As clinical psychologist Dr. Ramani Durvasula notes in her work on narcissism in leadership, "The very traits that can help someone rise to power—confidence, charm, ambition—can mask deeper pathologies that make them dangerous once they attain it" (Durvasula, 2019).


What might happen if we required psychological fitness as a prerequisite for leadership? How might our institutions change if we valued emotional intelligence and relationship skills as highly as we value assertiveness and dominance?


Ancient Wisdom: The Eleusinian Model


The ancient Greeks understood something we've forgotten. The Eleusinian Mysteries, religious ceremonies practiced for nearly two thousand years, offered initiates profound experiences designed to cultivate wisdom, humility, and an understanding of life's interconnectedness.


These rituals weren't peripheral to Greek society—they were central. Many of Athens' most prominent citizens participated, undergoing a process of symbolic death and rebirth that fundamentally changed how they viewed power and responsibility.

According to classical scholar Carl Kerényi, the Mysteries fostered "a new consciousness" that transcended ego-driven concerns (Kerényi, 1991). Initiates emerged with a deeper understanding of their mortality and a heightened sense of responsibility toward others.


While we can't resurrect these specific ceremonies, their underlying wisdom remains relevant: true leadership requires inner transformation. The most dangerous leaders are often those who haven't confronted their own shadows.


The Sacred Masculine: An Alternative Vision


What would a healthier model of masculinity look like? Drawing from diverse wisdom traditions, we might consider these core values of the "sacred masculine":


  1. Respect: Treating others—particularly those with less power—with genuine dignity. This means listening more than speaking and seeking consent rather than assuming it.


  2. Protection: Using strength to safeguard the vulnerable rather than exploit them. True protection comes without the expectation of reward or control.


  3. Humility: Recognizing one's limitations and remaining open to learning, especially from those with different perspectives and experiences.


  4. Sobriety: Maintaining clear perception and avoiding escapism, whether through substances, technology, or other distractions that numb uncomfortable emotions.


  5. Stewardship: Seeing oneself not as an owner but as a caretaker of resources, relationships, and institutions, with responsibility to preserve them for future generations.


  6. Emotional Integrity: Acknowledging and expressing the full range of human emotions, including vulnerability, grief, and tenderness—emotions traditionally denied to men.


  7. Accountability: Accepting responsibility for one's actions and their consequences, especially when those actions cause harm to others.


    Men who embody these qualities offer a powerful alternative to toxic leadership models. They demonstrate that strength doesn't require domination and that true power emerges through relationship rather than control.


Moving Forward: Personal and Collective Steps


Transforming our understanding of masculinity requires both personal and institutional change:


On a personal level, men can:

  • Develop self-awareness through practices like meditation, therapy, or journaling

  • Cultivate deep friendships with other men based on vulnerability rather than competition

  • Listen to and learn from women's experiences without becoming defensive

  • Examine how their consumption choices might contribute to exploitation

  • Practice using power responsibly in whatever context they hold it


On a societal level, we can:

  • Incorporate emotional intelligence education into schools

  • Challenge media representations that glorify domination-based masculinity

  • Create meaningful rites of passage that teach young men about responsible power

  • Establish leadership frameworks that value relationship skills alongside technical competence

  • Support male role models who demonstrate healthier expressions of masculinity


Reclaiming the Sacred


The crises we face—from sexual violence to climate disaster—aren't inevitable. They stem from specific cultural patterns we can change. By reclaiming ancient wisdom about responsibility while incorporating modern understandings of psychology and power, we can cultivate a masculinity that serves life rather than diminishes it.


This isn't about vilifying men. It's about recognizing that patriarchal systems harm everyone—including men themselves, who are often cut off from their full humanity by restrictive expectations. The sacred masculine offers a more complete vision: men as protectors rather than predators, stewards rather than exploiters, partners rather than dominators.


The path forward requires courage—not the bravado of conquest, but the deeper courage to question inherited assumptions and embrace new ways of being. As we navigate growing environmental and social challenges, this transformation isn't just desirable; it's essential for our collective survival.


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