Letter from the Editors
By Casey Aylward And Priya Krishna, The Dartmouth Senior Staff
Published on Friday, May 11, 2012
The two of us could fill an entire paper with the stories we have about men. But instead of doing that, we thought it would be more interesting to talk about a topic that has received far less attention — the idea of what it means to be a man and how this has evolved not only in our society but here at Dartmouth. Being a “modern man” doesn’t come with a handbook. There are no set rules, a dress code or an etiquette code. While in the past, there existed tacit rules that governed what defined manhood, ever since men and women have been recognized as equal counterparts, the masculine identity has become a lot more fluid. Nowadays, it is especially difficult for men to come up with a common list of what makes a man so manly (for lack of a better term). Perhaps having a conversation about why this is so difficult to do is what is more important — and that’s precisely what this issue of The Mirror aims to do.
Typically, women feel more comfortable discussing their feelings with one another, and men are more reticent to do so. What both of us have discovered with this issue of The Mirror is that men certainly have their own individual opinions on masculinity, fashion, “bromances” and women. In the end, we have — and rightfully so — a lot of organizations, publications and discussion groups devoted to women. So this week, The Mirror is finally giving a rouse (with a will) to the good ol’ sons of Dartmouth.