Alex Antic (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Masculinity is under attack, and the war on men is being led by cultural Marxists, the likes of which roam this very chamber, every school, every university and every education department in the country. Strong male role models have become an endangered species. Fathers in sitcoms are depicted as immature, dumb, lazy and incompetent. Husbands in television commercials can't be trusted to organise the insurance. The cultural elites, cheering on the decline of men, are trying to erase the very fabric of our culture.

But men seeking refuge still have a few sanctuaries, and last week I stepped into the safe space which is the modern barber shop. No other environment better sums up the frustration among young men than these places—three barber's chairs, three 30-something men, working hard, a pool table, a bar fridge full of beers and a PlayStation 5 hanging on the wall. The conversation drifted between the stupidity of the COVID period, the concerns about central bank digital currencies and how they just want to be left alone to work hard and spend time with their families. At one point one of the barbers even dared to point out an attractive young woman walking past. Now, that was probably microaggression, but it just seemed like a bit of harmless behaviour to me.

Dismiss this as a frolic if you want, but every angry gender studies professor who thinks that they're going to crush the patriarchy has got some news coming. The alpha male lives on, and there's not a damn thing you commies can do about it except cry harder.