One of the reasons why Zardoz is so special to me is that it's like one of the first films that actually made me understand and make peace with my masculinity

Like The Gun is Good, the Penis is Bad is the line everyone remembers and usually mocks, and I understand why because it's very risible but for me, it was maybe the first time I ever like conceptualized the penis as something that wasn't evil

The full context of the speech is that the Penis is "evil" in this society because it is part of the life giving process, it gives and receives pleasure

The line is somewhat ironic because Zardoz (the entity) is controlling the populace through toxic masculinity. He creates a society that knows nothing but violence, sexual and physical.

And, to my memory, this is the first time I had ever seen the penis in opposition to that kind of thing.

Part of the irony of the line is the fact that the gun is a widely used phallic symbol. In culture, the penis IS the gun. Toxic Masculinity, like Zardoz, relies on controlling men by ensuring they know nothing but violence, sexual and physical

And this line is the first time I had ever seen that conceptualization reversed, the penis isn't just used for evil

Zardoz touches on a lot of themes, but one of the most impactful for me is how it articulates the ways in which Toxic Masculinity and the Patriarchy harm men.

I feel like it's always a minefield to talk about how men are harmed from society because like, a few wrong words and you start becoming one of those dudes who think that the greatest injustice is their alimony payments, but it's a discussion worth having imo

Penises in general get a bad rap tho, imo, they're very nice

Although it took someone being attracted to mine for me to really appreciate them tbh