Meaning of Tarzanism | Babel Free

Definitions

Any behaviour reminiscent of the fictional character Tarzan, especially displays of primitive and exaggerated masculinity or power.

uncountable

Examples

“Meanwhile the real nature of Tarzanism, whether some sinister possession or simply the age-long appetite for the monstrous, just now a little out of hand, remains as far from solution as ever.”

“COMING ATTRACTIONS.— Doc. Paul B. Dowd in brand-new feats of super-strength! Aerial acrobatics! Tarzanism! Bone-crushing!”

“He does an ingenious job of acting a plain, slow-thinking individualist, but he is often working with an actor like Lancaster who does everything with a glib, showy, Tarzanism.”

“From its beginning, and even in its most bleak and dangerous days, it was always a peculiar encounter with "victories" that were by nature merely provisional and inconclusive, leading only to the next encounter; proxy "warfare" conducted by means of technological Tarzanism (the chest-beating deployment and test-firing of monstrous weapons not meant to be used), and a continuing mixture of bluff and conciliation in a series of tactical skirmishes all over the world.”

“Images of Africa are too often negative, Smith said. "We see what I call the Tarzanism. We see the starving kids, the flies on the face, but there's not a lot of exposure of the richness of African culture, the beautiful natural resources."”

“How insightful her diagnosis of male tarzanism! How useful her words "tarzanist" and "tarzanism" and the concepts they embrace, for those of us who have to describe contemporary Australian political life. How commonplace our political leaders' overt displays of baboon-like "brute virility".”

CEFR level