So if you are one gentleman amongst a hundred jocks who do not respect you, you are not a man?iammatt95 said:If you asked me what I thought it meant to be a man, I would say you need to have intelligence, experience, respect, and not be afraid to get your hands dirty, to be a man. That's just my opinion.
However most males you ask in today's society will probably tell you to be a man means you have to work out, like sports, and like cars.
The thing is, what makes this true, why should someone be prepared for conflict, against their own will? Are you saying that people's roles and expectations should be dictated by how they happen to have been born, and that they should be frowned on for exercising their free will and choosing otherwise? Where's the difference between that and the beginnings of a caste system? Hell, you already have two castes. One you haven't talked about and the other is where society 'rightfully' demands that all members be combat ready and where those who aren't are considered inferior.Candidus said:I don't think you're a "man" (in terms of identity) unless you're somewhat concerned with strength. I don't understand how it's possible for a man who has zero familiarity with violence, or who lacks courage in the face of aggression (pacifism is not courageous in my own opinion), to be proud of themselves.
I also don't think you're much of a man if you complain when bad things happen to you, or something you don't like is said about you. That stuff is just too small. I believe that you personally are as small as the most frivolous, petty thing that you let reach you- and I keep that in mind each and every time I've got to react to something.
You're not a man if you disown a friend because he does something irresponsible and wrecks some expensive property. In 200 years time, that property would have been a pile of rust anyway, and nobody will remember that it ever belonged to some nameless guy from some nameless place. Your relationships with other people should be bigger than that. Small men who are reached by small things tend to be abusive towards others.
I could talk for ages. I can't round out the whole idea I have of manhood in a small response, so I'll leave it there, but TLR is that I believe manhood still has something to do with the practice of and preparedness for conflict, with having physical prowess and an attitude to life far removed from the trivialities that comprise the overwhelming majority of it: the labour exchange, accidents, gossip, disagreements, getting a foreign holiday once a year (I know a "man" who moans about this every summer) and so on - all completely and objectively unimportant on any significant scale of events.
The question is what makes a man a man. Now you can qualify that as a manly quality but by calling that a manly quality it seems to put women down. Would you put seems more like a philosophic approach to life not just a man's life.ThreeWords said:So if you are one gentleman amongst a hundred jocks who do not respect you, you are not a man?iammatt95 said:If you asked me what I thought it meant to be a man, I would say you need to have intelligence, experience, respect, and not be afraid to get your hands dirty, to be a man. That's just my opinion.
However most males you ask in today's society will probably tell you to be a man means you have to work out, like sports, and like cars.
If you are honorable and true, gracious and valiant, and yet simply lack the inherent capability for algebra or the memory space for scientific knowledge, you are no man?
Or indeed, you are young and charming, full of youth's vitality in both body and mind, and eager to change the world to a better place, and yet you are only as young as 17, you are not a man?
Personally, I believe a man should be able to question not only that which he believes to be wrong, but also that which he believes to be true, in order that it should be proven true.
Everything I was going to say about how much I hate gender roles and posting "I'll make a man out of you" from Mulan has already been done. Gender roles suck.brunothepig said:Everything I was gonna say about gender roles and expectations and fuck all that has been said, so instead, I give you this.
Real men drink Brawndo!! The Thirst Mutilator!!!Brawndo said:So what do you think it means to be a man today? ?
Hmm. I seem to have answered the question "What makes a man worthy?". I suppose my answer equally fits "What makes a person worthy?"dmase said:The question is what makes a man a man. Now you can qualify that as a manly quality but by calling that a manly quality it seems to put women down. Would you put seems more like a philosophic approach to life not just a man's life.ThreeWords said:So if you are one gentleman amongst a hundred jocks who do not respect you, you are not a man?iammatt95 said:If you asked me what I thought it meant to be a man, I would say you need to have intelligence, experience, respect, and not be afraid to get your hands dirty, to be a man. That's just my opinion.
However most males you ask in today's society will probably tell you to be a man means you have to work out, like sports, and like cars.
If you are honorable and true, gracious and valiant, and yet simply lack the inherent capability for algebra or the memory space for scientific knowledge, you are no man?
Or indeed, you are young and charming, full of youth's vitality in both body and mind, and eager to change the world to a better place, and yet you are only as young as 17, you are not a man?
Personally, I believe a man should be able to question not only that which he believes to be wrong, but also that which he believes to be true, in order that it should be proven true.
I find it hard to believe they don't have a concrete answer to this. I can think of one really good one given a few minutes especially if this study was done in the us. Our testosterone levels are tied to our physical well being. If you had your testosterone levels tested after regular exercise and diet for 6 months there would be an increase in testosterone levels. Our population is getting over weight and even obese, we're out of shape and eat a horrible diet. Its like expecting to run a marathon after sitting on the couch for weeks eating nothing but Doritos.Brawndo said:I saw this interesting documentary called An Emasculating Truth that began with a statistic from a 20-year medical study: testosterone has declined in the male population at rate of 1.2% since 1987, with a total drop of over 20%.