By your own definition of masculinity, do you consider yourself masculine?:

Possibly a complex question, possibly not. There are a lot of different definitions of masculinity, but by your own definition, would you consider yourself masculine? Give reasons, etc.

 

Yes.

I work for a living, I treat my wife the way I did when I first dated her, I have changed a million shitty diapers, I can build things, I know football, I play chess, and I like my jeep.

Boo yah.

 

Chess is masculine? Cool!

 

A Real Man™ can play any boardgame he likes.

I am more impressed by people who do things because they WANT to do them, not because they feel it makes them look more "masculine" or "sensitive".

Giving up things you like because they are "nerdy" or "wimpy", etc, is the height of Pinkdom, and is the very road to perdition. PERDITION, I SAY!

Of course, I have also found that - upon winning a game - jumping up on your chair and bellowing "BOW BEFORE MY SUPERIOR INTELLECT" is considered very rude in most chess clubs.

 

Lol@real men. Yeah, masculinity as defined by chicks who then realise what they actually want is a man who doesn't take their crap, that's the best type of masculinity

 

I probably don't have a definition.

I do experience certain challenges which are traditionally male challenges...isolation, anomie, madness, violence, etc.

So, I guess I'm masculine. Not that it matters.

 

If you allow anyone to define you, other than yourself, then you really can't blame me for your lack of a spine.

 

yes
by my definition
i do not have any interest in sports, or making a living
i live by my rules
i dont let stupid ppl define whats right for me
if i wanna wear a skirt i wear a skirt
i am masculine because im me, not because i give a shit wether i am masculine or not
\(i dont wear a skirt generaly, but would to be confy, sure why not., you dont define masculinity by bowing down to others viewpoints
u define it by living true to yourself

all the are u masculine threads just prove some ppl feel theyre masculinity is in question


look at the 1st responce..i like football therefore im masculine...
average football fan does whsat..sit on a couch guzzling beer and demanding theyre wife get another beer..sure they burp and yell but is that the limmit of what makes em masculine? or isd that just another attempt to prove theyre masculinity?
after all arent they just watching a bunch of gius runnin around and tackling eachiothger? sounds kinda gay to me

im not much into balett either but id think that would be a more interesting sport to men since those dancers got tight lil dancer bodies..

but the nature of masculinity these days is that it must prove itself..with list upon list of what makers a man a man..working away your life bring miserable because men work men sweat men treat people this way or that, they like these sports, they do these jobs, they treat women a certain way..

a masculine man doesnt allow himselkf to be defined by whats masculine..

 

Thanks for deliberately missing my point, jerk.

 

wasnt deliberatly missin your point and thanks for jumpin in with the jerk insults
i got your point..ya chsaange diapers yaa do what u gotta do and i commend ya for that, just found the i know football and i like my jeep parts funny and thought id use them to make my owwn point

lots of women like jeeps btw
bein masculine yoiud feel no less manly on a moped or jeep,
... knowinbg philosophy or football
you wouldnt allow yourself to be defined by what ya do or dont do

 

Yes it looks like you missed my point entirely.

 

Um... I don't think I did that? I was referring to the "RealMan" you were talking about. As I understand the concept, that's exactly what it is: masculinity as defined by women.

I guess what I'm really asking is whether men see masculinity as something to aspire to, but didn't want to get bogged down spending 300+ posts defining what masculinity is, establishing that it's subjective, and not really getting anywhere.

 

Then you have obviously misunderstood the concept.

Um...then the purpose of this thread was...?

 

I think i'm pretty much your typical alpha masculine male,
former high school basketball player and former military



Hotwater

 

No, I don't think I have. I guess you could give me the absolute definition (i.e. your definition) of what a real man is, but I doubt it would persuade me that I'm "wrong". Then again, this is the first time I've heard someone use the expression "real man" in years - pretty much since someone pointed out that it was basically a way to convince men that they weren't completely pussy-whipped when they blatantly were - so maybe the meaning changed while I was in the can.

You seem to spend a lot of your time here pointing out that people misunderstood things you've said. Ever think maybe you should just say them better in the first place?

I'm pretty sure it was exactly what I said in the first place.

I wanted to avoid the tedious process of establishing that masculinity's a subjective culturally-established concept (because it is and there's no real way to argue otherwise). The fact that it is a subjective cultural concept does not mean that it doesn't exist, which seems to be what you're implying by questioning the purpose of the thread*. Ideas are far more powerful than tangible, corporeal objects in the way that they sculpt human behaviour and human history - "I think therefore I am" - so the fact that we might all have a different idea of what masculinity is is pretty irrelevant. It exists as a concept, and what I've been trying to establish is whether it's something all men think they should aspire to being, or whether it's an outdated idea. By the looks of the poll, men do indeed want to be masculine.

I do wonder, in retrospect, whether it was a good idea to post this thread in the Men's Issues forum. On the face of it, it seems like the obvious place, but then, here we are




* Although your reply was, as before, "short and to the point", so I'm sure I will have managed to miss said point entirely if it suits you. It's fine if you're not willing to get any more specific and potentially tie yourself down to arguments which you might later regret though. No-one will think any less of you for it.

 

That being the case, perhaps it's better if you and I simply don't bother talking to each other.

Later.

 

Haha, I seem to remember one of the tenets of "RealManhood" was that a man shouldn't be incapable of admitting when he's wrong. OH WELL.

 

yes. yes i do. except when i'm not.

 

I play with dolls. it's really cute too.

Hell yes i'm masculine!!

 

masculinity is, as you said, a very subjective term.

by my own definition, the short answer is yes.
a longer answer is that I don't necessarily associate masculinity with manhood, as I feel it has too many negative connotations. manhood, to me, is about many things, and there are certain qualities a man should have. I feel I have some such qualities, and others I am constantly trying to cultivate.

I like sport and cars, and other typically masculine things. but I think it's your character and actions that determine whether or not you are a man, not your interests.