• HexesofVexes@lemmy.world
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    20 days ago

    How to really feel like a man

    1. Ignore gender wars bait, there are way more important things out there.
    2. See step 1
  • Protoknuckles@lemmy.world
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    20 days ago

    Strong people build others up. Weak people knock them down to feel big. You want to feel like a strong man? Protect others and be generous with your spirit.

    • Mak'@pawb.social
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      20 days ago

      You want to feel like a strong man? Protect others and be generous with your spirit.

      Fucking this. Strong men—strong peoplehelp others. Healthy or not, realistic or not, this is the message that’s been sold to us since time immemorial. The knight that slays the dragon and saves the kingdom. The alien that crash lands and moonlights as a superhero. The sled dog runs 261 miles to bring the medicine to a town beset by an epidemic.

      Yes, sure, one can argue some romanticism (or propaganda) with any given example. But the overall message of heroism, of strength, is not one of selfishness or of “me and mine”.

      • Krafty Kactus@sopuli.xyz
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        20 days ago

        Heroism is something we ought to focus more on as a culture in general. Doing things simply because they are right and protecting others who cannot protect themselves cannot be understated.

        • Mak'@pawb.social
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          20 days ago

          I think a challenge with “right” is that it is subjective. For example, there are people today who believe that doing what’s “right” entails doing things that hurt people, or deprive them of happiness, or even a future. Or, that doing what’s “right” means only helping your family or your friends or your church or your Elks club.

        • Sʏʟᴇɴᴄᴇ@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          20 days ago

          I would say heroism has plenty of cultural emphasis already, perhaps too much even. The prevalence of superhero movies, calling anyone who served in the military a hero, all of the nurses/caregivers/essential workers during covid: there are so many examples of loud proclamations of heroism in US/Anglo culture. It is clearly a value held by the vast majority of people.

          I think instead we should be looking at the messages people are actually getting from all the hero worship, rather than what we think are the important take-aways. Things like exceptionalism, having strength to prevail against one’s enemies, making hard decisions for “the greater good”. Finding good stories to combat these potentially damaging and counterproductive ideas is where we should be focusing our cultural energies IMO, rather than more hero worship.

    • ummthatguy@lemmy.world
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      20 days ago

      Semi-related, as this reminded me of a quote from Cary Grant:

      I pretended to be somebody I wanted to be and I finally became that person. Or he became me.

      This was then repurposed on Star Trek Strange New Worlds by chief engineer Pelia (from a species that lives several centuries):

      Most heroes I’ve seen… are just pretending half the time. There’s this one guy I remember, he said to me, ‘I always pretended to be someone I wanted to be, until finally, I became that someone, or he became me.’

      • 5too@lemmy.world
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        20 days ago

        Hah, didn’t catch that when I saw the episode - Pelia knew Cary Grant!

  • Hegar@fedia.io
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    20 days ago

    A patient I dealt with had schizophrenia and dementia, “but I’m a man, not a little girl with panties” was his counterargument to everything.

    You can only have one cigarette at a time because otherwise you lose them all and run out. “But I’m a man.”

    You know the doctor says your food needs to be cut up. “Do I look like a little girl to you?”

    That’s the communal cheese bowl, this is your plate. You can’t eat from the communal cheese bowl with a fork. “Do you see me wearing panties?”

    Whenever I hear people making these kind of gender essentialist arguments, they just sound pitiably out of touch with reality to me.

      • Hegar@fedia.io
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        20 days ago

        In my head I made many cutting remarks. But the reality of this level of cognitive decline is like 90% miserably depressing and only like 10% infuriating. Plus he wouldn’t be capable of understanding the criticism anyway.

      • Revan343@lemmy.ca
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        20 days ago

        That’s potentially worthwhile with someone who is cognizant but just an asshole. For someone with dementia, there’s no point

        • DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social
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          I don’t know what it says about you if you do it deliberately but I think there’s a lot to say for asking the question anyways because his speech filters don’t work properly and he might not be able to censor himself.

    • Tartas1995@discuss.tchncs.de
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      20 days ago

      So a trans person saying that he is a man, is not a real man? Or more adapted to context, a trans person saying that he wants to feel like a man, is not a real man? and doesn’t deserve to feel like a man?

      I don’t agree with that at all. Weird thing to upvote tbh.

      Edit: Today I learned, when I advocate for trans rights, I get up votes. When I apply the same support to cis men, I get down voted.

      I thought this is a supportive space in terms of gender identity. I guess I was wrong. I will continue to support trans people for the same reasons, I support everyone. Human rights.

      • lad@programming.dev
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        20 days ago

        I’d say it’s rather that a trans person shouldn’t prove anything to anyone, same as cis. If they feel the need to prove, that’s likely because of influence of toxic gender standards

        • Tartas1995@discuss.tchncs.de
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          Well I don’t know where you read the proving part. it is about feeling like a gender, not proving that you are. If you want to change topics, sure, we can talk about a different topic. Do you like Chinese food?

          • lad@programming.dev
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            20 days ago

            Do you like Chinese food?

            Yes, I do. I also do think that you were also reading what wasn’t in the thread starter’s post

            • Tartas1995@discuss.tchncs.de
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              19 days ago

              It is the logical conclusion of comment. Trans men are men. Unless you want to argue that they aren’t. Or that the men in the comments were implied to be cis men and then want to argue that cis and trans people should be treated differently to each other and therefore a trans man have every right to want to feel like a man but a cis man doesn’t.

              • lad@programming.dev
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                19 days ago

                It is the logical conclusion of comment

                No, why?

                Trans men are men.

                Yes. And to be men the don’t need to say that. Visibility is another thing, and in that regard one might argue that they need, but I think that increasing trans visibility is not the same as ‘I am man’ statements

                Edit:

                a trans man have every right to want to feel like a man but a cis man doesn’t

                To this I would also say ‘No’, but I’m starting to guess, we have a very different views on what it is to ‘feel like a man’

                • Tartas1995@discuss.tchncs.de
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                  19 days ago

                  Okay the post talks about “needing to feel like a man”. (I am ignoring The comment on the picture because that is not what my issue is. My issue is the general statement in the post of the “aunt” in the picture and The comment section here) The comment is a reaction gifs and I think you agree that maybe you shouldn’t take reaction gifs 100% literally without any adaption to the context. Here the context is men FEELING manly. So I think it is fair to understand it as “if you have to say that you want to feel manly, you aren’t”

                  In that context, you can’t remove looking like a man, or maybe doing stereotypical man stuff, or anything that makes that person feel manly. The questions are, of course, what the fuck do you need to feel manly? What causes you to say that? What are you requiring?

                  All Women need to submit to you? Well that is completely unreasonable and you are an idiot. Not wanting to have your living room painted in pink, rather reasonable.

                  I heavily reject the notion that you or me get to decide what makes someone feel manly. If it is something that would require something from someone else, Of course, there are reasonable requests and unreasonable requests. And you can reject to fulfill them, you can even mock them if you want, but they aren’t less of a man for wanting to feel like one and painting that desire with a broad brush like in aunt’s post is also pretty bad (and probably sexist)

                  Maybe we have a different view on what it is to feel like a man. But if that is the case, then tell me, why are we judging men for expressing that they want to feel like a man without asking them what the fuck they mean? Because we would mean different things, so why wouldn’t they mean something else than you or me?

      • BeardedGingerWonder@feddit.uk
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        19 days ago

        The reason you’re getting downvoted is because you seem to be missing the point of the meme and then are getting argumentative.

        • Tartas1995@discuss.tchncs.de
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          19 days ago

          What is the point of the meme? How is it not ridiculing/dismissing the desire of a man to feel manly? Something that rightfully usually finds support here for trans man.

  • finitebanjo@lemmy.world
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    20 days ago

    If Men want to feel like Men then they have ways to deal with their insecurity:

    Redo their own plumbing, twice. Once to change things and again to fix the problem they caused.

    Chop firewood.

    Build a furnace that you’re only going to use like 4 times, ever.

    50 pushups. If not reaching it makes you sad, start skipping numbers.

    • very_well_lost@lemmy.world
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      Redo their own plumbing, twice. Once to change things and again to fix the problem they caused.

      I’m in this comment and I don’t like it.

    • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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      20 days ago

      If not reaching it makes you sad, start skipping numbers forgive yourself and repeat tomorrow. You’ll feel awesome when you get there.

    • Ilovethebomb@lemm.ee
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      20 days ago

      With the plumbing example, the first time was a training exercise and doesn’t count.

      • Track_Shovel@slrpnk.netOP
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        20 days ago

        I met a marine mechanic once - he fixed Argos afterwards, which is how I met him. His saying:

        One [nut] for me, one for the bilge.

        • vulgarcynic@sh.itjust.works
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          20 days ago

          Thank you to everyone in this thread who made me feel part of a community of my peers online for the first time, in a long time.

          Every plumbing project (even yesterdays quick upgrade of the kitchen faucet) is at least a 2 tripper. Each time I finish one I swear I’m never moving again. Then, 5 years later, I’m fixing the previous owners mishaps “one last time”.

          To all the people who’ve bought houses I lived in, I’m sorry for all of the " what was that idiot thinking" moments I’ve caused you. Ha

          • jumperalex@lemmy.world
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            20 days ago

            To all the people who’ve bought houses I lived in, I’m sorry for all of the " what was that idiot thinking" moments I’ve caused you. Ha

            Hmm from what you said it’s more like, “Yup, I can see what shit the last guy had to fix. Thanks friend I’ll never meet.”

  • Aceticon@lemmy.world
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    That’s the perfect answer, IMHO.

    More in general, it’s not up to others to change the way they act to feed somebody else’s self-delusions of having some kind of quality they do not have.

    I’ve actually had to deal with something somewhat parallel to this when I moved from The Netherlands (whose people are known for being blunt) to Britain (were everything is sugarcoated and people are evasive, the higher the social class the worst it gets) and then proceeded to go around unknowingly insulting just about every insecure person I met in that place by giving them my blunt opinion on what they cared about, without evasiveness or sugarcoating.

    The balance I found was to stop giving my opinion unless asked and if asked by somebody who didn’t know my ways yet, give them a notice (“I used to live in The Netherlands so just point out ways in which things can be improved, but that doesn’t mean I think they’re bad”) and then proceed to give them my blunt opinion.

  • ChonkyOwlbear@lemmy.world
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    20 days ago

    I have to feel that “a woman needs to feel like a woman” wouldn’t get a similar reaction.

      • Mango@lemmy.world
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        19 days ago

        Why is that the direction you’re taking this? Have you not once noticed how women have a whole set of unspoken rules and shit that you gotta do to be part of their show?

    • RBWells@lemmy.world
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      I’m not so sure. If I went around standing at doors waiting for them to be opened for me, I think it might get laughed at.

      • emeralddawn45@discuss.tchncs.de
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        20 days ago

        Lots of women do this, mostly very young ones with fresh naive boyfriends but its definitely not unheard of for a woman to act that way. Not that that excuses the men who behave like this also.

      • Aceticon@lemmy.world
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        20 days ago

        I once got told off by a woman in The Netherlands (to were I had immigrated from my native Portugal) for holding the door open for her and had to explain that it wasn’t for her, it was because it made me feel good to be helpful and I did it for both men and women (if you’ve already gone to the trouble of openning the door, might as well keep it open for somebody who is just behind you).

        I just found it funny how a cultural habit from somewhere else that wasn’t even gender specific got interpreted as macho posturing.

    • Aceticon@lemmy.world
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      Traditionally, societal opionions of how a woman should be involved her making herself appealing to men before married and submissive to her husband afterwards.

      I would even say that “a man needs to feel like a man” and “a woman needs to feel like a woman” are two sides of the same original coin - it’s just that in modern days the latter is frowned upon much more (though, sadly, a lot of people still go around with an interiorized version of it) than the former.

    • Mango@lemmy.world
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      19 days ago

      Yeah, and they really need extreme effort to cater to. Maybe it just doesn’t come so naturally for me in the spectrum, but it feels like a whole awful game balancing act that exists to let the other person think they’re in charge.

  • AgentOrangesicle@lemmy.world
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    20 days ago

    Just don’t cast shit on a man that’s had enough of it from his work or society. Sometimes we just want to feel human.

  • 4grams@lemmy.world
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    19 days ago

    I’ve always thought the least manly quality you can have is caring about how manly you are.

  • Mango@lemmy.world
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    19 days ago

    Did the first person just translate “like a man” as “superior to you”? They done failed their own little word game.

    • unbanshee@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      19 days ago

      Only if you’re completely unwilling to unpack what things like “be a man” and “like a man” generally mean in the anglosphere, and how phrases like that have often been employed to reinforce the worst and most destructive aspects of masculinity.

  • qyron@sopuli.xyz
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    I’m stumped at the simple task of trying to imagine what does imply to “feel like a man”.

    • Ilovethebomb@lemm.ee
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      20 days ago

      A lot of it is centered around achievement and feeling useful, so building or fixing something, physical activity, being seen as a provider etc.

      It’s why men with families etc take being made redundant quite badly, not being able to provide for your family can really make you feel like a failure.

      • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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        20 days ago

        That’s also because we teach people that romantic relationships cannot be friendships. If your partner is your best friend then you aren’t redundant, you’re a power team.

          • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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            20 days ago

            Oh I see, the same point applies though. A friend pumps you up, gets you back out there. What we learn though is the guy is weak and should be left.

          • itsprobablyfine@sh.itjust.works
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            20 days ago

            FYI this isn’t a term Americans know. I was super confused when I moved to the UK and kept hearing it mostly because people being made redundant weren’t technically ‘being made redundant’, if anything they were already made redundant (or just no longer needed for some other reason, or no longer affordable) and were now suffering the consequences. Idk, weird phrase, I’m going to go look up the etymology now. To be fair I suppose ‘laid off’ is pretty weird too

      • Kaboom@reddthat.com
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        20 days ago

        Well that and not being able to put food on the table and a roof over their heads.

        It’s not about feelings at that point, even if they still exist.

    • Nightwatch Admin@feddit.nl
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      20 days ago

      100% guy here, real man feel is when others can rely on me, when I can help, that kind of stuff. Not “big car hurr durr bbq male superyorr” and the likes.

    • partial_accumen@lemmy.world
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      20 days ago

      I’m stumped at the simple task of trying to imagine what does imply to “feel like a man”.

      I feel like a man when I know I’ve met all of my responsibilities to myself and the ones I care about, and that I’ve moved the world even an infinitesimally small way forward to help the others in it. This means lending a hand or an ear to those that need it either with my labor or my mind (or many time both).

      I hope others have something close to this definition, but realistically I don’t think its common.

      • Carnelian@lemmy.world
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        20 days ago

        I guess what confuses me about all of this is why these things are in any way manly?

        Like being reliable and following through on your commitments. Is it masculine when someone who isn’t a man is like that?

        Or if I’m told someone is manly, have I now learned that he is in fact dependable?

        I don’t mean to try and excessively pick apart what you’re saying, it’s just something I’ve always really struggled with understanding. People always seem to say things that strike me as being ungendered character traits when they’re asked about their gender.

        • partial_accumen@lemmy.world
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          I guess what confuses me about all of this is why these things are in any way manly?

          I don’t mean to try and excessively pick apart what you’re saying, it’s just something I’ve always really struggled with understanding. People always seem to say things that strike me as being ungendered character traits when they’re asked about their gender.

          I think I see the issue you’re encountering with the perspective you’re communicating.

          You’re looking for things that are exclusively masculine. Besides the role in physical biological reproduction, I don’t think there is anything exclusively masculine by that measure.

          The traits I listed could absolutely apply to people that are not men. However, the phrase “manly” is referring to societal measures not biological reproductive process abilities. If we distill that down further for this conversation, “manly” translates to “being worthy of respect”. We could dissect why “manly” translates to “being worthy of respect”, but that’s a tangent from your question.

          Ergo, for a person that identifies with the biological reproductive role of a male, and would like to be seeing as being worthy of respect in society, then they should have favorable societal traits and behaviors, in my opinion, such as those I listed.

          • Carnelian@lemmy.world
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            20 days ago

            We could dissect why “manly” translates to “being worthy of respect”, but that’s a tangent from your question.

            I think this pretty much gets to the root of the friction I experience when this topic comes up. I wouldn’t mind digging into it.

            You likely have already guessed that I would think of it this way, but isn’t it just that “good people are worthy of respect”? Because it seems to me like if you try hard to take care of your family and do right by others, you’re a good person deserving of respect.

            You know what I mean? If there’s no need for the trait to be exclusively masculine, then why do we do it? Translate “manly” into “worthy of respect”, that is. Is there some benefit to thinking about it in terms of masculinity rather than just in terms of goodness?

            However, the phrase “manly” is referring to societal measures

            they should have favorable societal traits and behaviors

            Also, I do acknowledge this side of things. I wrote some thoughts about it in a reply to another comment in this thread, if you want to check that out. It’s an important point, and I don’t want you to think i’m just ignoring it. In summary, I think it’s kind of a bummer if in the end, manliness is just a tradition people feel compelled to participate in

            • partial_accumen@lemmy.world
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              You likely have already guessed that I would think of it this way, but isn’t it just that “good people are worthy of respect”? Because it seems to me like if you try hard to take care of your family and do right by others, you’re a good person deserving of respect.

              You know what I mean? If there’s no need for the trait to be exclusively masculine, then why do we do it? Translate “manly” into “worthy of respect”, that is. Is there some benefit to thinking about it in terms of masculinity rather than just in terms of goodness?

              You skipped the OTHER criteria I listed for being “manly” besides just “goodness”, that being: for a person that identifies with the biological reproductive role of a male.

              However, the phrase “manly” is referring to societal measures

              they should have favorable societal traits and behaviors

              Also, I do acknowledge this side of things. I wrote some thoughts about it in a reply to another comment in this thread, if you want to check that out. It’s an important point, and I don’t want you to think i’m just ignoring it. In summary, I think it’s kind of a bummer if in the end, manliness is just a tradition people feel compelled to participate in

              I’m not sure, but I think you’re hearing the “man” in “manly” and assuming the opposite would “woman”, “gay”, or “enby”. Not the case. The opposite to “man” in this case is “boy”.

              We could dissect why “manly” translates to “being worthy of respect”, but that’s a tangent from your question.

              I think this pretty much gets to the root of the friction I experience when this topic comes up. I wouldn’t mind digging into it.

              Its the “man” vs “boy” part, as in, a sign of maturity, of coming of age where you stop being a young and selfish boy and can see where you are in the world and what responsibilities you have to yourself and those around you in society. Society has few expectations of responsibility for a “boy”. Responsibilities with weight go to those with maturity. Mature boys being men. Even the phrase “man up” usually means “to stand up and face the challenge instead of shying away”, or to take responsibility. A boy still be 40 years old if he doesn’t take up his adult responsibilities. At 40 years old he still wouldn’t be “manly”.

              If you are taking exception with these phrases being associated with “man”, then your beef is really with the last 3000 or 4000 so years of history. The concepts of equality across genders and sexual orientation are relatively recent in the last 20-40 years. History doesn’t stop being history simply because we’ve evolved beyond some of our worst parts of it. We carry baggage for awhile as our language evolves to match our new values. Expecting language to change on a dime isn’t very realistic. We’ll need a few generations to die off and take this language with them.

              • jumperalex@lemmy.world
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                Its the “man” vs “boy” part, as in, a sign of maturity, of coming of age where you stop being a young and selfish boy and can see where you are in the world and what responsibilities you have to yourself and those around you in society.

                I’m not who you’re replying to, but I feel the same way as them. Take what I quoted from you above and replace man/boy with woman/girl. How is it any different? Maturity isn’t gendered. Taking on adult responsibilities isn’t gendered; heck you acknowledge that when you used the word “adult”, it’s right there in the language you used.

                I’m not taking exception to thousands of years of history, because so many of the traits would still apply to both genders and aren’t about equality. Keep in mind that’s different than discussing gender roles which certainly have relevant history. But “taking care of your family” is a trait and women we expected to do that to. Just with different tasks. Same with being honest / honorable and just about any trait was practically speaking, non-gendered, but with gendered expressions of those traits.

                I’d also say that if we don’t try to change our language, then it will never change. If we don’t immediately question questionable assertions, historically relevant or not, then it will never change. The best day to have questioned a definition of masculinity that isn’t actually gender specific was thousands of years ago, the 2nd best day is today.

                I will say I DO get what you are saying about history. It isn’t lost on me how it has influenced cultural norms and language today. But I’m also saying that, ironically, if you isolate traits from expressions of those traits, even thousands of years ago I could make the same case that the traits weren’t actually gendered if dissected.

                • partial_accumen@lemmy.world
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                  20 days ago

                  I’m not who you’re replying to, but I feel the same way as them. Take what I quoted from you above and replace man/boy with woman/girl. How is it any different?

                  You’re doing the same thing they did. You skipped the OTHER criteria I listed for being “manly” besides just “goodness”, that being: for a person that identifies with the biological reproductive role of a male.

                  Maturity isn’t gendered. Taking on adult responsibilities isn’t gendered

                  Agreed it isn’t, but for a person that identifies with the biological reproductive role of a male, there is a specific term for it: “manly”. Where did that come from? History.

                  With my explanation to that other poster, I’m more confused by your doubling down on it.

                  Here’s what I’m saying “With X,Y, and Z it equals ‘manly’”

                  You seem to be saying “Yes but if you remove X and Y, then why does the term ‘manly’ apply?”. I agree with you, it no longer does. You’re talking about something else at that point because you’ve removed characteristics that apply to the word “manly” so it no longer is that word.

                  I’d also say that if we don’t try to change our language, then it will never change. If we don’t immediately question questionable assertions, historically relevant or not, then it will never change.

                  No argument from me there. However it will be up to the very young generations growing up right now to change this. All the rest of us have grown up in a world of old definitions of masculinity. We can reject those and adopt the words, but we can’t erase our knowledge of them. Most of the adult generations alive today will have to eventually die off for these ideas to disappear from our society.

                  I will say I DO get what you are saying about history. It isn’t lost on me how it has influenced cultural norms and language today. But I’m also saying that, ironically, if you isolate traits from expressions of those traits, even thousands of years ago I could make the same case that the traits weren’t actually gendered if dissected.

                  I disagree. One of those specific traits is a person that identifies with the biological reproductive role of a male. If that trait remains, it cannot be ungendered. If you remove that trait, you’re not talking about the word ‘manly’ anymore.

        • Darohan@lemmy.zip
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          20 days ago

          I mean yeah, they should probably be ungendered, but in our society they still do get gendered. A lot of expectation is placed on men to be the kind of hard-working person that will work a 50 hour week, put food on the table, be a perfect and present father to their children and a dependable rock for their partner while being perfectly in control of their emotions themselves (and don’t you even think about crying) and still have time to build a furnace and teach the eldest how to change a tire and have an active social life and work out and improve themselves and do all those other things that a normal person needs to do. It’s not good and it’s not right, and it’s not even what the OP was specifically talking about in the post, but that’s why you’ll see words like “strong”, “dependable”, “capable”, etc thrown around in this thread a lot, because men like to feel that way because it feels like they’ve achieved at least some part of the frankly impossible image that’s placed in young boy’s heads of what a man should be.

          • Carnelian@lemmy.world
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            20 days ago

            I appreciate your breakdown. In other words, what you’re saying is that a man’s feeling of manliness is most often rooted in how closely he resembles societal expectations.

            I think it’s pretty much the most reasonable explanation. But it still strikes me that men generally do not themselves think about it in those terms, and in fact consider it to be inherently emasculating. Masculinity viewed through this lens in essence becomes an act of submission to an outside force, which stands in contrast to many evident directives of masculinity such as independence and inherent drive.

            Indeed the OP touches on this, implying that masculinity simply must be secured from within, with brazen disregard for the way others perceive you.

            So if it does really come down to matching expectations, then it seems to be, as you said, frankly impossible

            • jumperalex@lemmy.world
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              20 days ago

              Yeah that’s pretty much my thought as well. I don’t seem to ever concern myself with “feeling” like a man, or even acting like one. I just act like who I am, and mostly concern myself with just trying to be a better human and I’m a long work in progress on that. But none of it is tied to some conscious sense of masculinity. I know the culture I was raised in certainly has an unconscious influence, but I can only effect those as I am made aware of them. For sure some of my worst traits are associated with maleness, but I don’t consider them what makes me feel like a man when they come out, and for sure make me feel like an asshole. And we men and women both have assholes ;-)

    • finitebanjo@lemmy.world
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      20 days ago

      When you take your shirt off, you lift something real heavy, open a beer without a bottlecap opener, and high five somebody and it hurts then you should be activating all the correct masculine endorphin triggers. A lot of it comes as a response from high testosterone hormone levels.

    • Tahl_eN@lemmy.world
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      20 days ago

      I don’t know if it’s gotten better these days, but back in the 90’s “being a man” was more a definition of absence. Being a man was “not being a woman/girl.” This caused a couple years of real difficulty for me as a high school boy, since women were (finally) allowed to do all the “male” things, which ended up defining the male identity out of existence.

      • SwingingTheLamp@midwest.social
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        19 days ago

        I feel like this perspective needs a bigger audience, since it explains a whole lot about the incel/alpha backlash, and the gender divide in U.S. politics.

    • prime_number_314159@lemmy.world
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      20 days ago

      I agree with some of the other answers you’ve received, but I want to add one.

      I think there’s a kind of impulsive confidence, and unmitigated determination that lets me put on shorts when it’s 20 degrees Fahrenheit out, then tells me to stay the course, and accept that I have entirely become cold, rather than merely passing by it.

      As for what other people can do to help me feel that feeling, I have no idea. I do those things because of the way that I am. People have already tried encouraging or discouraging me, and it hasn’t changed how I prefer to dress (for example).

      • jumperalex@lemmy.world
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        20 days ago

        Being a stubborn old fool isn’t just a “man” trait 😜

        But I suppose, being statistically more risk tolerant is a sign of being a man. Not sure if that nature, nurture, or both I’m not going to speculate. But we are where we are however we got here.

        I for one, am amazed I’ve made it this many trips around the sun.

  • Sarmyth@lemmy.world
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    20 days ago

    LOL! Almost that exact phrase is what I use whenever my wife asks me why I’m peeing outside in my backyard instead of just going inside to the bathroom.