The Dying Art of Manliness.
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Being a "man" has nothing to do with all the skills mentioned above. Those things are good to know regardless of gender. It has been my experience that men are more likely to see things in absolute Good/bad terms and not be so in tune to what may be referred to as "shades of gray". At this stage of my life, that's what I've come to. I see things as right or wrong, good or bad. There is no in between. I've tried to simplify my life as much as possible, cut out all the frills...in the end, none of Ithe frills matter, not how many things you can do, how many material possessions you've acquired. All that matters is that when it's your time to go, you can do so being at peace with yourself and that's also true regardless of gender.
Go for survival training and cuddle naked in a sleeping bed to conserve warmth with another manly man. Kill someone with your bare hands, or by stabbing. Have your woman kick you out of the house and convince yourself that building a "man cave" in some area like the garage that you've been regulated to or the room in the basement that isn't being used is you reclaiming your manliness, not being kicked out of your space by a woman so she can have a sewing room. Buy a fast sports car because you need viagra to deal with your erectile disfunction, get a slick toupee rather than just shaving your head and accepting your bald. Emulate Tom Selleck. Quote John Wayne at inappropriate times. If a woman asks you for help around the house just look at her with a blank stare. Get a beer gut. Go to the gym to try and get rid of the beer gut. Shave all your bodyhair and wear a speedo. Smoke unfiltered camels. Urinate in public. Keep food in your beard to snack on later. Buy a home gym to get muscular. Let the home gym sit in your man cave without ever being used. And drink beer, and not that snooty craft beer shit. Pabst blue ribbon and bottom shelf whisky. Use bad grammar and spelling. No matter how lost you are, DON'T EVER STOP AND ASK FOR DIRECTIONS!!!
Loading that new red shirt into the washer with all of her white clothes, so as to seem totally dysfunctional at laundry, so as to never be asked to wash clothes again.
I think also, being able to laugh at a joke, especially when it's not directed at anyone, is also obviously a dying manly art for a few. Jeesh!
I think also, being able to laugh at a joke, especially when it's not directed at anyone, is also obviously a dying manly art for a few. Jeesh!
I agree with the thoughts behind the original post. These are good for everyone to know, women included.
I see people my age (26) that can't figure out the difference between metric and SAE tools - and wonder what the future holds. Granted, if you make enough money to not worry about such things - that's okay! Keeping other folks employed is good too.
But when so many of these things are lost on an entire generation (seemingly), I get concerned. There are still a few out there that will surprise the old timers though.
It's a disconnect from the thinking patterns of a self sufficient individual, and it never hurts to seek knowledge and the capacity for self sufficiency.
A goodly portion of my generation's cumulation of life skills is excellence in video games. And since so many of us can't find a job, I wish we could collectively focus more on learning valuable skills. As the economy hopefully improves, a readjusted mentality would serve us well in the long game - life.
I see people my age (26) that can't figure out the difference between metric and SAE tools - and wonder what the future holds. Granted, if you make enough money to not worry about such things - that's okay! Keeping other folks employed is good too.
But when so many of these things are lost on an entire generation (seemingly), I get concerned. There are still a few out there that will surprise the old timers though.
It's a disconnect from the thinking patterns of a self sufficient individual, and it never hurts to seek knowledge and the capacity for self sufficiency.
A goodly portion of my generation's cumulation of life skills is excellence in video games. And since so many of us can't find a job, I wish we could collectively focus more on learning valuable skills. As the economy hopefully improves, a readjusted mentality would serve us well in the long game - life.
Masculinity is a taboo topic here due to female membership? Encouraging beneficial skill acquisition can't be all bad. My dad thought that the best measure of a man was his ability to take care of his family - and that takes a vast spectrum of skills. Maybe he has to flex his imagination at make believe tea time with a young daughter, listen to a make believe friend, show her what goes on under the hood of a car so that a gap in knowledge won't get taken advantage of at the mechanic's shop, be sensitive enough for her to talk to him.
Or, I guess they could take the tampon commercials off my TV for the guy that thinks it is offensive. I dunno. It's possible to be too politically correct. The younger folk are pretty all inclusive though, for the betterment of humanity as a whole.
Or, I guess they could take the tampon commercials off my TV for the guy that thinks it is offensive. I dunno. It's possible to be too politically correct. The younger folk are pretty all inclusive though, for the betterment of humanity as a whole.
Doing many of those things for example, fishing/fixing faucets/changing oil/etc. were necessary when times were tight and when I can still wedge myself into the confined space to do it. Now, I pick and choose based on difficulty and sheer desire. My Dad at 73 will still crawl under his truck to tighten leaky trans pan bolts, because he always has, not because he cannot pay to have it done.
There comes a time when we have to let go of the things we used to do and have it done professionally. This does not make me less of a man.
Just my .02
There comes a time when we have to let go of the things we used to do and have it done professionally. This does not make me less of a man.
Just my .02
Times change, and "manliness" changes with them. There are certain survival skills that may come in useful at some point - but honestly, I'd rather pay a professional to sharpen my knives just like I did when I worked in a professional kitchen. A certain level of proficiency will keep you alive, but there's nothing really wrong with specialization - it's part of being human, after all. If your particular specialization is going away, well, that can be a rough transition - but it has less to do with not being "manly" than it does with refusing to acknowledge that time marches on, and that for some of us, being able to assemble a computer from the motherboard up is far more useful than being able to tie a fishing fly, and being able to defrag a hard drive comes in handier more often than being able to change a tire (though I can do both...)
While nearly everything on the list, I can do, I don't feel it has anything to do with being a man. Not now. I teach my daughters and son how to do the things listed and more. My wish for teaching these things is not so they can be manly but rather out of a desire to see them take care of themselves. Will they know how to install an electrical outlet properly? Yep. Will they NEED to? I hope not. Do I teach them that taking care of their family is most important? I know I try to model that, whether it sticks is up to them. This is more about being a well-rounded person and less with being a manly man. IF these were originally a man's pursuit, I see no reason to keep it restricted to that gender.
Just my $.02...
YMMV
-Jason
Just my $.02...
YMMV
-Jason
Every time i try to do "Manly Things" ie Smoke a Pipe, Shave with a straight Razor, Drink Whiskey repair something Etc. My wife laughs at me and says in trying to hard haha. :laughat: :crazy: I say "At what exactly?" she says "being Manly!."
although i do these things, most of them at least, because i like to do them while admitting it does feel manly to do these, I think its not the just men that have changed but also the expectations of men that have changed.
I dont see a man applying for a job with a resume saying. "Its all good i can sharpen a pocket knife."
although i do these things, most of them at least, because i like to do them while admitting it does feel manly to do these, I think its not the just men that have changed but also the expectations of men that have changed.
I dont see a man applying for a job with a resume saying. "Its all good i can sharpen a pocket knife."
Manliness isn't dying; it's evolving. Ask any man who's raised/raising a son. And a daughter will leave you in no doubt as to the most valuable traits in a man!
Andy
Andy
I wear live rattlesnakes as condoms. I once punched a hole in a cow just so I could see who was coming up the road. I got my wife pregnant and she gave birth to a delicious 16-ounce steak. The afterbirth was sauteed mushrooms. Once I ate an entire cake before they could tell me there was a stripper in it. I even had sex with a cigarette machine!
Oh wait... that was Bill Brasky, my bad.
Oh wait... that was Bill Brasky, my bad.
You never know what you have to do as a man these days. I am single dad of three kids, two of them are girls. I listen to them about their women issues, take the crying call when they lose their virginity, go dress shopping with them, listen about boy problems, breakups, and fights with other girls.
When I was married, I never thought I would have to do any of these. In my opinion, a real man goes out in downtown Toledo at 11:00 at night looking for pads for his 14 year girl. I've done this and it is not fun, but those girls are my responsibility and I take fatherhood seriously.
When I was married, I never thought I would have to do any of these. In my opinion, a real man goes out in downtown Toledo at 11:00 at night looking for pads for his 14 year girl. I've done this and it is not fun, but those girls are my responsibility and I take fatherhood seriously.
+1 Natibo,
I've also raised two girls by myself since they were two. I'd put sharpening my pocketknife way below holding my head up proudly while buying tampons and packages of panties with little kittens on them any day. And, while any given day I might be working in a four foot hole with a cutting torch or dragging a deer out of the woods by myself, this whole antiquated notion of "manliness" just seems a little silly. A man is just someone who does what has to be done, and with respect for others, as Mike pointed out. As someone in one of the other threads about this topic, it's just not very manly to go about pointing out what is manly.
Now, if you'll excuse me, as soon as I finish up forging a new iron mailbox stand with my huge penis, I have to iron some dresses :
:
I've also raised two girls by myself since they were two. I'd put sharpening my pocketknife way below holding my head up proudly while buying tampons and packages of panties with little kittens on them any day. And, while any given day I might be working in a four foot hole with a cutting torch or dragging a deer out of the woods by myself, this whole antiquated notion of "manliness" just seems a little silly. A man is just someone who does what has to be done, and with respect for others, as Mike pointed out. As someone in one of the other threads about this topic, it's just not very manly to go about pointing out what is manly.
Now, if you'll excuse me, as soon as I finish up forging a new iron mailbox stand with my huge penis, I have to iron some dresses :
:
Yea fatherhood will bring out manliness at its best. Teaching them to ride a bicycle, read, write, and playing with them teaching them life lessons along the way. One of the memories I will never forget was when my boy got a flat on his bicycle and he thought the fun was over for the day. But I took the wheel off and used a pair of screw drivers to pop the bead over the rim removed the inner tube, cut a patch from an old inner tube in a bike in the garage, and rubber cemented the patch to the tube stuffed it in the wheel put it together and aired it up. All together it took maybe an hour and my son was on his bike again. The look on his face the wonder and amazement as he followed me around as I worked. You know he tells that story now.
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