What makes a man a true man?

[floffyschneeman]

I don't care about what makes a man a man and a woman a woman, what I care about is whether or not people behave like adults, deal with the responsibility that comes along with it and treat others with respect.

Well me too. not til i encountered a topic about guys not being guys because they choose to back down or be nice.

 

[Yeah!]

You can have an opinion and stick up for yourself and still be nice. "Nice Guys" aren't nice, they're doormats who expect the world and a ******** because they tell a chick their hair looks good.

 

[IgnoredOne]

I take my models from the men I knew, which I admired greatly. They had a combination of traits, but basically these in particular:

* They protected their families and close friends at any cost.
* Almost all of them had used lethal force on another human being or animal.
* They were all trained and dedicated to excellence at their fields, related to what they felt was their purpose in life.
* They always placed that purpose in life above all else, including relationships.
* They were courageous and had accepted that there was a cost to all things, and generally accepted death as a possibility.
* They valued justice, usually over compassion.
* They were polite, but intent. They gave insult when they intended to insult.

I suppose that ultimately I admire men who are capable of dispensing change, which in many ways, is power in one way or another with what I considered courage and justice and intimately tied with physical force in some form. So essentially, I think I'm fairly traditional in admiring masculinity as the men who fight bears with bare hands The male as warrior and hunter archetype resonates deeply with me.

For example, I have a few friends who I consider as my inner circle, the people I really do depend on for life. I think it shows what I feel about what defines men by how we've treated each other - loyally and clannishly, even if it wasn't persay ethical to the rest of the world. One of them, I'll call The Russian; I knew him when he was 17 and slightly younger than me, I remember him being very 'twitchy' but frighteningly good whenever he got into trouble or fights. He was also endearingly ruthless, and even then, plainly offered to beat up anyone for me so as long as I did my part to protect him from the consequences and recognized his loyalty. Over time, keeping in loyalty for his family loyalty and ambition, I helped him through schoolwork and exams, even the MCAT and sometimes used my position to essentially steal solutions for him.

Long story short, he is where he is now in no small part because I had unstinting and unrelenting loyalty to him, and vice versa. We had a deep passion for what we saw as what was right, and I'll never have to check my words or hesitate in confiding in him. That loyalty to his clan, his family and need to excel defines him very much as a man to me.

http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2008/05/how-to-be-a-man/ is a pretty good guide as well to me.

 

[SophiaGrace]

Oddly this thread reminds me of people on a black forum debating who is black eough. o.o

 

[nerdygirl]

Real men have real penises. Fake men do not.

 

[allanh]

so men who have their penises chopped off are......?

 

[nerdygirl]

Eunuchs.

 

[Minus]

Oddly this thread reminds me of people on a black forum debating who is black eough. o.o

Really not that odd of a perception.

 

[ShybutHi]

A real man or woman is someone who stands up for themself or a loved one when the need arises.

 

[floffyschneeman]

Oddly this thread reminds me of people on a black forum debating who is black eough. o.o

Really not that odd of a perception.

I don't know if that is a good thing or not, though it doesn't sound like it is. I have no intention to create debates among men trying to prove who is man enough or not.

This thought stemmed down from various discussions that I participated or observed in the forum. What got me so puzzled is when cheating was considered as an example of being man enough to get what he wants and respecting relationship is then considered as being dormant or not manly enough.

Then one correspondent (will not say his name not in case he might get offended, you know who you are) said that men didn't disagree so strongly about his point that when you want a girl, get her even if she has a boyfriend because generally men think that.

Now I cannot say in behalf of men as I am not a man. Though, I never thought of it that way. So I thought of a subtle way to ask men (and women) about their opinion on the matter and probably might gain some understanding how people's views vary and maybe it could also enlighten me to create a much bias-less opinion.

I may have worded the question differently, but that's all there is. I never thought it would be over-analyzed and the original question ignored.

I asked because I don't know.

 

[PieBeNice]

Oddly this thread reminds me of people on a black forum debating who is black eough. o.o

Pie is the blackest.

 

[mintymint]

Here's your answer Floff

[youtube]oiXaT_1I-vw[/youtube]

 

[Limlim]

Easy enough, I am the epitome of manliness. So people who are like me are real men.

 

[PieBeNice]

Easy enough, I am the epitome of manliness. So people who are like me are real men.

But aren't you canadian? Surely you can't be that manly.

 

[Limlim]

Oh yeah definitely, for example...

 

[floffyschneeman]

:O that's the best picture of you, Lim (goo)

 

[blackhole]

what makes a real man?

one thing...

ability to choose principle over survival.

...and a penis.

 

[RyanEhf]

mustaches

 

[SophiaGrace]

mustaches

I could grow a mustache.

 

[tangerinedream]

I think that a true man is a man who knows when to back down and when to fight. A man who has a real understanding of competition and winning.

I agree. Knowing how and when to choose his battles does not make a man less of a man. To me, it shows that he has an understanding of what really matters and is not caught up in infantile displays of "Machismo for Machismo's Sake." *yawn* Those guys remind me of bantam roosters strutting around, fluffing their plumage. Dude. Laaaaaaame.

I take my models from the men I knew, which I admired greatly. They had a combination of traits, but basically these in particular:

* They protected their families and close friends at any cost.
* Almost all of them had used lethal force on another human being or animal.
* They were all trained and dedicated to excellence at their fields, related to what they felt was their purpose in life.
* They always placed that purpose in life above all else, including relationships.
* They were courageous and had accepted that there was a cost to all things, and generally accepted death as a possibility.
* They valued justice, usually over compassion.
* They were polite, but intent. They gave insult when they intended to insult.

I suppose that ultimately I admire men who are capable of dispensing change, which in many ways, is power in one way or another with what I considered courage and justice and intimately tied with physical force in some form. So essentially, I think I'm fairly traditional in admiring masculinity as the men who fight bears with bare hands The male as warrior and hunter archetype resonates deeply with me.

I agree with most of your points except for number 2. I think that a man can be a real man without having to kill a bear with his bare hands or vanquish his enemy by plunging a sword through his neck.

For me its more about character and core principals, and less about physical actions. KWIM?

what makes a real man?

one thing...

ability to choose principle over survival.

...and a penis.

Basically, I agree on both counts.