What is Your Idea of "Being a Man"?

A real man is true to his self, and does not bend to others' ideas of masculinity, maleness, or manhood (not the body part).

 

All are applicable.

 

Pretty hard to improve on your weaknesses if you avoid them.

 

Or give us goals and ideals to strive for, pushes us to reach beyond ourselves.

A man protects and provides for his woman and children.
This is from the hunter gather days of our existence and has been bred into our genes.

 

i think it's the same thing as being a guy, a dude, perhaps even a Fella

 

I assume you mean in the context of 'hey, man up' or similar. In that context, I generally assume it means 'be tough', 'quit complaining', 'accept this situation and deal with it.' Or, in a word, stoicism.

stoicism
[ˈstōəˌsizəm]
NOUN

1. the endurance of pain or hardship without the display of feelings and without complaint.

Given that women tend to have a higher tolerance for physical pain than men (and despite 'woman up' not being a common thing to encourage endurance to physical pain...), I think 'being a man' is more used to refer to enduring emotional pain.

But its entirely possible this interpretation of mine stems from my gender being male and my personality being very stoic...

 

Goals are just limitations that we strive for. It doesn’t make them les limiting.

 

And if you don't accept such limitations you never accomplish anything worthwhile.

Goals are not just limitations, as you wrote. They are also opportunities to fulfillment.

 

I really like the fact that you created this discussion in History and Culture section. I think when you look back through the last 10,000 years since the start of human civilization, (and perhaps 100Ks of years before that as hunter gatherers), men and women had defined roles and it was easy to define what a man was based on his role in the family and society. Even up to the 1960s when you watch those old TV commercials and shows it was easy to see the differences. The man goes to work and earns the income to support the family. He dresses in clothing that is unique to men. The woman stays at home, looks after the children, cooks and maintains the home. Her clothing was uniquely feminine. I think throughout human history you can see the same deep division of roles and responsibility between men and women. They change from time to time but the division was always there.

Now we have hit a period where those roles have muddied. Woman are out in the work force doing the same jobs that men traditionally held. For couple a woman can easily out earn a man and be the main provider for the family. They are working in jobs that many of the older generation grew up thinking was inappropriate for woman. They dress in clothing that is considered unisex. Family responsibilities have changed. Who cleans, cooks, and takes care of the children is either a joint task or negotiated by the couple.

So to try to answer your question I am not sure you can define men and responsibility by role anymore. I think society has reached or is rushing towards a point where the gender roles are no longer relevant. The only real area that roles may differ may be due to physical ability but technology will eventually tear down those walls too. A woman can fire a weapon, fly a plane, control a drone, hack an enemies system just as well as a man. Put a woman in a M1 tank today and send her back in time and she could mow down a highly trained Roman legion of all men.

 

What if he doesn't have a family or children?

 

Be honest, act with integrity, always try to do the right thing, stand up for justice and reject injustices, put facts before ego, work to make the world a better place. .

 

Good question. I had to think about that a minute. Then I would say a good man gives to something greater than himself.

 

then he's a woman

 

I didn't want to have children because the best thing we can do to reduce our carbon footprint is to not reproduce.

I was also asked by the government to not reproduce.

 

A man is a man when he doesn't confuse himself with being a women.

 

Protector and provider
Responsible and stable
Without vanity
Emotionally self-sufficient

He does not need to be his girls' BFF, nor care about interior design, nor go shoe shopping, nor discuss his feelings about every little thing.

If he can do the following, his value increases:

Change a tire in any weather
Split firewood (I'll help stack it!)
Do essential home maintenance and repairs
Understands a combustion engine
Handle dogs and horses
Camp with minimal comfort

 

Family can be achieved without actual breeding. We all need a gang.

 

Turned out my ex wife was quite the piece of work. I am very glad we never adopted. That would have been even more of a nightmare.

I dedicated my life to doing what I can to help save the planet. That is my gang - those fighting the good fight.

I have done that for most of my life. I am now semi-retired as savior of the world and I spend most of my free time chasing beautiful young women and having more fun than in all previous years combined.

 

But will they wipe your ass when you're 90 and incontinent? Will they sit with you night and day in the weeks or days of your dying? Will they speak with you gently of shared memories, reminding you of the fullness of your long life?

We ALL need family, WHGA. Don't live out your life without one.

 

Good. Man definition to you is 700 yrs ago.

 

No problem I have a plan: I'll be dead before I'm 90.

If I met someone I wanted in my life I would pursue it. But I'm not going to stop living the best life I've ever known so I don't die alone.

I have news for you. We all die alone.

 

That is so 1800s

 

So. If mankind dies off. Our carbon footprint reduces. But man will never know.

 

So only men can accomplish this?

Or, women and some kids become men?

 

s

We are likely approaching the maximum population the planet can sustain. And most of the world will continue to make babies. By not reproducing I might, for example, prevent a hundred people from starving to death over the next 50 - 100 years. Some may be your grandchildren or their children.