Comment on: A Manly Man

Bigthink — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 17:17:11 +0100

I asked the manly men in my life what they thinked defined manliness. Maybe because the question was posed by me (a womanly woman) I was told it was being able to cry, stepping up as father and husband, doing challenging outdoor activities, speaking up about tough issues but listening when others spoke and more. What it does come down to is exactly as Harvey Mansfield says - taking risk.
Anon83 asks if this could be learned vs biological - absolutely, no doubt that different societies shape the general nature of women. Most probably, an American woman in Saudi Arabia would be seen as very pushy and not rewarded for that characterisitic. But men do not have babies or estrogen and we now know how much these hormones affect our behaviour and we need to pay more attention to that science.
There was the common comment made by teen males in my small weekend study who believe that being a white manly man is the most criticized identity in North America and that they could not speak with moral authority due to the assumed status and power.

Comment on: A Manly Man

Bigthink — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 21:38:09 +0100

it's true, that women in general are indirect; that they are more known for endurance than courage. i guess what makes me uncomfortable about him is that he doesn't distinguish, or doesn't bother to distinguish, between learned traits and biological ones. maybe men are more courageous only because they are told they should be by people like him!

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Comment on: A Manly Man

Comment on: A Manly Man