What does it mean to be a man?

[Skyrad 0]

I'm curious as to what it means to you, to be a man. To me it means having integrity, respect for yourself and others. It means upholding what are sometimes unfashionable values such as honour and chivilry. Being truthful and not bending your values to peer preasure, friendship, honesty, courage and loyalty. It means not being a dog but being faithful. I know that others will have different views and thats why I'm asking, what does it mean to you? Have we as men become so far removed from what men should be that women no longer respect us as men?

When an author is too meticulous about his style, you may presume that his mind is frivolous and his content flimsy.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca

[Misternatural 0]

Excuse me but ....wouldn't the more important question be "what does it mean to be THE man?" Example: Hey man, your being exploited by the man! (Cough GWB)

Beware of the collateralizing and monetization of your desires.
D S #3.1415

[rushmc 23]

The hijacking didn't take long to happen, did it!

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[Royd 0]

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I'm curious as to what it means to you, to be a man. To me it means having integrity, respect for yourself and others. It means upholding what are sometimes unfashionable values such as honour and chivilry. Being truthful and not bending your values to peer preasure, friendship, honesty, courage and loyalty. It means not being a dog but being faithful. I know that others will have different views and thats why I'm asking, what does it mean to you? Have we as men become so far removed from what men should be that women no longer respect us as men?

I'll bite since my post caused you to create this thread.
I like your descriptions, and if I were to grade myself by those standards I would pass.
Society as a whole has eliminated many of those characteristics as being superfulous. How many men do you know who still remove their hat when entering a building. Manners seem to be a waste of time. It is part of the revolution against authority.
Saddly, that also includes berating the leader of one's country.

The thing that I addressed earlier is the attempt at keeping a boy from being a boy, which, if allowed to run its course, causes a man to be a man.

Such simple things as :
Don't play in the dirt
Don't climb the tree
Don't jump off of the roof

A man doesn't have to spend endless hours of talking and consensus to get a job done.
Sometimes, you have to grab the bull by the horns, even if it means getting hurt. That's manliness.
Not being afraid of failure, as long as you gave it your best shot is manliness.

When I see a man on the side of the interstate with a flat tire, standing there with a "somebody please help me because I haven't got a clue" look on his face, I just want to kick his ass.

[kallend 2,146]

I wanna play cricket on the green
Ride my bike across the stream
Cut myself and see my blood
I wanna come home all covered in mud

Pete Townshend (The Who).

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[jakee 1,594]

Perfect song for this thread!

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[billvon 3,107]

>I wanna play cricket on the green

Real men don't play cricket!

[warpedskydiver 0]

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>I wanna play cricket on the green

Real men don't play cricket!

What are you afraid of being hit?

That ball can kill

[Remster 30]

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>I wanna play cricket on the green

Real men don't play cricket!

What are you afraid of being hit?

That ball can kill

Blaaa... the most dangerous part of cricket is getting your pint smashed by that ball.

Remster

[warpedskydiver 0]

and it can also get spilled if the match goes full contact after too many pints.

[billvon 3,107]

This thread reminds me of an old Joe Jackson song:
-----------------------------------------------

Take your mind back, I don't know when
Some time when it always seemed to be just us and them
Girls that wore pink, and boys that wore blue
Boys that always grew up better men than me and you

What's a man now, what's a man mean
Is he rough or is he rugged, is he cultural and clean
Now it's all changed, it's got to change more
'Cause we think it's getting better but nobody's really sure

And so it goes, go round again
But now and then we wonder who the real men are

See the nice boys, dancing in pairs
Golden earring, golden tan, blow wave in their hair
Sure they're all straight, straight as a line
Cause all the gays are macho, can't you see their leather shine

Man makes a gun, man goes to war
Man can kill and man can drink and man can take a whore
Kill all the blacks, kill all the reds
And if there's war between the sexes then there'll be no people left

You don't want to sound dumb, don't want to offend
So don't call me a faggot, not unless you are a friend
Then if you're tall and handsome and strong
You can wear the uniform and I could play along

And so it goes, go round again
But now and then we wonder who the real men are

[kallend 2,146]

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>I wanna play cricket on the green

Real men don't play cricket!

What are you afraid of being hit?

That ball can kill

Blaaa... the most dangerous part of cricket is getting your pint smashed by that ball.

Maybe you've never had one coming at your head at 100mph. A cricket ball is harder and heavier than a baseball.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[kelpdiver 2]

a man doesn't feel a need to think about silly questions.

[narcimund 0]

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When I see a man on the side of the interstate with a flat tire, standing there with a "somebody please help me because I haven't got a clue" look on his face, I just want to kick his ass.

Now I've got it! Being a real man means beating up helpless people.

First Class Citizen Twice Over

[Skyrad 0]

I like that Bill.

When an author is too meticulous about his style, you may presume that his mind is frivolous and his content flimsy.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca

[Skyrad 0]

Quote

Quote

I'm curious as to what it means to you, to be a man. To me it means having integrity, respect for yourself and others. It means upholding what are sometimes unfashionable values such as honour and chivilry. Being truthful and not bending your values to peer preasure, friendship, honesty, courage and loyalty. It means not being a dog but being faithful. I know that others will have different views and thats why I'm asking, what does it mean to you? Have we as men become so far removed from what men should be that women no longer respect us as men?

I'll bite since my post caused you to create this thread.
I like your descriptions, and if I were to grade myself by those standards I would pass.
Society as a whole has eliminated many of those characteristics as being superfulous. How many men do you know who still remove their hat when entering a building. Manners seem to be a waste of time. It is part of the revolution against authority.
Saddly, that also includes berating the leader of one's country.

The thing that I addressed earlier is the attempt at keeping a boy from being a boy, which, if allowed to run its course, causes a man to be a man.

Such simple things as :
Don't play in the dirt
Don't climb the tree
Don't jump off of the roof

A man doesn't have to spend endless hours of talking and consensus to get a job done.
Sometimes, you have to grab the bull by the horns, even if it means getting hurt. That's manliness.
Not being afraid of failure, as long as you gave it your best shot is manliness.

When I see a man on the side of the interstate with a flat tire, standing there with a "somebody please help me because I haven't got a clue" look on his face, I just want to kick his ass.

I took a woman out to lunch a few months ago, she was intelligent and attractive. She actually asked me why I opened doors for her! She wasn't offended or anything but she simply didn't understand why I did it!!!

When an author is too meticulous about his style, you may presume that his mind is frivolous and his content flimsy.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca

[rehmwa 2]

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She wasn't offended or anything but she simply didn't understand why I did it!!!

did you answer here truthfully?

you thought it might help you get in her pants?

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[Shotgun 1]

Man, you listen to some crappy music. I think that you need to start listening to Nine Inch Nails. (Toadies would suffice too.)

Hmm, but I'm not sure if either of them define what it means to be a man... unless Trent's "Big Man With A Gun" does.

[warpedskydiver 0]

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When I see a man on the side of the interstate with a flat tire, standing there with a "somebody please help me because I haven't got a clue" look on his face, I just want to kick his ass.

Now I've got it! Being a real man means beating up helpless people.

Only if that helpless person keeps running their fucking mouth.

[billvon 3,107]

>Hmm, but I'm not sure if either of them define what it means to be a man...

Agreed. The only person who can define what a man is is the man himself. (Same for women.)

One friend of mine is a pretty famous skydiver. Got a gold in skysurfing at one of the X games a while back, made some skydiving movies. He was on several of the recent bigway world records, and is now working on an "Endless Summer" sort of movie about skydiving. He's also gay. Is he a real man?

Another guy I've known since I was 8 years old now runs his own business and employs about a dozen people. He's gay too, although he didn't come out for a long time because he was afraid of what people would say. He's been struggling with a weight problem all his life, and he's not in great shape. But he does have a big boat. Is he a real man?

One guy I knew at the DZ was a massive bear of a guy. Muscles on top of muscles. Often claimed he was a SEAL. (He worked with the SEALs in the Navy and jumped with them, but wasn't really one of them.) He tended to get really drunk, and had a habit of getting into fights in bars - which was a problem because he liked to carry knives. He'd be very offended if you suggested he was gay. Nice guy, usually great with his wife and daughter. Last I heard he was in jail for spousal abuse. Is he a real man?

I don't think there's any one answer for any of the above. If they think they're "real men" great. Personally I think I'm a man, no more real or unreal than the next guy. I'm good at some things (large formation skydiving, designing cellphones) not so good at others (wielding knives, bench pressing large things, doing taxes, choosing curtains.) Generally I think that the question of what a "real man" is is sorta silly. Like asking which soft drink is "the real thing."

[Shotgun 1]

I agree... I'm pretty sure that you're a real man, even though I haven't checked the "goods." It's a silly term, but that's why I mentioned NIN's "Real Man With A Gun" - I think he's making fun of that terminology.

[quade 4]

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I'm curious as to what it means to you, to be a man.
...
Have we as men become so far removed from what men should be that women no longer respect us as men?

I think the better question is; "What does it mean to be a HUMAN?"

The entire "man" thing is just macho testosterone crap and totally pointless in the 21st century.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[Red_Skydiver 0]

It's kind of a daft question Skyrad Every man is a man..... why do you think any one of them would be more of a man than any other? We're individuals and by stipulating some "real man characteristics" and trying to live up to them you are actually taking away the one thing that makes you a man.... i.e. your own individuality! Everyone has different standards ...... and different women like different things about men.

[Skyrad 0]

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I'm curious as to what it means to you, to be a man.

Note:

1) No mention of 'Real' man.

2) By asking the question what does it mean 'TO YOU' to be a man implies that I acept that it means differant things to different people. This isn't about Machismo unless thats how YOU define the qualities of a man.

I find it interesting that women can easily discuss the issue of feminism and being a woman in todays world where as men are so unused to it they instantly jump to the brainless stereotypes of Real man verses Gay man. No where have I said anything about Gay men in this thread, some of the most honourable men I know are Gay men. Hence what does being a man mean TO YOU.

When an author is too meticulous about his style, you may presume that his mind is frivolous and his content flimsy.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca

[billvon 3,107]

>Hence what does being a man mean TO YOU.

As opposed to being a woman:

Having external genitals.
Having to go into the bathroom marked "Gents."
Needing half the underwear.
Not caring which way you wipe.
Not needing weights for 4-way (usually.)

Now, if the question is "what does being a human being mean to you" that's a very different question.