Do you think there's a masculinity crisis in America?

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  • MissFit0101
    MissFit0101 Posts: 2,382
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    OP deactivated already, what?!
  • Chipmaniac
    Chipmaniac Posts: 642 Member
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    Yes! I'm a girl obviously but I still think the men should be the head of the household. I mean girl power is great and everything but guys are dominant in a relationship, sorry!
    That's pretty sad. You should want better for yourself.
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,026 Member
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    Being dominant in the relationship and being the leader are two different things.
  • sweetchildomine
    sweetchildomine Posts: 872 Member
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    I stand by my post. New Kids On The Block were goofy but they were a hell of a lot more masculine than the boys in One Direction and Justin Bieber.

    Jordan Knight in 1990. I rest my case lol

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    Pretty boys are one thing, but looking like you are 12 and haven't gone through puberty when you are 20 is another lol
  • aubreykkkk
    aubreykkkk Posts: 147 Member
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    Wait wait wait. One Direction boys are the most attractive guys I've ever seen! Completely masculine, too. Like, don't even compare them to Justin Bieber please. :)
  • Dawnhasajeep
    Dawnhasajeep Posts: 180 Member
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    Honestly: Do you think there's a masculinity crisis in America? Are more men allowing women to dominate relationships?
    Get back to the kitchen. :)


    With me and my husband we work together to make sure everything gets done. I put the plow on the truck and plow, mow the lawn, change the oil & fix the Jeeps. I love being in the garage. He makes dinner, dose dishes, cleans and dose the laundry. I would not say I am less of a women or he is less than a man. It just makes us well rounded.
  • dreamsofescaping
    dreamsofescaping Posts: 206 Member
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    Being dominant in the relationship and being the leader are two different things.

    I agree!!! I personally like being the girl and letting my man be the leader but it doesn't give him the right to dominate me :) Although there are some things I choose to be the leader in but same goes for me I do not dominate my man.
  • quixoteQ
    quixoteQ Posts: 484
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    Men are doing what women were doing back in the say with have small dogs, small cars, eating salads instead of fries, skinny jeans, purses, opting for frees-by instead of throwing a football, reading books at the pool instead of swimming, drinking fruity drinks, listening to boy groups like One Direction instead of man music, going with other guys to watch romantic comedies, talking about feelings, and opting for pink instead of other colors.

    Small dogs deserve homes too? Also, frequently apartments have weight limits on what size dog you can have.

    Small cars get better gas mileage and are all around better for the environment so I fail to see how this is somehow a bad thing.

    Salads are a healthier choice. So it’s not manly to care about your health?

    Men’s fashion has always been ridiculous. Look at what guys were wearing in the 1970’s.

    I don’t know what frees-by means but I know plenty of guys who could care less about football.

    Reading is sexy. I’d rather see a guy reading than doing pretty much anything else. Just sayin.

    Fruity drinks taste good?

    I do not know any man who listens to One Direction or watches romance movies with other men, unless they happen to be like, film critics and it’s their job.

    Talking about feelings is a good thing and the guys who do this probably have much better relationships than the ones that don’t.

    Pink has been a trendy color off and on for the last 30 years.

    All these things you see as signs of weakness are not weaknesses. If anything, they make men more attractive to more women.

    Personally, I think most couples seem to treat each other more like equals these days which is a good thing, not a problem. The only thing I see that seems different from maybe 30 years ago is that usually the woman is the one making most of the money. Literally every girl I know (me included) has a higher level of education and consequently makes more than her boyfriend or husband.

    Even the handful of stay at home mothers I know have a higher level of education than their man and in theory, would be making more money if they were in the workforce. Unfortunately, with the cost of day care etc. sometimes it is just not practical for both parents to work and I find that usually women are more comfortable giving up their job for a few years to stay with the kids.

    I can get behind most of what you've written, but I take issue with the bit about knowing lots of men who don't care for football. I mean, I'm pretty sure that isn't true.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,248 Member
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    Uh...... I like NKOTB, which is the equivalent, at age 10. So no, that answers nothing.

    And before that, there was New Edition and Menudo. Before that, the Jackson 5, Donnie Osmond, Shawn & David Cassidy, and Bobby Sherman. And before that, the Monkees, Herman's Hermits, the Dave Clark 5. Before that, Ricky Nelson, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly and Elvis. As long as recorded music and sound, there been young pretty-boys singing.

    Google image search shows that a young Ricky Nelson looked an awful lot like the Biebs. :blushing:
  • quixoteQ
    quixoteQ Posts: 484
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    I stand by my post. New Kids On The Block were goofy but they were a hell of a lot more masculine than the boys in One Direction and Justin Bieber.

    Jordan Knight in 1990. I rest my case lol

    2693069157_04a13e66b2.jpg

    More is more, but I judge that "a hell of a lot more" is an exaggeration.
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,311 Member
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    Someone From Every Generation, Ever, said:
    ..there really is a huge <blank> problem, especially in the current teenage generation.

    Always.

    Even Socrates
  • polishmehappy
    polishmehappy Posts: 92 Member
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    Crisis? No. That's too strong of a word to generalize American manhood.
    Manhood (or womanhood) is not about dominance of the opposite gender at all.

    To me a Manly man is a gentleman, the kind that still opens doors for me. He is firm but not a tyrant. He is self confident but not arrogant. He has good hygiene, but doesn't wax his chest. He appreciates my lipstick and perfume when he hugs me from behind while I cook dinner. He says please, thank you, and I'm sorry when necessary. He likes it when I am in control at times, and I like when he is in control between four walls.

    It's not hard to get it. It is simple really.

    No there is no crisis. To each their own. No man (nor woman) needs to conform to any one steretype. What is important is that we respect one another and please one another according to what makes us happy. it is all about what turns you on, plain and simple.
  • dreamsofescaping
    dreamsofescaping Posts: 206 Member
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    Crisis? No. That's too strong of a word to generalize American manhood.
    Manhood (or womanhood) is not about dominance of the opposite gender at all.

    To me a Manly man is a gentleman, the kind that still opens doors for me. He is firm but not a tyrant. He is self confident but not arrogant. He has good hygiene, but doesn't wax his chest. He appreciates my lipstick and perfume when he hugs me from behind while I cook dinner. He says please, thank you, and I'm sorry when necessary. He likes it when I am in control at times, and I like when he is in control between four walls.

    It's not hard to get it. It is simple really.

    No there is no crisis. To each their own. No man (nor woman) needs to conform to any one steretype. What is important is that we respect one another and please one another according to what makes us happy. it is all about what turns you on, plain and simple.

    Well said! :drinker:
  • iammegs
    iammegs Posts: 39 Member
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    I'd actually been thinking the reverse was happening: men trying to assert their masculinity because they feel threatened.

    But if there is a masculinity crisis, it goes hand-in-hand with showing increasingly androgenous-looking men and women in fashion.
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,311 Member
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    Honestly: Do you think there's a masculinity crisis in America? Are more men allowing women to dominate relationships?

    Why does anyone have to dominate anyone? Why can't it be equal in a relationship? Your post is kind of scary sounds like you might have a controlling type of nature and I hope your not treating your gf or wife bad! I'm sorry if I am wrong with my conclusion but its the way you worded it.... "Allowing women" as though us women should ALLOW a man to hold the reins in the relationship. I'm sorry but the females of the past made it so I was "ALLOWED" to vote, wear clothes that no longer cover my ankles and so I don't have to be beat by a man and deal with it. They made it so I am "ALLOWED" to have my own say in a relationship and can choose whether or not I can work anywhere else but the kitchen making him meals.... I am SO grateful that those women who went through so much to "ALLOW" me these rights and options. In the end they did not control my future but they gave me choices! I could choose to let a man "ALLOW" me to let him have the reigns or I can choose equality! I choose equality. I don't need a man telling me what to do in the relationship and I don't need a man to provide for me.
    This is the very first post I have ever read that truly ticked me off.

    Yes. This.

    The OP offended me on two scores, the first being this above, the second being how massively offensive it is to those men who don't fit the OPs incredibly narrow definition of masculinity. I have two sons, they are boys, they are male, they are masculine, but my older son has no interest at all in team sports. He does ballet, tap and modern dance lessons every week, and is a brilliant gymnast. This doesn't make him girly, it just makes him individual. He is who he is, and he is male. What right does anyone else have to dictate to anyone how they should act, and what they should be interested in?
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,026 Member
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    I'd actually been thinking the reverse was happening: men trying to assert their masculinity because they feel threatened.

    But if there is a masculinity crisis, it goes hand-in-hand with showing increasingly androgenous-looking men and women in fashion.

    I personally don't think that masculinity is diminished at all when a woman expresses her womanhood. I'd say that embracing it is a sign of masculinity.
  • quixoteQ
    quixoteQ Posts: 484
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    Personally, I think the word "masculinity" itself is a bit effeminate.
  • StevLL
    StevLL Posts: 921 Member
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    Didn't read all the posts, but what I did read was scary to say the least. Is it really about waxing your chest, what boy band you listen to, or the type of food you eat?

    I saw one post that mentioned maturity - something missing in our men coming of age today which is closer to the truth.

    The definition of Masculinity is subjective with different perspectives based on what people prefer from a athestetic view.

    I think there is a a problem with chauvanisim and poor manners and the ability to be kind and compassionate to our fellow beings, be they human or other species.

    For me Masculinity is not about whether you control your partner or are the ruler of your house, it's about whether you stand for something, have integrity, honor, compassion, be a loving partner and a protector of those you love, not a boss of the house.

    In the bible it says the man should be the head of the household, but only if he loves and cares for his wife like he loves and cares for God. It doesn't say we are to control or tell others what to do.

    Was it really masculinty you were concerned about, or just trolling to see what you could stir up?

    BTW in my house I'm the boss as long as it's okay with my wife! :-)
  • IamBlackMamba
    IamBlackMamba Posts: 229
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    Oh Cal....this is born of your hatred of Hipsters...now look what you've done; and you love it.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,248 Member
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    REAL men are secure enough in their masculinity to know that the size of their car, dog, house, muscles, penis, etc... doesn't define them. REAL men are defined by their character and integrity.

    And most importantly...

    1HsZuqI4SkOGdmntHs6wZg2.jpg

    My neighbor is a vile, disgusting man who drives a giant pickup, screams at his wife and kids, drinks nothing but beer, and has a "if it ain't a rottie, it ain't a dog" attitude.

    If that's a real man, I'm glad I have a fake one.

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