Guys: What do you think it means to be a man?

[Biosophilogical]

It means you have a y-chromosome.
Nothing else.
And no, transvestites aren't men/not men, they are transvestites. (to clarify, I mean woman>"man" transvestites are not true men and man>"woman" transvestites are not true women.)

Well actually, sex (like gender, which seems to be the focus of this thread) isn't as binary as people think. There are a bunch of different ways to determine someone's sex, from their hormones, whether they have testicles/ovaries, whether they have male or female anatomy (penis vs vagina+boobs) and ... there was something else but I can't think of it right now. But even then, you have intersexed people who don't fit nicely into either category, and then you have women/men with larger amounts (or bigger) of sex-related features (like hormones, penises, ovaries, etc).

So a bit like gender, sex is not a black and white thing, and varying cultures, while all having some notion of sex and gender, don't necessarily have this dichotomy that we have.

OT: I don't think it is about whether you are 'a man' so much as it is about how good of a person you are, which applies regardless of your sex. Because f*** gender roles.

 

[Da Orky Man]

I really don't see why people think that men and women should be exactly the same. I'd call myself fairly manly. Our brain are wired differently, so anyone forcing the same values is going to get nowhere. I could spend all day looking and messing around with engines, RC stuff, models. I practise martial arts and I'm trained in advanced first aid. I'm responsible, generous, have an odd blend of cynicism and idealism. My sisters are nothing like that.

 

[M920CAIN]

The size of your... glands? just sayin'... don't hurt me moderator... well I would say that being a man has no reference model... we just are & we have reproduction organs that stick out... that's about it. The better question would be: "what kind of man are you?"

 

[Bebus]

A real man has a MASSIVE beard.

The size of the beard is directly proportional to manliness.

 

[Arina Love]

f*ck gender roles you have to be born a man to be a man it's that simple.

 

[Arfonious]

The only thing that makes you a man is your penis. And that's it

Don't forget the balls! (also, you would have to be a certain age, no 12 year old is a man in my books)

The balls were implied as a part of the genitals.
Well yes perhaps the age as well.

But my point was that the only thing that makes you male/female is the genitals

 

[TheMann]

If you asked me what I thought it meant to be a man, I would say you need to have intelligence, experience, respect, and not be afraid to get your hands dirty, to be a man. That's just my opinion.

That's actually a damn good answer. Men are also usually expect to show a greater degree of self-sacrifice, at least when it comes to their families. Call it a gender role if you want but that's just sort of the way it goes.

A Y chromosome helps.

To be a man, you must have honor. Honor and a penis

Haha, the Shin Chan Show. Love it. I can agree with that though, in fact, I'm going to do the dance now.

A bunch of people already beat me to the Orgazmo soundtrack so I can't use that. Hmm... Ah, yes:

Spoiler: Real men can make sharks cry

 

[Farther than stars]

Being a man means having a Y-chromosone; nothing more, nothing less.

Cock and Balls my friend...

So when you've been shot down there, that makes you less of a man?

 

[Sakash]

My father once told me that you become a man when you stop depending on other people, and they start depending on you.

I always thought that its kinda true

 

[Farotsu]

Thing is, if the whole population is moving away from what we percieve as masculinity, perhaps it does it for a reason and in the end the world will be better for it? No I'm not suggesting Intelligent Design here. I'm suggesting that humans are adapting to their environment and usually that does happen for a reason.

 

[LiftYourSkinnyFists]

I saw this interesting documentary called An Emasculating Truth that began with a statistic from a 20-year medical study: testosterone has declined in the male population at rate of 1.2% since 1987, with a total drop of over 20%. No cause was discovered, but everything from estrogen in drinking water to BPAs in plastics is a suspect. The documentary then went on to ask a bunch of sociologists, writers, doctors, and regular people what it means to be a man in today's day and age.

Documentary: http://www.anemasculatingtruth.com/index.html
Study: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17062768?dopt=AbstractPlus


So what do you think it means to be a man today? Do you feel manly, whatever that means in 2011? Technology and equal rights means that women can do almost any job that a man can. Men now make up 30% of all cosmetic surgeries, from nose jobs to calf implants. Aggression and competitiveness in young boys is discouraged or even demonized by schools and parents. The sale of male grooming products has increased 25% over the past decade. Are we moving to some kind of androgynous mono-gender, or are people blowing things out of proportion?

I think William Shatner shown us what it is to "Be a Man"

 

[Snoozer]

Is it even manly to care? I'd rather ask myself if men have that low of a self-esteem these days, that we always have to proof our own manliness to ourselves?

 

[wezzipooh]

I think the true mark of a man is the ability to write over-long, pretentious-bullshit posts on a website forum.

 

[Fieldy409_v1legacy]

Thing is, if the whole population is moving away from what we percieve as masculinity, perhaps it does it for a reason and in the end the world will be better for it? No I'm not suggesting Intelligent Design here. I'm suggesting that humans are adapting to their environment and usually that does happen for a reason.

no, this stuff is causing birth defects.

 

[That Greek Guy]

self esteem

 

[wezzipooh]

A real man has a MASSIVE beard.

The size of the beard is directly proportional to manliness.

This is true. I'd like to mention that my beard is currently one inch thick at the moment. Not very impressive you may think, but consider that I shaved myself clean ONE HOUR AGO.

 

[fredster117]

to be a gentlemen

 

[DazBurger]

Being 2 meters.. Between the shoulders, wrestle bears with your nostrils tied behind your back and consume entire herds for lunch.

 

[Mathak]

To be a man you must:

Spoiler

-Be swift as a coursing river;
-Have all the force of a great typhoon;
-Have all the strength of a raging fire;
-Be mysterious as the dark side of the moon.